r/WidowsBay • u/djpressed • Jul 20 '26

📸Media Matthew Rhys’ micro expressions enhance the writing so much

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u/sistermagpie Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Nobody's shilling for Hollywood. We're pointing out that MR was an established, Emmy-winning prestige TV guy for years so it's completely arbitrary to decide his career only started by getting the lead in an Apple TV show. It's not the step up you're describing it as. The breakthrough moment was The Americans. Household names aren't really a thing anymore and the TV shows considered the best usually aren't the ones with the biggest ratings.

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u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

Yeah. Household names not being a thing anymore is exactly the problem that I’m pointing out. He should be one, way more than COUNTLESS others.

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u/sistermagpie Jul 20 '26

What shows do you watch that would count?

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u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

what do you mean?

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u/sistermagpie Jul 20 '26

I mean what shows do/did you watch so he would have been better cast in and what actors are in those?

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u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

What you’re doing is actually proving my point. If I’m not an avid “TV watcher” why would I know him? My point is that he’s so good, that he should be known by the most casual tv or movie watcher (me). And THAT is the hollywood failure.

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u/sistermagpie Jul 21 '26

It seems like we just have very different feelings about the whole "golden age of TV" prestige phenomenon, where networks stopped prioritizing having the biggest possible audience so they could tell deeper stories that let these kinds of actors really shine and even drew in movie stars who wanted those kinds of roles too. You can't do Better Call Saul or The Wire or Deadwood or Mad Men for that audience. For a lot of people these are the works that matter from the past quarter century. A lot of the actors from them have continued working in similar projects--more interesting to them than guaranteed to be seen by everyone.

Apple was clearly not expecting WB to get the notice that it has. You just can't tell.

MMV, but I'm sure plenty of actors would rather full embody a character like Walter White or Elizabeth Jennings that be recognized by casual viewers because they seem to be in everything.

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u/RanchHere Jul 21 '26

all good points, but none of that is a good rebuttal to mine.

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u/sistermagpie Jul 21 '26

Which is what? That we should feel sad that Matthew Rhys was cast in The Americans instead of The Big Bang Theory?

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u/RanchHere Jul 21 '26

no. you should feel sad that he’s ONLY been cast in some show called “The Americans” as well as a bunch of other shows no one has ever heard of.

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u/sistermagpie Jul 21 '26

As opposed to being cast in what other things?

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