Annika Noelle

(HOPE, B&B)

■ When Hope had to surrender custody of Douglas, who chose to live with Steffy rather than choose between his mother and father, the character’s heartbreak and agony was brought to vivid life by Annika Noelle.

Hope had remained strong in the face of Douglas’s decision; she wanted what was best for her son and if that was his wish, she would not stand in his way. But through crinkled eyes and the wavering of her brave smile, Noelle left no question as to whether Hope was dying inside. Hope said all the right things, encouraging and loving as she reassured Douglas that she would always be there for him. But once the child left the room, Noelle revealed the depth of Hope’s despair. Free of the burden of putting on a show of optimism for Douglas, Hope’s voice cracked and the emotional restraint Noelle had shown suddenly gave way to a torrent of gutwrenching vulnerability and raw pain. She kept her gaze to the sky, trying desperately not to cry, but the tactic failed. Flailing her hands, trying to give herself air and remain calm, Noelle wordlessly conveyed that Hope had reached her breaking point. Gasping for breath, her face began to crumple and her voice came out in a trembly squeak as she copped to feeling rejected by Douglas’s choice “not to live with us, the family that we have built together”. She beseeched Steffy to take good care of her son, and when Steffy pulled her into an empathetic embrace, Hope disintegrated, convulsing in tears as the gravity of her searing loss overwhelmed her.

Noelle built the performance masterfully, steering Hope’s emotional vicissitudes with precision, but the work on the screen by no means felt technical. Indeed, what made it so impactful was how very heartfelt and emotionally naked it was.