Rosamund Pike has had many iconic screen roles thus far in her career but what the best of the best according to the critics?

Rosamund Pike first rose into prominence playing the Bond villainess Miranda Frost in Pierce Brosnan's final 007 outing, Die Another Day. Since then, she has had a very consistent career, appearing in supporting roles for the next decade. She finally rose to leading lady status thanks to her powerhouse performance as Amy Elliot Dunne in David Fincher's Gone Girl.

With the 2020 release of I Care a Lot, Pike has achieved her second-highest rated film on review site Rotten Tomatoes. Throughout her career, she's appeared in everything from comedy films, to action thrillers, to period pieces, and she's done it all with the undeniable talent she first showed almost twenty years ago.

10 Barney's Version - 78%

Paul Giamatti plays the titular character in this 2010 comedy, based on the novel by Mordecai Richler. Barney, already a widower, meets Miriam, played by Pike, at his lavish second wedding and immediately falls in love with her. After discovering his wife in bed with his best friend, Barney gets a divorce and marries Miriam, fathering two children with her.

Pike plays the traditional wife character with a lot more gumption than the script provides. The film itself is a genuine and often heartwarming exploration of romance, but it completely belongs to Giamatti, who delivers an impressive performance that earned him the 2011 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.

9 Made In Dagenham - 80%

Starring Sally Hawkins, Made in Dagenham tells the story of Rita O'Grady, who successfully leads the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike. Pike plays her close friend, Lisa Hopkins, a beautiful and seemingly trophy wife who's far sharper and more intuitive than anyone gives her credit for.

The film, a traditional feel-good movie, never tries to be anything more, but it'd quite good at what it is. And Pike, despite her limited screen time, as this is truly a Sally Hawkins vehicle, manages to shine in the moments she does have, providing her character with enough depth to compensate for her lack of impact on the plot.

8 Beirut - 82%

Pike received considerable praise for her performance in this 2018 political thriller film. She plays the role of Sandy Crowder, a CIA field officer working undercover at the American Embassy in Beirut and tasked with protecting former US diplomat Mason Skiles, played by Jon Hamm.

After premiering at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the film was released worldwide in April of 2018, but only managed to raise $7.5 million at the box-office. Positive critical reviews centered on the two leads' performance, without excusing the film's most glaring flaws.

7 A United Kingdom - 84%

Pike played the role of Ruth Williams Khama, the wife of Seretse Khama, Botswana's first president, in this 2016 biographical film. The plot centers on the couple's relationship, and the difficulties it faces as an interracial marriage in less accepting times.

The movie is an effective retelling of the real-life romance that chooses to center on the love between them. Pike co-starred opposite David Oyelowo, receiving positive reviews for her performance.

6 Pride & Prejudice - 86%

Pike's second prominent movie role after Die Another Day, 2005's Pride & Prejudice was a huge success, both critically and commercially. She played the role of the eldest Bennet sister, Jane, who ends up marrying the rich and kind Charles Bingley.

The actress received acclaim for her take on the classic Austen character. Playing Jane with incredible and genuine vulnerability, Pike wowed audiences, who last saw her playing femme fatale Miranda Frost. Her performance in this film would mean another breakthrough for her, perhaps a more effective one than that provided by her participation in the 2002 Bond film.

5 Gone Girl - 87%

Pike's most prominent and critically acclaimed role came in 2014 when she starred in David Fincher's adaptation of Gillian Flynn's 2012 novel. Playing the titular character of Amy Elliott Dunne, Pike beat several other actresses for the coveted role, including Reese Witherspoon. Complex, deceitful, dangerous, and extremely alluring, Pike's Amy is one of the best thriller roles of the last decade.

For her tour-de-force performance, Pike received universal acclaim and several nominations, including one for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The character of Amy proved popular with audiences too, who continue to root for her to this day, even though she's the clear antagonist of the film.

4 A Private War - 88%

Taking on the difficult role of war journalist Marie Colvin, Pike shone in this 2018 biographical film, co-starring Jamie Dornan. Based on a Vanity Fair article, the film centers around Colvin's incredible and dangerous life in the middle of high-profile and potentially life-threatening conflicts and Colvin, in fact, died in 2012, in Homs, Syria, as a result of the explosion and subsequent pile of rubble that fell on them.

For her role, Pike was critically lauded and received a 2019 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama.

3 The World's End - 89%

The third and final film in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, after Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, The World's End is once again directed by Edgar Wright, and stars both Simon Pegg and Nick Frost alongside a cast that includes Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine and, of course, Pike.

She plays Sam Chamberlain, Freeman's character's sister, in this film about a group of high school friends who reunite to do a pub crawl of the twelve pubs in their hometown, culminating in the World's End. While not as successful as its two predecessors, The World's End still received positive reviews, with most of them focusing on the strength of its impressive cast.

2 I Care A Lot - 93%

Pike has wowed critics with her deliciously evil performance in this comedy thriller movie. Co-starring opposite Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, and Dianne Wiest, Pike plays Marla Grayson, a legal guardian who takes advantage of her elderly clients. When she tries to defraud a woman with deep ties to a powerful mobster, she lands herself on hot water.

Pike is even receiving early Oscar buzz for her performance, but with such a crowded Best Actress slate for 2021, it's most likely she won't nab the nomination. Still, this is yet another exemplary performance to add to her already crowded resumé.

1 An Education - 94%

One of the best films of 2009, An Education gave Carey Mulligan her breakthrough role and an Oscar nomination. The movie centers on Jenny Mellor, a promising school girl hoping to get into Oxford, who becomes entangled with David Goldman, a much older man, played by Peter Sarsgaard.

Pike plays Helen, the girlfriend of David's partner in crime, Danny. Beautiful and glamorous, but vain and vapid, Helen becomes a friend to Jenny but fails to warn her about David's lies and secrets, to Jenny's ultimate detriment. Although An Education belongs entirely to Mulligan, Pike still gives a spirited and charming performance, that contributes to the movie's ultimate success.

NEXT: The 10 Best Rachel Weisz Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Next Heroes That Can Become Villains In A Future MCU Movie