Performer of the Week: Rory Kinnear

Michael Ausiello

9 November 2024 at 10:00 am·4-min read

THE PERFORMER | Rory Kinnear

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THE SHOW | The Diplomat

THE EPISODE | “Our Lady of Immaculate Deception” (Oct. 31, 2024)

THE PERFORMANCE | Hell hath no fury like Rory Kinnear (acting) scorned.

In The Diplomat’s penultimate Season 2 episode, the Penny Dreadful alum delivered a master class in restrained rage as his character, British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge, reeled from the revelation that the call to bomb one of his country’s aircraft carriers came from inside the house. Making matters worse, various members of his inner circle — Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) among them — concealed the truth from him.

Trowbridge was a powder keg waiting to detonate when he summoned a trepidatious Kate to the study for a little postmortem chat.

Kinnear infused Trowbridge with a terrifyingly detached aura as he guided Kate through a beat-by-beat recap of his betrayal for “the eventual inquiry” (but mostly to watch her squirm). The English actor punctuated the tedious details with incoherent asides and angry page-flipping, giving the meltdown a manic, unpredictable energy.

After managing briefly to keep his outrage at a low simmer, Trowbridge’s outrage exploded to the surface upon learning that Kate and Co. not only wrongly suspected him of being the plot’s mastermind, but they also set a trap to catch him. Kinnear’s inflections grew increasingly sharper and heated as Trowbridge connected the painstaking dots.

“You thought I killed the very sailors whose families I comforted this morning,” the PM raged at Kate, Kinnear torching his co-star with a heat vision-like stare. “You thought I was a murderer.”

When Trowbridge stood and demanded that his trusted ally corroborate the theory to his face with a simple yes or no, Kinnear’s glare transitioned from wrathful to wounded as the inevitable — and painful — answer arrived.

The beautifully subtle shift confirmed what had been staring us in the face for two seasons: Kinnear is The Diplomat‘s secret weapon.

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

HONORABLE MENTION: Cate Blanchett

Disclaimer’s season finale was a harrowing hour of television, as we learned the horrifying truth about what happened to Catherine all those years ago, but Oscar winner Cate Blanchett guided us through that horror with incredible grace, placing Catherine firmly at the center of her own story. As Catherine recounted how she was brutally raped by Stephen’s son Jonathan, Blanchett’s voice didn’t waver, underlining the strength it took for Catherine to endure that ordeal. Blanchett was a bundle of jittery nerves as Catherine raced to the hospital to save her son’s life, and once she realized he was safe, she collapsed in a heap of tears, with Blanchett releasing a full season’s worth of pain and regret all at once. Blanchett later flashed a touching tenderness as Catherine reconciled with her estranged son, adding one final piece of emotional complexity to Disclaimer’s finished puzzle. — Dave Nemetz

HONORABLE MENTION: Rudy Pankow

If you’ve watched the back half of Outer Banks’ Season 4, you probably think we chose to honor Rudy Pankow for the work he does when that thing happens in the finale. And while he was, indeed, great in Episode 10, we’d love to draw your attention to earlier in the season — namely, Pankow’s performance in the fantastic JJ freakout that started at the zoning hearing and eventually took out part of the town. As the chaos in town hall rose, Pankow made JJ a quiet, stealthy presence. But that calm covered a seething rage that exploded the moment he threw a chair through the window. Pankow has always played JJ a little on edge, a little impulsive-in-the-less-than-fun-way. But in JJ’s prolonged siege on the better-off part of town, Pankow gave a highly physical performance that communicated every frustration and heartbreak his beleaguered character had endured. Pankow ranged from Joker-like glee to deep sorrow — often from one baseball-bat swing to the next — and it captivated us. — Kimberly Roots

HONORABLE MENTION: DeWanda Wise

If we hadn’t already, after watching DeWanda Wise’s performance in Three Women Episode 9, we’re swearing off mushrooms and orgies forever. Though not even an orgy-gone-wrong could make us look away from Wise’s maniacal monologue assuring everyone, “We all wanted this!” Forcing a wide, toothy smile and taking on the voice a parent uses to negotiate with a toddler, Wise perfectly played Sloane’s desperate bid at salvaging her sexual fantasy. And somehow, the actress’ smile seemed to grow both wider and more devious as the minutes wore on, inching her toward the brink of complete combustion in a performance that was giving one part Stepford Wives and two parts “This is fine” meme. All in all, Wise masterfully depicted a woman suffering from romantic disillusion by delivering the perfect blend of comical hysteria and chilling detachment without ever being too over-the-top. — Claire Franken

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

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