Yahoo Lifestyle Performer of the Week: Ken Leung
THE PERFORMER | Ken Leung
THE SHOW | Industry
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THE EPISODE | “Il Mattino ha L’Oro Bocca” (Aug. 11, 2024)
THE PERFORMANCE | In Industry’s third season premiere, Eric Tao’s life was falling apart. Bad news for him, but great news for his portrayer, who harnessed the character’s anxieties to deliver unhinged madness and mania straight out the gate.
When we reconvened with Eric, he was separated from his wife and trying to manage a serious drinking problem. He was promoted to partner at Pierpoint, though the accolades failed to brighten his mood; rather, the stress of it all sent him teetering over the edge. Leung donned a stern corporate demeanor in conversations with higher-ups, but we felt him cracking under pressure as he conversed with his team. The actor turned ice cold, particularly when Yasmin attempted to congratulate him on his new role. But later over drinks and lines of blow, Leung let Eric’s personal dramas melt away as he and his employee finally found common ground. As he giggled and rode the wave of his high, we sat witness to an actor expertly juggling complex feelings while peeling his character’s layers one by one.
When fresh hell met him the next morning (along with Adler’s strong encouragement to fire someone), the actor stiffened up and began to panic once Eric hit the trading floor. Pulling Robert aside for a tense talking-to, Leung unleashed, forcibly screaming in his grieving employee’s face to snap him out of it. He lost it in the best possible way, as his muddled emotions exploded like a geyser — eyes popping out, forehead vein pulsing, face chock-full of unbridled rage and machismo. We both pitied him and empathized.
When the axe finally fell on Kenny, Leung quickened his breathing as he fought to control Eric’s shame and talk himself off the ledge. While the newly appointed partner had been put through the wringer, the actor’s riveting performance served as quite the appetizer to what will surely be another (to quote the man himself) “relentless” season of HBO’s critical darling.
Scroll down to see who scored Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…
HONORABLE MENTION: AJ Buckley
The SEAL Team cast over six seasons have been no strangers to this Performer of the Week column, and with his work in the second episode of the military drama’s swan song, AJ Buckley — who was a POTW in 2019 and earned an Honorable Mention in 2022 — returns to the mix. Buckley’s Sonny was his usual entertaining self as Bravo labored to welcome to the fold Drew Franklin, even going so far as to bestow the grumpy add-on with Clay-like nicknames. But Buckley moved us in an entirely different way with Sonny’s courtroom testimony on behalf of the man partly responsible for Clay’s tragic death last season. With a dialed-down demeanor and a voice laden with emotion, Sonny paid tribute to his best friend’s memory by advocating for Ben’s second chance. Clay may be gone, but for those few moments, Buckley had us feeling the dearly departed character’s presence one last time. — Matt Webb Mitovich
HONORABLE MENTION: Kiera Thompson
It initially felt like Kiera Thompson’s Saffron would have a minor role as a standard obnoxious little sister on Time Bandits. But after Saffron surprisingly got her own time-travel subplot, this week put the spotlight on Thompson and proved just how talented the young actress is. Reunited with her brother, Kal-El Tuck’s Kevin, after he and the Time Bandits arrived in the Ice Age, Saffron turned out to have been completely embraced by a group of Neanderthals she’d been living with for nearly three years. She was still filled with attitude and sarcasm, but also showed a (slightly) more caring side. Sure, she lorded over Kevin that, thanks to time travel, she’s now the older — and taller and “superior” — sibling, but if someone else insults him, she warned, “That’s me brother!” It’s a tough balancing act to play the bratty sister yet keep her so endearing and funny, but Thompson managed just that. — Eric Goldman
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!
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