16 Breakout TV Stars of 2022:"...
Among the many end-of-year roundups you’re inevitably going to see, allow us to take you through the TV performances we think turned actors into bonafide stars in 2022. Here, we list 16 acting performances that caught our eye and captivated audiences this year.
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To be considered for this roundup, the performer cannot be widely known for a previous role. For example, Olivia Cooke is great in House of the Dragon, but she already had a beloved series regular role on Bates Motel and led other films. Conversely, Jacob Anderson was memorable as Grey Worm in Game of Thrones, but his star turn in Interview With the Vampire will be a career-defining role. ...
Without further ado, here are the TV Insider staff’s picks for breakout acting performances of 2022, in no particular order, plus the scenes that cemented their spots on the list."Jacob Anderson & Sam Reid in Interview With the VampireThere’s no separating Louis and Lestat. Jacob Anderson delivered his best onscreen performance to date in the IWTV pilot. His deliciously brooding Louis anchored the series’ flashbacks while managing to give his grief over losing his biological family and precious daylight a rolling presence. Present-day Louis was chillingly tranquil in talks with Eric Bogosian‘s Daniel Molloy, but the old Louis was brewing underneath his threatening living-dead facade all the while.
Favorite Scene: Anderson could win an Emmy for his confessional booth monologue in Episode 1 alone (the dark gift scene as a whole is one of 2022’s best-acted and directed sequences). It’s staggering how much exposition is successfully covered in the pilot, and Anderson expertly handled the task of establishing most of it. — Kelli Boyle
The flamboyant, frightening Lestat is the perfect foil to Anderson’s Louis. Sam Reid‘s vampire is cruel, obsessive, and at times incredibly charming and funny, and Reid plays Lestat’s sublime bitchiness with glee. While this is not Reid’s first role, this is the part that has introduced him to larger audiences. Watching him skip into rooms, pout adorably when he doesn’t get his way, and fly into violent, terrifying rages on the AMC series is a sheer joy.
Favorite Scene: In Episode 6, Lestat menaces Claudia by puppeteering a train conductor’s decapitated head. Reid moving the jaw, putting on an American accent, and advancing on a terrified Claudia is both hilarious and genuinely chilling. “Claudia, you left without saying goodbye… again” is one of the year’s best line deliveries. — Leah Williams
(Honorable mention to Bailey Bass, who handled Claudia’s episode-by-episode maturation with impressively adept skill.)
