Muriel Awards 2006: Best Breakthrough Performance

(A little over a year ago, I wrote that I'd be posting my ballot for the 2006 Muriel Awards. I said "coming soon", and a year's pretty soon if you look at it, y'know, from geological point of view. Anyway, I'm going to post last year's equivalent category when the 2007 appears on Paul's site, with a few notes, including but not limited to "what the hell was I thinking?".)

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
1. Ellen Page, Hard Candy
2. Rob Brydon, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
3. Martin Campbell, Casino Royale

Yeah, this looks about right. Page, of course is getting hosannas (and an Oscar?) for Juno, but as good as she was, Hard Candy is the performance -- especially amazing considering the film is utter garbage, revenge porn shot like a fashion spread by David Fincher's little brother. I didn't know anything about Brydon at the time... and I still don't know anything about him. I suspect he's a known quantity in the U.K., but he was a fresh face to me. It probably helped that he reminded me of a British actor I know and worked with and admire. Also: does the better Pacino. Putting Campbell down as a director was a no-no at the time (it was intended for actrons) but I'd like to think my innovative and out-of-the-box thinking helped blaze a trail for this year's winner, Ben Affleck. Really doe, considering his slick work of the past, I really thought there was a roughness to Royale, a willingness to try something new, and I wanted to honor that. Let's see if he follows through with the next Bond, I'ma Feel Tiny Bit Better Once I Kills You. Other contenders I had written down: Dax Shepherd, Idiocracy (Funny, but y'know, David Herman woulda been better); Marina Vovchenko, 4 (Strong work, but I suspect I went with what I thought were more well-known names rather than "throw my vote away", so to speak, and I'm thinking that was dumb) ; and John Gulager, Feast (um, what?).