As The A.V. Club continues to toast the very best TV had to offer this year, it turns now to the performances that really made their respective series sing, be it of a total creep bilking his way into high society, a single mother scraping by during World War II, or a committed (and occasionally charming) IRA member. (Interestingly, two of these turns are in series that didn’t quite crack AVC’s top 25 shows countdown.) And lest that all sounds a bit heavy, this list also tackles the toughest TV question from the past 12 months: Of the dearly departed What We Do In The Shadows’ ridiculously stacked ensemble, which actor most deserves a shout-out? Here, in alphabetical order, are the strongest small-screen performances of 2024.
Jacob Anderson, Interview With The Vampire
Emotionally, Interview With The Vampire’s second season puts Jacob Anderson’s Louis de Pointe du Lac through the wringer: In flashbacks, he strives to find his footing in Paris, manages a rebellious teen vampire, proves himself to a group of theatrical vamps, mourns his assumedly dead (and decidedly toxic) lover, and opens himself up to the possibility of a new one. And in the present, while narrating those experiences, he recovers memories that reframe the tale he’s been telling himself for all these years. It’s a lot—and it all clicks thanks to Anderson’s delicately balanced and wide-ranging performance, the kind that sticks to your ribs long after the credits roll. [Saloni Gajjar]
Sarayu Blue, Expats
Sarayu Blue has had an impressive career so far, but Expats finally let her true talent shine. In Lulu Wang’s adaptation of Janice Y.K. Lee’s novel, she’s able to go toe-to-toe with both a legend (Nicole Kidman) and an exciting young star (Ji Young-yoo). The show’s version of Blue’s character, Hilary, which is markedly different than the book’s, is unlike most adult women of Indian origin seen on TV: She’s independent and assertive, putting up a defense to avoid dealing with her emotional damage while trying to hold her life together. Blue poignantly (and delightfully) drops Hilary’s tough layers when required, like during a tipsy conversation with her maid, a spontaneous dance with Kidman’s Margaret, or a reality check with her parents. And the actor helps make Hilary—and Expats, in turn—that much more multifaceted. [Saloni Gajjar]
Anthony Boyle, Say Nothing
Few actors have had a year like Anthony Boyle. In 2024, he was all over the small screen in series like Masters Of The Air, Manhunt, and Shardlake. But his crowning achievement has to be Say Nothing, in which he played the young Provisional IRA officer Brendan Hughes. Belfast-born himself, Boyle is a natural fit in the role of the charming, man-of-the-people foot soldier opposite the cool and calculating commander Gerry Adams (Josh Finan). It’s hard to take your eyes off him any time he’s on-screen, but his acting chops are perhaps most on display in “Tout,” wherein Hughes has to deal with traitors in his ranks. Boyle deftly balances the responsibility of Hughes’ leadership with the anguish he feels about having to make that most difficult of choices—and it’s all written on his face. [Mary Kate Carr]
Natasia Demetriou, What We Do In The Shadows
Picking just one performer to highlight in one of the best comedy ensembles on TV is always tricky. But, in the case of What We Do In The Shadows, it gets easier with every re-watch of the scene from “Headhunting,” the second episode of the show’s final season, in which Natasia Demetriou cheerfully declares “Mmm, mama’s go-go juice!” in her best faux-human voice while pouring an entire pot of coffee on the floor. Demetriou shone in this season of Shadows, as her vampire badass Nadja’s fascination with the human world provided frequent scenes of her blissfully failing to blend in. Just as importantly, Shadows‘ last run allowed Demetriou to prove herself as the sitcom’s ultimate utility player: Whether Nadja was serving as a wingman for energy vampires, providing emotional support to whiny mortals, or just stealing an entire episode by doing extended banana-as-phone schtick, Demetriou made every scene she popped up in better just by being there. [William Hughes]
Jodie Foster, True Detective: Night Country
Wasn’t it fun to see Jodie Foster doing police work again? The Silence Of The Lambs actor’s Emmy-winning turn as the gruff chief Liz Danvers alone justified the return of the HBO anthology series for a fourth season (its first since 2019). Playing the hardened skeptic to Kali Reis’ more spiritual trooper Evangeline Navarro, Foster delivered a must-watch performance as her character attempted (and often failed) to navigate the perma-dark of her small Alaskan town, a complicated relationship with her stepdaughter, and the gory details of this season’s central case. While the actor won’t be returning to this type of world (or, probably, this kind of role) any time soon, she certainly made her mark in her short time there. [Emma Keates]
Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer
Jessica Gunning was given a near-impossible task when she took on Martha in Baby Reindeer, but she aced it anyway (and won a well-deserved Emmy to boot). Both sympathetic and sinister in equal measure, Gunning added many layers of humanity to her “iPhoen”-obsessed antagonist—to the point that Richard Gadd’s inability to resist her became believable in turn. And despite all of the stalking and harassment, Gunning never saw her character as a black-and-white villain; “She’s so much more than that,” the actor told Vanity Fair. It was this radical empathy that made her performance transcendent. And that laugh? That’s one for the history books. [Emma Keates]
Minha Kim, Pachinko
It’s remarkable what Minha Kim achieves solely through her expressions in Pachinko. And when she does speak, her delivery is gentle yet pointed and always engaging. Which is all to say that this is the most quietly moving TV performance of the year. The actor anchored season one as a young Sunja, still blossoming after an unexpected pregnancy, new marriage, and moving to a different country. By the time season two rolls around, Kim seems more self-assured and grounded on-screen, just like her character: Sunja, now a single mother of two, works hard to earn a living while reconnecting with a former flame during World War II. The circumstances are demanding and so is the role—and Kim brings a natural gravitas to it, further cementing herself as Pachinko’s linchpin in the process. [Saloni Gajjar]
Ken Leung, Industry
In season three of HBO’s ambitious financial drama, co-creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay threw a lot at Ken Leung’s character, Eric Tao, a veteran shark at an investment firm, including plenty of lows (coke and booze binges, an incredibly pricey prostitute at a work conference, awful parenting) and highs (a seat at the big-boys’ table upstairs, the thrill of a chaotic sale, that coke-session clarity before the hangover kicks in). Eric isn’t exactly the anchor of the show (at this point, as Industry playfully moves characters to the front and back burner, it almost feels like no one is), but his philosophy, expressed in the devastating episode “Useful Idiot,” just might be: “I don’t believe in anything. I believe in a trade—when it works, when it stops working.” That Eric, whose eyes are always calculating the next move, is able to both stick to that credo and surprise viewers with a heartless backstab after a glimpse of humanity is a real testament to the talents of Leung, a performer co-star Harry Lawtey champions as “the most underrated actor in America.” [Tim Lowery]
Anna Sawai, Shōgun
If Shōgun has a beating heart, it’s Anna Sawai’s Lady Toda Mariko. She initially seems like just the bridge connecting Lord Toranaga and John Blackthorne. But thankfully, she quickly morphs into a critical part of the series. Shōgun’s writing delicately explores her complicated marriage, immense faith, devotion to Toranaga, and budding feelings for Blackthorne. As Mariko grapples with the changes in her life, she finds her identity and confidence—and it’s a shift that Sawai subtly and brilliantly brings to life as a performer. Watching her lose herself in the character (especially near the season’s end) was one of the many pleasures of Shōgun (as was the star-in-the-making’s critical acclaim and Emmy win). [Saloni Gajjar]
Andrew Scott, Ripley
Andrew Scott’s performance in Ripley is, obviously, about performance, as his titular character pretends to be people he’s not while he scams his way around Italy, always studying the reactions of bank tellers, police officers, train conductors, concierge, and landladies to see whether his turn as, say, silver-spooned (and very deceased) expat Dickie Greenleaf is believable. It’s a tricky calibration, and Scott (matching Steven Zaillian’s scripts) never lets too much of any side—the “real” Tom, the Toms he’s invented, Dickey, and all of that buried rage and jealousy—to the fore in public. If there’s a glint in his eyes recognizing that he’s in danger, he quickly composes himself, shifting into a soft-voiced, gentle man who seems almost childlike in his curiosity. And it’s a captivating balancing act to witness, especially when the grifter is confronted by Freddie (Eliot Sumner) in a jig-is-up sequence that unfolds almost like a play and is followed by an exhausting murder coverup for the ages. [Tim Lowery]