This week’s pair of Hypable Honors performances couldn’t be more different, but that’s what makes television so spectacular.
It just goes to show, no matter whether you’re playing a pirate on the high seas or a doctor just trying to help his wife through a tough time, being able to play a scene honestly will never cease to catch our eye.
It doesn’t matter whether a character is one you love or just love to hate, a great performance will stand out no matter what. That’s what this week’s chosen pair of Hypable Honors recipients have in common. They might be polar opposites on screen, but they both do great work every week and have us excited to see more.
Check out this week’s selections for Hypable Honors and let us know in the comments below who you think had the best performance of the week!
Hypable Honors
Show: ‘Black Sails’
Actor: Toby Stephens
Black Sails returned this week and Toby Stephens as Captain Flint drew us right into the action. Flint is a pretty complex character. He’s not really a hero, the underdog, the antihero, or the person you love to hate, so much as he’s any one of those things moment-by moment. You alternatively don’t know whether to cheer that he’s on schedule to retrieve the Urca de Lima’s gold, or to want to shove the gold down his throat bit-by-bit until he chokes on it, and dies a painful death.
One of the best aspects of Stephen’s performance is that he can be truly funny, yet not over-the-top in life and death situations. The scene where he’s telling John Silver who to shoot, and Silver backtalks him not wanting to have to get into hand-to-hand combat is hilarious. Watching Flint tied to a chair screaming, “What the fuck did you think was going to happen?” makes you want to root for Flint and Silver to succeed even though they are two of the most manipulative characters on the show.
The other thing that makes Stephen’s performance great is that he can deliver a rousing “rally the men” monologue with grit and conviction. After he delivers this speech to men who would just as soon kill him, you understand why they come around to his side, “There’s no way of approaching that beach from the land. And even if it weren’t for the soldiers, and even if it weren’t for the guns; there’s a fucking warship watching over every inch of the bay. A fucking warship that’s already killed half your number. A fucking warship that will prevent any approach to that beach via the sea. There’s simply no way of stealing that gold. But there might be something else you can steal. The fucking warship.”
Show: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Actor: Jesse Williams
Jackson Avery has not had it easy since he arrived at Seattle Grace. He’s lost lovers, mentors, and friends to mass murderers, plane crashes, and more. Just when it looks like things might finally work out for him, he gets dealt another terrible blow.
Watching Jesse Williams portray Jackson Avery’s happiest and saddest moments over six seasons has been a privilege, as he has always given everything to every scene. Watching him interrupt April’s wedding last season and the happiness they finally began to build together was truly a pleasure. Now that things have shifted into the ‘hard to live and deal with’ category again, he’s more impressive than ever.
Jesse’s ability to break down with little more than his own thoughts to push him there was absolutely haunting. As if the situation with his character’s unborn child’s health isn’t hard enough, all he wants to do is be there for his wife and give her whatever she needs. April, being the difficult, stubborn soul she is, just wants to throw herself into her work and save as many lives as she can. He is nearly powerless in the situation and Jesse paints that weakness, and his horror to be feeling it, with such subtle and realistic honesty.
We couldn’t ask for a better match for Sara Drew’s Kepner, and we know that whatever comes of this tragic storyline with their child, these two characters have what it takes to go the distance. We will undoubtedly be emotionally scarred by their impressive performances as the actors take this kind of pain to a new place, but hopefully, in the end, they find a way to make beauty in the pain.
