Performer of the Week: Norman Reedus

THE PERFORMER | Norman Reedus

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THE SHOW | AMC’s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

THE EPISODE | “Deux Amours” (Oct. 8, 2023)

THE PERFORMANCE | We owe the star of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon an apology. Reedus, who spent 11 seasons on the mothership before being given his own spinoff, is so consistent — and consistently compelling — that over the years, we have come to take for granted the subtlety with which he blends the gruffness and vulnerability that make his character so beloved. That’s on us.

This week, however, we hope to right our wrong, at least a little bit, by properly appreciating the actor’s performance in his series’ penultimate Season 1 episode. As so often is the case, he allowed Daryl’s sensitive side to peek through his tough-guy facade. There was a softness to Reedus’ eyes as his alter ego observed ward Laurent and worried that Sister Isabelle had raised him to be weak. That same tenderness was on display in Daryl’s dealings with the boy. Reedus kept his tone of voice matter-of-fact but in a gentle way that invited acceptance rather than ignited upset.

But the moment in which Reedus shined the brightest was the one in which Daryl discovered that Laurent had set adrift their getaway boat. First, our embattled protagonist raged at the child, with Reedus throwing words like they were punches. Then, when Laurent explained that he had only done what he had for fear of losing his protector, Daryl’s anger dissipated in spectacular fashion, his portrayer’s lip trembling from the sudden transition from fury to understanding.

It was, as they would put it in Daryl’s home away from home, c’est magnifique. (See for yourself in the video at the top of this post.)

Scroll down to see who scored Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…

HONORABLE MENTION: Emma Roberts

Given that her character exists in a never-ending cycle of confusion, fear and abuse, Emma Roberts hasn’t been afforded many “fun” opportunities on American Horror Story: Delicate… until now. The season’s fourth episode found Anna going viral with an over-the-top speech about bodily autonomy (“It’s my body, and I’ll get pregnant when I want to… which is now!”), flawlessly delivered with that delicious Roberts snark, exuding the same mesmerizing energy that previously drew us to her most popular Murphy-verse characters, from Madison Montgomery on AHS: Coven and Apocalypse to Chanel Oberlin on Fox’s Scream Queens.

HONORABLE MENTION: Kate Siegel

We know it’s not fair to play favorites among siblings, but we can’t help it: Camille L’Espanaye is the most entertaining of Roderick Usher’s children, and that’s because of the excellent work Siegel does in Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher. In Siegel’s hands, particularly in Episode 3, Camille is at once an eminently quotable master of sarcasm and a black hole of need; Siegel makes both facets of her character’s personality shine to beautiful perfection during her visit to Leo’s apartment after Perry’s death. Siegel seamlessly takes Camille from PR-maven-on-a-mission mode to what-does-it-all-really-mean-anyway wonder, gazing around with wide eyes as Camille’s edible kicks in. Siegel delivers her character’s cutting assessment of her siblings’ ineptitude with a bored callousness that she then turns on herself… while high… and pulls off a flawless coining of the term “Xbox Gatsby” to boot. No monkeying around: Siegel, a staple of Mike Flanagan’s productions, does not disappoint in his latest.

Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!

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