10 Most Underappreciated Performances On TV Right Now
5. Dan Stevens - Legion
Dan Stevens has already received a decent amount of praise for his lead performance in Legion, it's true.
But, without being hyperbolic, Legion is genuinely in contention for being the most striking, extraordinary television drama that human society has hitherto produced, and none of it could have been accomplished without Stevens' masterful performance. So 'a decent amount of praise' really doesn't come close to being sufficient.
He has to act as the audience's window whilst still playing the boldest, wildest character of the piece, alternating between straight-faced bemusement and abject lunacy on a scene-by-scene basis without ever seeming contrite.
Impossibly, he nails it.
He breezes his way through schizophrenic fits, psychedelic dance routines, hallucinations, battle scenes and dream sequences with equal accomplishment, which isn't to mention his proficiency for emotion and humour in the show's rare conventional moments.
In one of mainstream television's trickiest outputs, Stevens pulls double duties as a ballast that makes the show easy enough to process, whilst fully committing to the screaming bonkers ride that is Legion.
'Tour de force' is a phrase invented for performances like this, so until Stevens is recognised with all the praise in the world, he'll still be underappreciated.