10 of Hailee Steinfeld’s best acting roles: Marvel and beyond + QUIZ! Which character are you?

Eva Machek — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 10:12:41 +0000

Hailee Steinfeld’s career has been on a steady incline of success for a long time. The 26 year old singer and actress has built up a resume with close to 30 roles in projects big and small. In today’s post I’m ranking ten of my favorite characters played by her.

The most exciting part about this post? I added a quiz!! All the way at the bottom of this post you can answer some questions to find out which of my top 5 characters you are most like. So stay tuned or, if you’re not in the reading mood, just scroll all the way down and find out!

Now let’s dive in!

#1 Kate Bishop

“Being a hero isn’t just for people who can fly and shoot lasers out of their hands. It’s for anyone that’s brave enough to do what’s right, no matter the cost.”

How could I not give this character first place? Kate Bishop is funny, talented and just really cool. This character made her first appearance in the MCU in 2021 in the Disney+ show Hawkeye in which she starred alongside titular star Jeremy Renner. Since the moment Hailee Steinfeld was announced as our Kate, she’s been a fan favorite.

In a show with big MCU characters like Yelena Belova and Clint Barton, Hailee managed to carry the show like a pro as a co-lead. Her character is witty and stands her own surrounded by literal heroes and villains.

I absolutely love her dynamic with Clint Barton. Their mentor/ protégé relationship gives me life and I love how Clint tries to shut her out to protect her at the start, but slowly warms up to her as the show continues.

Another dynamic I absolutely adore is between Kate Bishop and Yelena Belova. Their quips and bickering made for interesting scenes and dialogue. The both of them are so different in terms of experience, mindset and history but their pair together in this iconic duo.

Since 2021 Kate Bishop has not yet been seen in any other projects and there is no confirmed word of where she’ll appear next.

According to IMDb, she’s rumored to appear in the Avengers: The Kang Dynasty movie (2026), which is currently the only project in the database with her rumored appearance. There is reason to believe she’ll be featured in one of the following projects as well:

– Avengers: secret wars (release: may 7, 2027)

– Hawkeye season 2 (not a confirmed project)

– Echo miniseries (possible appearance)

Even though nothing has been confirmed yet, I’m sure we’ll see more of Kate Bishop very soon as she was a huge audience favorite since her first appearance and has a future with the Young Avengers.

#2 Nadine Franklin - The Edge Of Seventeen

“I just had a horrible thought… I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life with myself.”

This movie is the epitome of ‘coming of age’, but instead of the romanticized, happy version, it’s the miserable, done with life, teen drama version.

“Ever since we were little, I would get this feeling like… Like I’m floating outside of my body, looking down at myself… And I hate what I see… How I’m acting, the way I sound. And I don’t know how to change it. And I’m so scared… That the feeling is never gonna go away.”

Nadine struggles with herself, her future and the social aspect of life. She’s not sure about what she wants and makes rather rash decisions. She acts on impulse and later regrets her actions (or the text she sent ;)). She’s lonely but also doesn’t care enough to actually try and make new friends. She feels that very teenage-y feeling that she’s different and nobody gets her.

“You see, I don’t really have any friends, at the moment, and, to be completely honest with you, I’m not interested. At all.”

This movie was released in 2016 and features a cast with a very nice mix between known and unknown actors. In the lead we have Hailee Steinfeld at 19 years old playing Nadine. Her teacher, and go-to person to rant about her day, Mr. Bruner is played by Woody Harrelson. Nadine’s childhood best friend Krista is played by Haley Lu Richardson and her brother is portrayed by Blake Jenner.

My proudest moment is honestly that I watched this film on the literal edge of seventeen. I started watching in bed the night before my 18th birthday and it ended after midnight on my birthday. Still a really proud moment, the best decision I made, very satisfying. Anyways… On to the next character!

#3 Megan Walsh - Barely Lethal

“She better bring fire! She better bring thunder! She better bring hell! Just tell her to bring it before 10: 30, I’ve got a curfew.”

This movie is honestly so underrated in my opinion. Is it a little bit cringey? maybe. But I love it anyway. The cast is literally perfect: Hailee Steinfeld, Dove Cameron and Samuel L. Jackson; The best unexpected pairing.

The plot is anything you’d want from a movie: teenage special ops agent on a mission faking her own death and trying to live a highschool life, then having to reveal her identity to save everyone… I mean… I could literally watch every movie with a plot along these lines.

Megan Walsh grew up at ‘Prescott Academy’: a school that trains orphans from a young age to become special ops agents and be sent on missions. Megan, also called agent 83, was one of the top agents at Prescott, but she couldn’t help but miss a normal high school life. When a certain mission goes downhill, she sees the perfect opportunity to try and live a normal life. She goes through an exchange program to live with a host family and enrolls in a high school where she finds out that the ‘normal’ life comes with its own entire set of struggles.

Megan’s host sister Liz, played by Dove Cameron, isn’t immediately welcoming to her new sister. I love the way their relationship evolves over the course of the movie. Hailee Steinfeld and Dove Cameron are such an unexpected but nice duo.

The posters of this movie are great, but my favorite one is this one below. It’s simple, yet girly, and still conveys the vibe of the movie.

#4 Emily Junk - Pitch Perfect

“All I’ve ever wanted is to be one of you, not a legacy, but a Bella”

Pitch Perfect is just so iconic and so rewatchable. I think the first movie might have been my favorite, but the second is close because of Hailee in it.

Her character Emily is the daughter of a former Barden Bella. Emily meets up with the Bella’s to ask them if she would be able to join the group and after finding out she’s a ‘Legacy’, they have to at least consider it. Emily is an innocent bright girl with a love for songwriting.

Fan opinions on Hailee’s character haven’t all been positive. After the success of Pitch Perfect 1, not everyone liked another Bella in the group. There is about a 10 year age difference between Hailee and some of the actresses, which made for an interesting dynamic. From a production point of view, it is understandable that the writers needed to plant a seed for the future of the Bella’s. The OG’s were getting a bit old to be playing university students, and Becca, the lead Bella played by Anna Kendrick, was already planning to leave the group. In the end, Pitch Perfect 3 fortunately still contained our OG’s + Hailee and wrapped up this trilogy really nicely.

Before we move on to the next character, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite performances in these films.

#5 Gwen Stacy - Spider-Man

“How’s the manhunt for me going?”

I’m gonna admit something… I’ve only watched across the spider verse and not into the spider verse. But I did really love it. Gwen Stacy is great. She’s a real hero and a loyal partner. I watched the movie in the theater and had to wipe away a little tear during her talk with her dad.

Hailee’s voice adds a really emotional side to Gwen. I love those little vulnerable moments she nails. She sounds youthful and strong. I can’t wait for the next movie with Miles Morales and Gwen.

Hailee hasn’t done much voice recording yet in her career, but she obviously has the talent for it. One other character she voiced beside Gwen Stacy was Vi in the Netflix series Arcane. I hope we get to hear more of her in different projects!

#6 Emily Dickinson- Dickinson

We’ll go through the next five characters a little faster. Let’s admit we’re all just really excited for the quiz.

Another Emily on Hailee’s roster. Dickinson is a modern period drama and Hailee plays the titular character: poet Emily Dickinson. Can’t say I’ve watched the entire show, but from what I’ve seen, her character is a really relatable teen trying to be herself in a world full of expectations.

In my opinion Hailee really fits in this historical world of big dresses and pretty hairstyles. You know that thing people say about some people just having a 20th century face so they don’t fit in such a show? Hailee is a good example of someone whose face does fit this period.

#7 Violet - Begin again

Begin Again is a 2013 musical comedy-drama film starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. Hailee plays Ruffalo’s 14-year old daughter who plays the guitar.

One of the songs on the soundtrack: ‘Tell me if you wanna go home’ includes Hailee Steinfeld on guitar alongside Keira Knightley’s singing and Mark Ruffalo’s Bass.

#8 Juliet - Romeo & Juliet

Hailee filmed this movie at 15! years old. She looks absolutely stunning as Juliet alongside Douglas Booth as Romeo.

#9 Mattie Ross - True Grit

True Grit is a western featuring Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld. This movie was Hailee’s first theatrical release and successful one at that. She was nominated for a BAFTA for best leading actress in this film at just 13 years old!

#10 Charlie - Bumblebee

Gonna be totally honest again. I have not seen this film, but it made the list because of how good she looks… And also because her original song in this movie’s soundtrack: ‘Back to life’ is really good.

In this 6th movie in the Transformers movie series, Hailee plays 18-year old Charlie Watson. She was nominated twice for this role: once by the Teen Choice Awards and once by the Saturn awards

Alright! That was my top 10. Do you agree? Which other roles would you add to the list?

Now onto the most exciting part: the quiz! I’ve put together a quiz that will tell you which of my top 5 in this list of characters you are. Just answer these nine questions and see your answer!

Hailee Steinfeld – Headlinerz