Dylan O’Brien, “Saturday Night”
Playing historical figures is never easy. That’s a given. But playing a historical figure who was a comedian on television is often much more difficult (don’t worry, we’ll explain why). Imagine then, Dyan O’Brien, who has dipped his toes in comedy here and there, pulling off an homage to “SNL” legend Dan Aykroyd that avoids the pratfalls of imitation but is distinctly Akroyd. Again, this is hard. Especially considering how distinctive Akroyd’s vocal and physical mannerisms are. And, how those attributes were engrained into the characters he played himself for decades. Several of O’Briend’s co-stars earned praise for portraying “SNL” alumni in the flick, including Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, but O’Brien was the special sauce who somehow didn’t earn the acclaim he genuinely deserved. – GE
Renate Reinsve, “Armand”
There is a sequence in Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel’s tense parent-teacher drama where Elizabeth, portrayed by Reinsve, laughs for almost 10 minutes straight. For the majority of the scene, the camera does not cut from her. And at the end of the emotional outburst, Elizabeth collapses in tears. It is a startling moment from an actress who continues to astound. In “Armand” she portrays a mother attempting to defend her young son from an accusation that is essentially a “he said – he said” scenario. As she steps into the school, Elizabeth is the sort of woman who has little patience for games. But as the afternoon progresses, she is soon sucked into a web of hearsay that puts both her and her family on the brink. Despite Tøndel’s impressive direction, Reinsve often has to carry the film on her shoulders. She does so magnificently. Now, if only moviegoers in the United States could see it. – GE
Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”
A veteran television actor in the United Kingdom, Gunning’s life has been forever changed by her role in Richard Gadd‘s breakthrough “We’re not calling it a true story anymore” drama. As Martha, Gunning portrays a woman who can talk to anyone. She seems as though she could charm almost anyone. This is someone who knows what buttons to push. But, in reality, almost everything she says is a lie or exaggeration. And when the audience learns this early on in the series, Gunning still finds ways to generate genuine sympathy for her. The real woman she is based on, Fiona Muir-Harvey, has sued Gadd and Netflix over her portrayal in the program. The irony is that Gunning has portrayed her more compassionately than how Muir-Harvey presents herself in public. Gunning’s performance and talents are a gift. And thankfully, the majority of the world sees it. – GE
Anna Sawai, “Shogun”
If you read James Clavell’s novel or saw the original 1980 mini-series (highly unlikely), you know the fate of Sawai’s character, Toda Mariko. In fact, anyone who has studied Japanese history closely knows what happened to the real-life woman Mariko is based on, Hosokawa Gracia. Once the show was broken down, the ninth episode, the effective climax of the season, hinges on Sawai’s performance. The New Zealand-born actress needed to knock it out of the park. She accomplished more than that, she broke every viewer’s heart. – GE
Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall, “One Day”
For every episode of “One Day,” Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall, had to track their character aging one year more. 14 years from the late ’80s to the early 2000s. As Emma, Mod brought to life a woman who doesn’t know what she wants until she finds it was genuinely in front of her the whole time. As Dexter, Woodall has to grow up out of his party-fueled 20s before it’s too late. This romance climaxes in a tearjerker of epic proportions but only because Mod and Woodall make it so. The duo makes you completely believe this unlikely duo are soulmates or as close to soulmates that exist in real life. Moreover, you have to keep rooting for them when it’s clear they should have gotten together years, and we mean years, prior. That’s no easy feat. We only wish there could be a sequel. – GE
