Orphan Black – Season 1 – Master Class of Acting: Tatiana Maslany

As disappointed as I am about the Emmys, Tatiana Maslany has fully proven to us what an acting powerhouse she is. In addition to any one of her major clone roles being an achievement by itself, she plays each one so differently, from how they cry, to the nervous smiles at being caught, pulling somebody into a kiss, the way they hug, faking an accent, faking faking an accent, how they’re surprised and on and on and on.

And Tatiana the actress has just handled her popularity, her co-stars, her fans, everyone involved with so much grace and kindness and intelligence and humor. She’s shown how much of a technical wonder she is, knowing how to work the multiple clone scenes with precision, where and when to turn and look and move, but she’s just as skilled an actual character actor, playing so many women believably, sometimes playing each other with the little cracks to show they’re not the same, the tiny little things like smirking at a drunk friend or pouring sugar into a bowl of jello. The insight she has into not only the women she plays but the world they live in, the differences in their circumstances, their dynamics with other people, the awareness of feminist and LGBT issues all just make her freaking incredible.