Heroic actor of the week (2/3): Margot Robbie and Jurnee Smollett-Bell

In this week’s edition of Heroic Actor of The Week, we look at how Birds of Prey stars shone in the female-led DCEU film.

We’ve a Heroic Actor of the Week first.

A weekly column that takes a look at the best performances on comic book-inspired film and TV over the past seven days, it usually ends up honoring a performer on television because, to be quite honest, there are more chances to stand out on TV… and there haven’t been all that many comic book movies as of late.

That all changed this week, however, with the release of the highly-anticipated Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn). The return of Margot Robbie’s now-iconic Harley Quinn and the big-screen debut of the titular group of DC Comics heroes, the film was undoubtedly a game-changing one – but it also delivered some incredible performances.

Margot Robbie & Jurnee Smollett-Bell – Birds of Prey

It would be foolish to kick off without delving into Margot Robbie’s turn as Harley Quinn. One of Hollywood’s busiest actresses, her strong performances have made audiences feel every kind of emotion imaginable, but her performance as Harley Quinn is nothing short of inspired and it’s clear that this film was designed to give her a starring role.

Rightfully hailed as one of Suicide Squad‘s silver linings, expectations were high for her leading role in Birds of Prey – and, after seeing the film, you’ll completely understand why.

More from DCEU

• New Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom trailer pushes Arthur to his limits
• 7 actors who could replace Ezra Miller as The Flash in the DC Universe
• James Gunn gives interesting update of Superman and Supergirl movies at DC Studios
• All 7 Wonder Woman actresses ranked from worst to best
• All 8 Black Canary actresses ranked from worst to best

The truth is that Robbie was sensational once again, building upon everything she’d given us before in order to go louder, bigger and better – and her commitment shows, as Harley is scene-stealing throughout the entirety of the movie. The funny thing about is that, while Harley may be trying to steal the show, it comes off as completely effortless on the actress’ part. See, inspired.

The film’s MVP, however, might just be Jurnee Smollett-Bell – who turns in a convincingly badass performance as DC Comics legend Dinah Lance/Black Canary in the character’s very first appearance on the big screen.

One of the more layered characters that the film has to offer, it’s true that she could have done with a little more screen-time, but that’s only because Smollett-Bell’s performance was so damn good – as she captured Dinah’s badassery with ease, bringing it to life with an empowering sass. But she was equally as good in the quiet moments, giving Dinah’s backstory a little room to breathe in the little screen-time it had.

Before we finish, we should take a moment to point out that all of the female performers in Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn) were outstanding – and the same goes for Ewan McGregor’s turn as Roman Sionis/Black Mask. However, these two were downright awe-inspiring from beginning to end.

Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is in theaters now! Make sure you go and see it, and come back next Sunday to find out who the next Heroic Actor of The Week will be. You check out previous winners here.