Geek squad: these 10 actors will be THIS YEAR'S BREAKOUT STARS -- by playing dorks, nerds and one very naked ice queen
By Doug Elfman
Chicago Sun-Times
August 26, 2007
Last fall, I predicted viewers would love "Heroes" actors Hayden Panettiere and Masi Oka, and see them as top breakout stars of the new season. I shouldn't get credit for recognizing the obvious, I suppose, but I'll take what I can get.
Likewise, this year's breakout performers stand out for creating memorable fake people, even though their shows are more mediocre than 2006's debutants.
Personally, I think David Duchovny gives the grandest performance of any actor in a new show. But I'm not sure enough people subscribe to Showtime to make his fun "Californication" a pop culture hit, which is the gist of this list.
It is a sign of the times that 2007's top 10 breakout actors are filling dorky roles. Thespians pretend to be superpeople, nerds and, in one case, a naked sex fiend.
1. Katee Sackhoff: Sackhoff is so compelling as the bionic villain in NBC's "Bionic Woman," she steals the show. Her performance is one of those "Jack Nicholson as the Joker" moments, where you think, "Oh, this is really about the side character."
This won't surprise "Battlestar Galactica" viewers, who know Sackhoff as Capt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. Here, she is again: tough, smart and smolderingly intense.
2. Zachary Levi: NBC is poring mighty resources into a bunch of "Heroes"-inspired fantasy shows, but "Chuck" seems like an NBC comedy commentary on the network's own trend.
Chuck is not a superhero by birth or chemical compound. He's an accidental spy, the surprised recipient of a brainful of American intelligence secrets.
Zachary Levi, who played baddie Kip in ABC's "Less than Perfect," makes Chuck affably dorky. He's like Jim from "The Office" but more realistically approachable as a character, and less arrogant. (Yes, "Office" fans, bring on the letters.)
3. Jimmy Smits: Elected president at the end of "The West Wing," Smits now returns to TV with another power role in "Cane," as head of a rum-running dynasty in Florida.
Smits, a producer of the glitzy drama, continues to own the air around him in commanding parts. He's focused in "Cane" as a somewhat unhappy and corruptible leader of a soapy family that clearly drinks too much or not enough.
4. Jim Parsons: The easiest way to describe Parsons' character in "The Big Bang Theory" is to say he's like "Frasier's" Niles Crane, but as a young scientist.
He and Johnny Galecki (David from "Roseanne") play effete smartypants who communicate with girls in bursts of physics-speak, sounding like big-brained aliens to their cute, dumb, blond neighbor.
There are problems with this CBS show (uh, how about one smooth, intelligent person, por favor). But Parsons comes at his role with a theatrically proven approach. He accentuates dialogue with crisp gusto, a style fit for a studio audience. If you're not into this kind of comedic stage acting, steer clear.
5. Summer Glau: Glau takes over where Arnold Schwarzenegger left off, as the good terminator in Fox's "The Sarah Connor Chronicles." He said he'd back, but as a girl? Ha, ha, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a pansy. (Kidding, kidding.)
Glau is known for her role as the intellectual, ass-kicking Christlike figure River-Tam in "Firefly" and its movie, "Serenity." In "Sarah," she's the skinny little powerhouse who protects Sarah and her kid from evil terminators.
There is a stretch of the imagination, since Glau is small, but that's the point. Terminators can now be deceivingly slight, apparently. And Glau brings her River-Tam-like concentration to the part.
6. Lee Pace: ABC's "Pushing Daisies" looks like Tim Burton-meets-"Amelie," even though it's directed by Barry ("Men in Black") Sonnenfeld. It's a whimsical fairy tale about a guy who brings dead people back to life with one touch, but kills them forever with a second touch.
Lee Pace -- a graduate of both Juliard and the TV critics' darling "Wonderfalls" -- brings to the quirky, detective-ish role a Clive Owen quality, though dorkier and more mischievous.
7. Tyler Labine: Labine has knocked around in good roles on other TV shows, as happy-go-lucky and smart men on "Invasion" and "Boston Legal." He combines those traits in the CW's "Reaper," playing sidekick to a dude whose parents sold his soul to the devil and, thus, is Satan's gopher.
The thing about Labine is he seems at first to be just a goof, but he can't hide the smarts in his head. His clownish dork-by-choice is content to live a fun life of adventure, wrapping tape around his hands to amuse himself.
8. Sonya Walger: I'd be shocked if one of the most-talked-about new shows isn't HBO's "Tell Me You Love Me." The character drama chronicles several couples, uh, copulating, uh, graphically. It looks like penetration. Among actors. Not porn actors, but actor-actors.
It seems as if Michelle Borth could be the star. She's very pretty, she's the youngest of the bunch, and she's quite good as a vulnerable but strong-willed woman digging into sexual issues. How could her career not catch fire?
But my pick for breakout star of "Tell Me" isn't Borth but Walger, who plays a thirtysomething ice queen treating married sex like a robotic quest for childbirth.
Walger was great in HBO's "The Mind of the Married Man," and she's more fascinating with her meatier role in "Tell Me," destroying her man's will to squeeze her.
9. Leah Pipes: Pipes plays high schooler Katie in the CW's "Life is Wild." Katie's dad takes a job in Africa on a whim, sending her into teenage shock, suddenly beset by wildlife, Starbucks withdrawal and crappy mobile phone reception.
The show itself avoids the usual TV slutification and dumbing down of kids. And Pipes provides the narration with a sober lightheartedness.
10. Lloyd Owen: I'm not sure about CBS' "Viva Laughlin." People sing Elvis songs and stuff, while you also hear Elvis. Yes, you hear two voices at the same time. Me too stupid to hear right.
Lloyd Owen plays Ripley Holden, an ambitious convenience-store whiz who builds a casino in Laughlin, Nev. His character is by definition cuckoo. But Owen commits solidly, so as not to look astonished that he's in this show, walking past slot machines while crooning and jiving. If he can continue to pull off that trick, "Viva" may not end up the totally ridiculous series it very well could be.
delfman@suntimes.com
Chicago Sun-Times
August 26, 2007
Last fall, I predicted viewers would love "Heroes" actors Hayden Panettiere and Masi Oka, and see them as top breakout stars of the new season. I shouldn't get credit for recognizing the obvious, I suppose, but I'll take what I can get.
Likewise, this year's breakout performers stand out for creating memorable fake people, even though their shows are more mediocre than 2006's debutants.
Personally, I think David Duchovny gives the grandest performance of any actor in a new show. But I'm not sure enough people subscribe to Showtime to make his fun "Californication" a pop culture hit, which is the gist of this list.
It is a sign of the times that 2007's top 10 breakout actors are filling dorky roles. Thespians pretend to be superpeople, nerds and, in one case, a naked sex fiend.
1. Katee Sackhoff: Sackhoff is so compelling as the bionic villain in NBC's "Bionic Woman," she steals the show. Her performance is one of those "Jack Nicholson as the Joker" moments, where you think, "Oh, this is really about the side character."
This won't surprise "Battlestar Galactica" viewers, who know Sackhoff as Capt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. Here, she is again: tough, smart and smolderingly intense.
2. Zachary Levi: NBC is poring mighty resources into a bunch of "Heroes"-inspired fantasy shows, but "Chuck" seems like an NBC comedy commentary on the network's own trend.
Chuck is not a superhero by birth or chemical compound. He's an accidental spy, the surprised recipient of a brainful of American intelligence secrets.
Zachary Levi, who played baddie Kip in ABC's "Less than Perfect," makes Chuck affably dorky. He's like Jim from "The Office" but more realistically approachable as a character, and less arrogant. (Yes, "Office" fans, bring on the letters.)
3. Jimmy Smits: Elected president at the end of "The West Wing," Smits now returns to TV with another power role in "Cane," as head of a rum-running dynasty in Florida.
Smits, a producer of the glitzy drama, continues to own the air around him in commanding parts. He's focused in "Cane" as a somewhat unhappy and corruptible leader of a soapy family that clearly drinks too much or not enough.
4. Jim Parsons: The easiest way to describe Parsons' character in "The Big Bang Theory" is to say he's like "Frasier's" Niles Crane, but as a young scientist.
He and Johnny Galecki (David from "Roseanne") play effete smartypants who communicate with girls in bursts of physics-speak, sounding like big-brained aliens to their cute, dumb, blond neighbor.
There are problems with this CBS show (uh, how about one smooth, intelligent person, por favor). But Parsons comes at his role with a theatrically proven approach. He accentuates dialogue with crisp gusto, a style fit for a studio audience. If you're not into this kind of comedic stage acting, steer clear.
5. Summer Glau: Glau takes over where Arnold Schwarzenegger left off, as the good terminator in Fox's "The Sarah Connor Chronicles." He said he'd back, but as a girl? Ha, ha, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a pansy. (Kidding, kidding.)
Glau is known for her role as the intellectual, ass-kicking Christlike figure River-Tam in "Firefly" and its movie, "Serenity." In "Sarah," she's the skinny little powerhouse who protects Sarah and her kid from evil terminators.
There is a stretch of the imagination, since Glau is small, but that's the point. Terminators can now be deceivingly slight, apparently. And Glau brings her River-Tam-like concentration to the part.
6. Lee Pace: ABC's "Pushing Daisies" looks like Tim Burton-meets-"Amelie," even though it's directed by Barry ("Men in Black") Sonnenfeld. It's a whimsical fairy tale about a guy who brings dead people back to life with one touch, but kills them forever with a second touch.
Lee Pace -- a graduate of both Juliard and the TV critics' darling "Wonderfalls" -- brings to the quirky, detective-ish role a Clive Owen quality, though dorkier and more mischievous.
7. Tyler Labine: Labine has knocked around in good roles on other TV shows, as happy-go-lucky and smart men on "Invasion" and "Boston Legal." He combines those traits in the CW's "Reaper," playing sidekick to a dude whose parents sold his soul to the devil and, thus, is Satan's gopher.
The thing about Labine is he seems at first to be just a goof, but he can't hide the smarts in his head. His clownish dork-by-choice is content to live a fun life of adventure, wrapping tape around his hands to amuse himself.
8. Sonya Walger: I'd be shocked if one of the most-talked-about new shows isn't HBO's "Tell Me You Love Me." The character drama chronicles several couples, uh, copulating, uh, graphically. It looks like penetration. Among actors. Not porn actors, but actor-actors.
It seems as if Michelle Borth could be the star. She's very pretty, she's the youngest of the bunch, and she's quite good as a vulnerable but strong-willed woman digging into sexual issues. How could her career not catch fire?
But my pick for breakout star of "Tell Me" isn't Borth but Walger, who plays a thirtysomething ice queen treating married sex like a robotic quest for childbirth.
Walger was great in HBO's "The Mind of the Married Man," and she's more fascinating with her meatier role in "Tell Me," destroying her man's will to squeeze her.
9. Leah Pipes: Pipes plays high schooler Katie in the CW's "Life is Wild." Katie's dad takes a job in Africa on a whim, sending her into teenage shock, suddenly beset by wildlife, Starbucks withdrawal and crappy mobile phone reception.
The show itself avoids the usual TV slutification and dumbing down of kids. And Pipes provides the narration with a sober lightheartedness.
10. Lloyd Owen: I'm not sure about CBS' "Viva Laughlin." People sing Elvis songs and stuff, while you also hear Elvis. Yes, you hear two voices at the same time. Me too stupid to hear right.
Lloyd Owen plays Ripley Holden, an ambitious convenience-store whiz who builds a casino in Laughlin, Nev. His character is by definition cuckoo. But Owen commits solidly, so as not to look astonished that he's in this show, walking past slot machines while crooning and jiving. If he can continue to pull off that trick, "Viva" may not end up the totally ridiculous series it very well could be.
delfman@suntimes.com
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