Marvel Studios
By Erin Brady/Oct. 7, 2022 1:30 pm EST
There’s a lot that you can say about the acting throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While some actors in their respective projects do pull off some great acting performances (Robert Downey Jr. in “Avengers: Endgame” comes to mind), there are also many instances where the characters on screen simply sound like they are reciting lines rather than actually acting. Perhaps this is because of how the franchise feels built on a conveyor belt, the majority of them feeling so similar to each other that it’s hard to distinguish them apart.
Because of this weirdness, the cast is able to let lose a little bit, but none more so than Harriet Sansom Harris. Playing the newly-appointed matriarch of the Bloodstone clan, the character actress and frequent Paul Thomas Anderson collaborator gives the most unhinged performance ever seen in the MCU. It also serves as one of the best across the entire franchise. No, I’m not exaggerating.
Our whole mission is built on mercy
This isn’t a shallow comparison, either. When introducing the band of monster hunters viewers follow throughout the special, Harris chews up the scenery like she’s performing a one-woman play, which helps when your primary scene partner is an animatronic dead body. Seriously, every time Verussa and the decrepit Ulysses are in a shot together, she is just beaming up at his disgusting corpse. It’s ridiculous, but that’s what makes it so charming.
