SCENE-STEALER

The Best Performance in ‘Primetime’ Isn’t Robert Pattinson

Pattinson may be getting all of the attention—but his co-star is the one who really stands out.

It may just be the year of Robert Pattinson. The actor is everywhere, with major roles in The Drama and The Odyssey. Now, he’s taken on one of his most impressive challenges yet, playing Chris Hansen in Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime, which takes us behind the scenes of one of the 21st century’s most notorious television shows, To Catch a Predator.

If that wasn’t enough, Pattinson has a highly anticipated role in the end-of-year blockbuster Dune: Part Three.

There may be nothing Pattinson can’t do. He’s one of the world’s biggest and most bankable stars. And yet, when it comes to the exhilarating Primetime, there is another actor who manages to outdo him on screen.

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Don’t get me wrong. Robert Pattinson is fantastic in Primetime. His accent alone is tremendous—close your eyes when he speaks, and you’d be hard-pressed to believe it’s anyone but the real Chris Hansen. But the performance that jumped through the screen and stuck with me belonged not to Pattinson, but to 30-year-old breakout star Skyler Gisondo.

Yes, Gisondo, who is probably best known for having a cherubic face and playing the happy-go-lucky, extremely wealthy yet incredibly unpopular Jared in Booksmart. He also made memorable appearances in Licorice Pizza, Vacation, and Superman (his Jimmy Olsen character is getting his own HBO Max spinoff series).

He’s a reliable supporting player whose work in Primetime is both brilliant and a wonderful surprise. It’s a thrill to see someone who’s regularly typecast break out in such compelling fashion, delivering a performance that deserves a place in the Oscar conversation.

Gisondo’s perpetually youthful face is key, because as Dan Plumb in Primetime, it’s that very characteristic that gets him his job working on To Catch a Predator. Plumb dreams of being a great actor. He watches Inside the Actors Studio religiously, hoping to get a stroke of inspiration that takes his work to the next level so he can break out and land a coveted film or television role.

Plumb may have just landed his big break, though it’s one he hasn’t quite grasped. That’s probably because the show’s producers are quite cagey about who he’s going to play. Plumb, as he soon finds out, will be an “underage” decoy on To Catch a Predator. You know, the actors pretending to be young boys (or girls) to lure in predators, so Chris Hansen can catch them. The character appears loosely based on the real decoy, Dan Schrack.

NOT READY FOR PRIMETIME

‘To Catch a Predator’ Star Goes to War With Movie About Him

Eboni Boykin-Patterson

While Primetime is rather distant in its approach to Hansen, Plumb is really our emotional gateway into the wild world of To Catch a Predator. While the film presents Hansen as an offbeat, nearly unknowable figure, Plumb becomes an audience surrogate. He’s the heartbeat of the movie, and we understand the show’s impact through Gisondo’s brave, surprising performance.

Gisondo’s role taps into a universal feeling: the desire to be loved, to be noticed. Two particular scenes exemplify his greatness.

[WARNING: Spoilers for Primetime below.]

In the first, he arrives on the set of To Catch a Predator, largely unaware of what his role actually entails. He’s quickly changed into younger-looking clothes, and told that all he has to do is get the person who’s arriving into the kitchen. Ever the dutiful actor, Plumb doesn’t hesitate to try to get into character, even though he has no idea what he’s really getting into.

When Plumb lets a real predator into the house, he snaps into character effortlessly, disappearing into boyish charm and goofy playfulness. He brings the man into the kitchen, as required, but while he’s pouring them a drink, the man begins to undress and sprays whipped cream over his genitals.

It’s an incredible scene to capture on camera for To Catch a Predator, but for Plumb, it’s a moment of abject terror. As he turns around, you can feel the innocence of the character Plumb is playing vanish, but you can also feel Plumb’s sense of peace shatter in seconds. This is someone clearly in over his head.

He almost quits on the spot, but he’s convinced by Hansen and the show producer (Merritt Weaver) that he’s special, and delivers an incredible performance. It’s enough to win him over. Watching Gisondo’s face slowly morph from terror into joy as he gets the validation he’s so keen to receive is remarkable.

The second moment comes much later, after Hansen has a breakdown during the attempt to lure a high-profile predator. Plumb is stuck in decoy mode, working with the predator, but Hansen isn’t appearing to do his classic bit, getting the target to take a seat before admonishing them. So Plumb, getting more and more comfortable with his position on the show, takes things to the next level and performs as Hansen would, revealing to the suspect that he’s on To Catch a Predator.

It’s a remarkable moment that highlights just how deep down this twisted rabbit hole Plumb has gone, from wide-eyed innocent to a cynical cog in the predator-catching machine. What’s especially eerie is just how well Plumb inhabits the Hansen role, relishing the opportunity for more screen time and the chance to steal the show. And steal it he does.

NOT READY FOR PRIMETIME

‘To Catch a Predator’ Star Goes to War With Movie About Him

Eboni Boykin-Patterson

The reality, of course, is that nobody remembers the decoy performances from To Catch a Predator. The real decoy, Schrack, has a successful career in broadcast journalism and appeared in the 2025 documentary Predators, about the making of To Catch a Predator. What Plumb went through in Primetime is the kind of experience that would stick with someone forever—and likely not in a healthy way. Primetime is never more interesting than when it explores these ideas through Gisondo’s character.

It’s one of those special performances that makes you reconsider everything you know about an actor. There are certainly some heavy hitters in the supporting actor field this year, but it feels more open than the hyper-competitive lead actor competition.

Expected nominees like Paul Giamatti (The Debut), Sam Rockwell (Wild Horse Nine), and John Goodman (Digger) are seasoned actors who have been rewarded many times over. Gisondo, on the other hand, delivers a performance that could take voters by surprise, an unexpected role for an unexpected actor that shows precisely how gifted he is.

It might be a less conventional choice, but Gisondo steals the show in Primetime from a towering and excellent Robert Pattinson, who will likely be competing against himself to be nominated for one of his several film performances this year. Here’s hoping the Academy takes notice.

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Barry LevittFreelance Writer

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