I have loved Murray Bartlett's breakout last few years! His performance (along with Nick Offerman's) in that one beautiful episode of The Last of Us was one of my favorite things on TV in the last few years.
Oh man, this was a tough one. It made me realize how many of my faves were late-2010s (Justina Machado in One Day at a Time, Jared Harris in Chernobyl, Jharrel Jerome in When They See Us, Will Arnett in BoJack Horseman).
I'll add two of my personal favourites:
Jacob Anderson as Louis in Interview With the Vampire. That whole cast is excellent but Anderson has entirely reinvented that character and made him so much more than who he was in the novel.
Claes Bang in Bad Sisters. I didn't know it was possible to make a man so hateable yet palpably real in ways that both irritated and upset me.
This is a great list! I would say Tramell Tillman in Severance or Stellan Skarsgard in Andor, who give incredible performances that both really encapsulate the show around them.
I nominate Kathryn Hahn in WandaVision/Agatha All Along. She played a character throughout 400+ years of existence and multiple personality shifts to perfection.
I also nominate Matt Bomer in Fellow Travelers. Jonathan Bailey has been killing it, with his FT-Wicked-Bridgerton trifecta, but Bomer had the harder role in FT. And his turn from steely, tortured Hawkins Fuller of FT to the flighty, warm Jerry Frank of Midcentury Modern was impressive.
Good choice! Also, Kathryn Hahn is great in absolutely everything. (Although I found her performance in "The Studio," which I otherwise loved, a bit over the top.)
It definitely feels like one of those shows compressed from a longer length, and the ending kind of doesn't exist. But I think it's a must for sports fans, and like a lot of shows and movies about the earlier years of this century, it correctly forecasts the current political climate. Ed O'Neill and Jacki Weaver are both excellent as the central couple -- I really can't even look at O'Neill the same way again, and that's even with the fond memories of Al Bundy. He's really great in adding dimensions to a scumbag, but more than that, it's not too explicit, but there's a really gross emphasis on O'Neill's body, which feels both cruel, but perhaps merited. Probably not one of the best shows of the year when the dust settles, but plenty to appreciate and analyze.
I have loved Murray Bartlett's breakout last few years! His performance (along with Nick Offerman's) in that one beautiful episode of The Last of Us was one of my favorite things on TV in the last few years.
Oh man, this was a tough one. It made me realize how many of my faves were late-2010s (Justina Machado in One Day at a Time, Jared Harris in Chernobyl, Jharrel Jerome in When They See Us, Will Arnett in BoJack Horseman).
I'll add two of my personal favourites:
Jacob Anderson as Louis in Interview With the Vampire. That whole cast is excellent but Anderson has entirely reinvented that character and made him so much more than who he was in the novel.
Claes Bang in Bad Sisters. I didn't know it was possible to make a man so hateable yet palpably real in ways that both irritated and upset me.
I'm watching this now and was thinking the same thing!
I have to check out "Interview With the Vampire"!
This is a great list! I would say Tramell Tillman in Severance or Stellan Skarsgard in Andor, who give incredible performances that both really encapsulate the show around them.
Great calls on both! Both of those shows are deep in excellent performances.
Absolutely! I could have easily picked out six other ones in either show.
I nominate Kathryn Hahn in WandaVision/Agatha All Along. She played a character throughout 400+ years of existence and multiple personality shifts to perfection.
I also nominate Matt Bomer in Fellow Travelers. Jonathan Bailey has been killing it, with his FT-Wicked-Bridgerton trifecta, but Bomer had the harder role in FT. And his turn from steely, tortured Hawkins Fuller of FT to the flighty, warm Jerry Frank of Midcentury Modern was impressive.
Good choice! Also, Kathryn Hahn is great in absolutely everything. (Although I found her performance in "The Studio," which I otherwise loved, a bit over the top.)
I guess I'm gonna be the only one, but, Ed O'Neill in CLIPPED! Odious portrayal of an odious man, but so many layers of awful!
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I heard mixed things about this show, but am very curious to see this performance!
It definitely feels like one of those shows compressed from a longer length, and the ending kind of doesn't exist. But I think it's a must for sports fans, and like a lot of shows and movies about the earlier years of this century, it correctly forecasts the current political climate. Ed O'Neill and Jacki Weaver are both excellent as the central couple -- I really can't even look at O'Neill the same way again, and that's even with the fond memories of Al Bundy. He's really great in adding dimensions to a scumbag, but more than that, it's not too explicit, but there's a really gross emphasis on O'Neill's body, which feels both cruel, but perhaps merited. Probably not one of the best shows of the year when the dust settles, but plenty to appreciate and analyze.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
Interesting to think of it as a harbinger of the current moment. Let a thousand rich racist dullards bloom!