I’m sorry, guys, but we’re beyond the stage of me trying to find flaws in the actors’ performance. That stands for both leads and supporting actors. I might make a passing remark if one scene strikes me as strange, but that’ll be the exception rather than the norm. In any case, regarding this tier, we still have some “average” (this series’ average) actors to go through, but after that, we’re in the clear for some phenomenal performances – around #12 or so, I’d say.
But first, an oddball, and not the least of them.
16. Ben Hawkey (Hot Pie)
**** yeah Hot Pie! Just kidding.
This was a character in the books that I absolutely did not care for in any tangible way. He was more annoying than anything in the book (although that doesn’t make him a bad character: it’s just that we’re not supposed to care for him). To make him memorable is no mean feat, and Hawkey managed to nail one of the best moments of Episode 2 with the glorious definition of a battle.
What a thoroughly well-acted scene! Hawkey sounds like such a simpleton – the stupid little eyes, the confident tone, the moronic, yet not excessively moronic delivery is great. And then he peaks when he actually has to explain to Gendry that a battle is when ‘they’ve got armour on’. “And who told you that?” says Gendry, “A knight? How do you know he was a knight?” Hot Pie: “He... had armour on.” The tone was perfect. The hesitation and mumbling was spot-on. I cannot conceivably see a better way to deliver that line. Amazing.
Aside from that, he was very consistent throughout and I don’t think I can pinpoint any flaw in his performance (although there was not much variety).
This was “How to make it on the Top 16 with one line in Solfadore’s rankings.” Admittedly, he probably shouldn’t be so high, but hey, I liked his character in the show, and since his lines weren’t that much better than in the books, I’m going to pin this on Hawkey.
Best scene: Gee, I wonder.
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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore