Luke Tennie

Tennie’s size registers quickly; the gentleness takes a little longer. As Sean, the military veteran in therapy in Shrinking (2023), he makes room for vulnerability without fussing over it. We rate that steady, unshowy contribution to an ensemble, especially when a scene needs both comedy and distress. He plays both with sincerity, rather than treating a joke as permission to stop believing in the character.

Deadly Class (2018) gave him an early main television role as Willie Lewis, followed by Solomon in the sports drama Safety (2020). His greater prominence came with Shrinking, which put him alongside Jason Segel in a main role. That gives us time to notice the value of his supporting work, even in a programme we cannot recommend without qualifications.

Our reservation about Shrinking is the speed with which it handles grief, not Tennie’s place in the cast. Segel gives the therapist vulnerability, but the writing does too little to question his broken professional boundaries. Tennie’s sincerity is useful here, although it cannot supply the scrutiny the scripts neglect. Harrison Ford’s dry comedy remains our strongest reason to try the programme.

In Nickel Boys (2024), Tennie plays Griff for director RaMell Ross, bringing quiet restraint to a supporting role. We were moved by seeing the Florida reform school through the boys’ eyes; Ross keeps us close to their experience. The film runs long and can be too pleased with its own method, though neither fault undoes its tenderness. Tennie belongs comfortably in that careful ensemble, even if this is a less substantial opportunity to watch him than Shrinking.

The danger for Tennie is being asked to reassure us so often that there is little else left to play. His precision is an asset, but we would like to see him play someone less easy to trust. We would start with Shrinking for a sustained look at his acting, accepting its impatience with the harder questions. For the better evening, choose Nickel Boys.