Performer of the Month – August 2023

STAFF RESULTS 

Staff voting started out as a battle between Only Murders in the Building‘s Meryl Streep (Loretta Durkin) and Dark Winds‘ Zahn McClarnon (Joe Leaphorn). Streep eventually grabbed the lead and never looked back for the win, with McClarnon taking second and Star Trek: Strange New World‘s Celia Rose Gooding (Nyota Uhura) taking third.  “Grab Your Hankies,” the
third episode of Only Murders in the Building’s junior season, concludes with a
layered, lovely musical performance from Meryl Streep’s Loretta Durkin, a
riveting and moving scene that speaks to the very thing that has made Streep
such a good fit for musicals, her ability to bring a character’s identity into
a song. But the episode features so many more highlights, courtesy of Streep,
such as the scene when Loretta tells Oliver about her upcoming audition. She’s
delivering some of the episode’s funniest lines but with a barely contained
joyful reverence. “She has a backstory, Oliver,” Loretta gushes over the
character she might get to play, and Streep is so very good at selling the
radiance washing over Loretta at the mere possibility she could get to bring
this character to life. Streep’s Loretta is an insider who might as well be an
outsider. Her passion for the theater, and her belief in its power, are
transcendent and contagious, thanks to the warmth that Streep injects whenever
Loretta talks about her art and also thanks to the touches of heartbreak that
crack through in those same conversations. As Streep navigates Loretta to a
frightening, wonderful crossroads, she also defines the stakes of the entire
season. Meryl Streep is SpoilerTV’s August Staff Choice Performer of the Month.

READER RESULTS 

Two stars from the new Netflix series One Piece battled it out for Reader’s Choice top honors with Iñaki Godoy (Monkey D. Luffy) taking the victory from his costar Jeff Ward (Buggy). Taking third is Star Trek: Strange New World’s Anson Mount (Christopher Pike) as the first of two performers from that show to make the lists this month. After a standout
performance in the grisly, charming The Imperfects, Iñaki Godoy
dons the persona and straw hat of One Piece’s legendary, beloved Monkey D.
Luffy (aspiring King of the Pirates) and inhabits the role with singularly
arresting charisma and aplomb. He’s magnetic, effusive, and, most importantly,
in perfect sync with the character’s signature empathy and exuberance for
helping others chase their dreams. He’s as fearless in portraying the
character’s confidence and heart as Luffy is when wearing his own dreams on his
sleeve. Luffy leaves everyone sucked in by his gravitational pull transformed.
Godoy’s ability to translate that quality to the screen is fueled by an
approach that’s equal parts kinetic mischief and endearing swagger. From his
first seconds onscreen in “Romance Dawn,” Godoy’s performance sets the
foundation for an adaptation as emotionally rich as it is thrilling.  Iñaki Godoy is Spoiler TV’s August Reader’s Choice Performer of the Month. 

Please join us in the comments and on social media in celebrating winners Meryl Streep and Iñaki Godoy and the incredible runner-ups. Both winners have secured a place in the 2023 Performer of the Year competition that will take place in January 2024. 

Come back to Spoiler TV on Sunday, October 1 at 12 pm ET for the start of the September round.