Performer of the Week: Eddie Redmayne

THE PERFORMER | Eddie Redmayne

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THE SHOW | Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal

THE EPISODE | “Episode 9” (Dec. 12, 2024)

THE PERFORMANCE | By design, the Jackal is not someone you can get to know very well. The elusive assassin at the heart of Peacock’s pulse-pounding thriller specializes in not getting caught, using an array of gadgets and disguises to avoid detection. But there is a real person underneath all those disguises, of course, and Eddie Redmayne slowly but surely revealed that humanity across Jackal’s 10 episodes — especially in the penultimate episode, when the Jackal, aka Charles, was forced to reckon with the vast damage his line of work has done to the people he loves.

Episode 9 opened with Charles in business mode, closing in on his latest target, the tech billionaire known as UDC. Before he went to work, though, he spent some time with his family, with Redmayne displaying an endearing sweetness as Charles tenderly played with a toy plane with his baby. But then he was confronted by his wife Nuria — and Úrsula Corberó matched Redmayne step for step — with her calling him a liar and demanding to know what he really did for a living.

“You kill people for money?” she asked, and Redmayne maintained a detached cool as Charles tried to calm her down. He admitted he does, but Nuria ordered him to say the words, repeatedly, and Redmayne let the rage and frustration inside Charles boil over as he repeated it, over and over again, until he finally screamed in her face: “I kill people for money! Is that what you want to hear? Is that enough?” He said it with such force that Nuria’s hair literally blew back from it… and we were blown away, too.

Charles and Nuria later mended fences, and the warmth Redmayne showed in those scenes gave us a glimpse of what Nuria saw in Charles in the first place. But eventually, he had to go back to work, and we just about held our breath through the entire sequence as Charles managed to pull off an impossible sniper shot and kill a swimming UDC from a distant fishing boat, with Redmayne effortlessly playing the role of action hero. Well, maybe we shouldn’t call the Jackal a hero… but we have to admit we did find ourselves rooting for him, and that’s the ultimate compliment we can pay to Redmayne’s densely layered, utterly human performance.

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

HONORABLE MENTION: Mark Duplass

The Creep Tapes saved its best for last, giving Mark Duplass yet another unsettling showcase for his unhinged serial killer. Upon Josef’s visit to his mom’s, we couldn’t decide which scene disturbed us the most: the actor’s childlike temper tantrums, his waxing poetic about “connections” that end badly (stop killing people, guy!), or perhaps his nonchalant delivery of “I liked him, too!” after sticking an axe into his mom’s boyfriend’s head. We knew Duplass was skilled at playing a psychopath, but here, he brought the insanity to the next level. By allowing us to peek in on Josef’s repulsive family life (the ending is one you gotta see to believe!), the actor was able to tap into the character’s unpredictable murderous rage like never before. Consider us very creeped out. — Nick Caruso

HONORABLE MENTION: Kelly Reilly

In Yellowstone’s penultimate episode, Reilly was afforded one opportunity after another to reveal the Beth that Beth could be if she wasn’t constantly on the attack. And to say that the actress made the most of the chances would be an understatement. She was hilarious to the nth degree as her alter ego fought her revulsion to series co-creator Taylor Sheridan’s piggish Travis to enlist his help in buying time for the ranch. And she displayed a rarely seen sensitive side as Beth asked Teeter out to blow off some steam in the wake of boyfriend Colby’s death. (That their night on the town didn’t do the trick — like, at all — only made the endeavor that much sweeter and funnier.) But where Reilly really blew us away was in Beth’s interaction with Daddy’s ex-lover, Lynelle. Reilly exposed untold growth on her character’s part as she laid down her arms and invited John’s former boo to his funeral. This was monumental progress for Beth, but as played by Reilly, who knows the firebrand inside and out, the twist seemed as natural and incremental as a series of baby steps. — Charlie Mason

HONORABLE MENTION: Tom Selleck and Edward James Olmos

Across 293 Blue Bloods episodes, Tom Selleck’s Frank Reagan made an art of coaxing people do his bidding. But in the series finale, the commish nearly met his match in guest star Edward James Olmos’ Lorenzo Batista. In two scenes totally nearly eight minutes, Olmos was magnetic as an inmate who scoffed at Frank’s proffering of “blurry video, and a Judas” that might indict his gang member son; where others might play such a role with noisy bravado, Olmos instead quietly, effortlessly rebuffed the PC. For this secret parlay, Selleck in turn put a bit of mustard on Frank’s usual spiel, especially when he noted that the guards would not come running to release Batista from this negotiation. Instead, it was up to the con to spare his son a ride on “the next train to Hell,” Frank made clear. A compelling showcase for Selleck and a fine, final guest star. — Matt Webb Mitovich

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

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