Carl Clemons-Hopkins

In Hacks (2021), Marcus takes his job as Deborah Vance's business manager seriously. Carl Clemons-Hopkins makes that dedication funny without suggesting that the work itself is beneath him, or that competence deserves a sneer. The deadpan delivery is useful here: Marcus can belong in a comedy without seeming to be waiting for his turn to make a joke. We rate this kind of ensemble acting, which gives the central performers somebody credible to play against.

Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder are the principal reason we recommend the series, and Clemons-Hopkins works well within that arrangement. Marcus has his own difficulties with keeping work from taking over his life, giving the actor something to develop beyond the dry humour. We warmed to him because Clemons-Hopkins makes that struggle understandable without making his dedication look foolish. The writing sometimes presses the generational differences between its two leads too hard. Marcus gives us another concern to follow, one that does not need to be presented as a dispute between age groups.

The stage experience is relevant to that assurance. Clemons-Hopkins performed in the Chicago company of Hamilton (2016), before breaking through on screen with Hacks. The stage-honed physical presence helps make a manager's authority convincing without a more demonstrative performance. The film roles include Jameson in Candyman (2021) and Jeremy in The Beanie Bubble (2023). Those credits do not give us the same basis for a judgement as the continuing part of Marcus, on which our enthusiasm rests.

We would welcome a part that puts that intensity under more pressure, rather than simply asking for another capable professional. There is a risk with such reliable ensemble work that the actor becomes valued chiefly for keeping everybody else's scenes moving. Hacks gives Clemons-Hopkins time to show Marcus changing, so there is more to follow than his ability to do the job. Start there, and give the manager some attention.