Barkhad Abdi

Somali-born Barkhad Abdi gave one of the most indelible performances of 2013, playing a real-life pirate who overtook an American freighter in the harrowing thriller "Captain Phillips" from director Paul Greengrass. Despite having never acted before, Abdi's soulful presence underscored the desperation of hijacker Abduwali Muse, who abducted American captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) in an ill-fated attempt to gain a fortune in ransom money. Like the Cambodian doctor Haing S. Ngor did for his role in "The Killing Fields" (1984), Abdi drew on his own real-life experiences as a witness to the violence in Somalia for his performance and earned an Oscar nomination for his efforts. In the process, Abdi not only delivered a stellar performance which launched a promising acting career, but also put a sympathetic face on the conditions that drove many of his countrymen to commit criminal acts like those depicted in the film.