Performer Of The Week
Amelia Heinle (VICTORIA, Y&R)
■ When Victoria learned the truth about her lying hubby, Amelia Heinle gave a standout performance as a proud, strong woman devastated by betrayal.
For weeks, Victoria steadfastly rejected her family’s claim that Ashland faked his cancer to make a power grab for Newman Enterprises. When Victor, Nikki, Nick and Adam showed up in Victoria’s office, Heinle’s posture stiffened as Victoria girded herself for the latest round of battle, fed up with the allegations against Ashland. “This is obviously a planned and coordinated attack on my marriage!” she seethed, her eyes fiery with outrage.
Nikki insisted that she’d never purposely hurt her daughter, and Heinle cast her eyes downward, relaxed her scowl and softened as she conceded, “You’ve always been on our side.” Victor announced that he had irrefutable proof of Ashland’s deception and in response, Victoria’s shoulders deflated and her face drained of color, a hint of dread and apprehension crossing her face. Her father proffered damning evidence indeed (Ashland’s undoctored medical records) and Victoria’s steely resolve flagged. She stumbled on her words, agitated and flustered as she mounted a second wind of indignation. But even as she argued in defense of Ashland, Heinle made it clear that his waning credibility was taking its toll. Her anger was punctuated with distress as she bellowed, “I am going to find out the answers on my own without any of you.”
Ashland entered and railed against his in-laws for their interference. Victoria’s wide eyes, filled with a desperate hope to hear something she could cling to, were fixed on him. “I want to believe you,” she proclaimed, but he heard the doubt in her voice and stormed out. Victoria stood frozen, shell-shocked, as Nikki embraced her. “Now I know that it’s true,” she sighed, her voice breaking pitifully. As reality set in, Victoria tried to catch her breath, then broke down in sobs.
Heinle nailed this tricky assignment, navigating the emotional beats of this devastating moment in Victoria’s life with ease as she guided her character from fierce and defiant to vulnerable and despondent.