Performer of the Week: Titus Welliver
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THE PERFORMER | Titus Welliver
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THE SHOW | Bosch: Legacy
THE EPISODE | “Zzyzx” (Oct. 20, 2023)
THE PERFORMANCE | In the opening hour of Bosch: Legacy Season 2, as a bereft Harry broke down sobbing outside his truck, we penciled Welliver in for at least a Performer of the Week honorable mention.
But when our screener binge took us to Episode 2? Welliver became a lock for the whole shebang.
“While they negotiate with a psychotic f–k, time is running out on my daughter’s life!” roared Harry at J. Edgar upon learning that Maddie’s kidnapper, Dockweiler aka the Screen Cutter, had turned himself in. Here, Welliver struck a perfect balance of unchecked fury and earnestness, as Harry sincerely asked of his longtime colleague, “Tell me what I’m supposed to do. Tell me, what the f–k am I supposed to do…?”
Later, when the livestream of abducted Maddie went live and Harry laid eyes on it beside Mo, Welliver opted against any overly animated response, and instead showed us Harry simply taking in the harrowing video. But when Harry got to regard it in private, you saw every bit of sadness in the world fill the father’s eyes.
Harry getting in Dockweiler’s face? You saw the scene, you see the still photo above. Seldom if ever has Welliver shown us the onetime cop running so hot. “Listen to me, motherf–ker, you’ve got two chances to tell me the truth,” he hissed, hovering the business end of a pen near the rapist’s eyes. “Where is my daughter?!”
In the end, Harry (with big assists from Mo, Chandler and Jerry) managed to locate buried-alive Maddie, excavate her in the nick of time, and paternally cradle her in his arms. “I got you…. I got you…. I got you,” he repeated. And boy, are we glad he did.
Scroll to see who scored Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…
HONORABLE MENTION: Kelsey Grammer
Frasier may have been off the air for nearly two decades, but Kelsey Grammer has slipped right back into his signature role like an old pair of slippers… or like a well-worn tweed jacket with elbow patches, perhaps. Grammer showed off his impeccable comic timing this week as Frasier tried on a few outfits for his first day teaching at Harvard (“Is herringbone too whimsical?”), and he was hilariously goofy in the flashbacks to Frasier’s embarrassing daytime talk show, donning a ridiculous “thinking cap.” The highlight, though, was a despondent Frasier complaining that he’s “been turned into a puppet!” with Grammer feigning his arms and legs being pulled by puppet strings and giving us a masterclass in physical comedy. Even 40 years (!) after he first debuted in the role, Grammer is still finding new ways to make us laugh as Frasier Crane — and is still as sharp as ever.
HONORABLE MENTION: Bruce Greenwood
Roderick Usher? Total rich-guy scumbag. Bruce Greenwood, on the other hand? Gifted actor at the top of his game in Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher who expertly tricks us into caring about a total rich-guy scumbag. The Resident alum is fantastic throughout the horror series’ eight episodes, but we’d like to single out his work in the finale. In just over an hour, Greenwood showed us so many sides of the modern-day robber baron: tender regret as he talked with Annabel’s ghost in the church, gutting grief as he raged after the raven following Lenore’s death, brotherly pride while listening to Madeline give her final rant in the basement of their childhood home. But Greenwood made the end of Roderick’s confession to Dupin one of the most eerie moments of the entire season, putting cold steel into his voice as Usher admitted to knowing his ascent to power would leave a trail of corpses in its wake. Even in a show marked by ghosts and jump scares, a truly chilling moment thanks to Greenwood’s acting choices.
HONORABLE MENTION: Tara Strong
As Loki‘s cartoon clock showed her true face this week, Tara Strong‘s voice work added so much to the unnerving reveal. In her Season 2 debut, Miss Minutes started off as a darker shade of her usual self, nudging Ravonna into setting He Who Remains’ journey in motion, in 1868. But decades later, when Victor Timely and Revona took a shine to each other, Miss Minutes grew extremely irate, as evident in Strong’s razor-pointed line readings. And if Miss Minutes’ bid to clock-block Ravonna wasn’t uncanny enough, the way that she boldly came onto visionary Victor was real yikes! territory. Having first met through a love of chess, they became “more than friends,” Miss Minutes contended. “The war, the TVA, the eons after. I, alone, was by your side.” Working with such delicious dialogue, Strong clearly had a great… time.
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!
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