Do you ever watch something, and you see that one actor and think, “Damn, I love them?”
And it’s not even someone you think about regularly or are cognizant of at any other time, but whenever you see their name or they appear on the screen, there’s this spark of recognition, delight, and excitement.
That’s Piper Perabo. She’s a Renaissance woman — one of those actors who elevates whatever she’s in with a quiet but commanding presence that creeps up on you — as slowly as the realization that she’s sometimes the reason you keep watching at all.
Prime Video’s Butterfly reminded me of this all over again.
It promised to be an action-packed series, starring the incredibly talented and accomplished Daniel Dae Kim, and it delivered on the promise of fraught family vibes.
It’s right up my alley.
What I had forgotten about was that the series also starred none other than Piper Perabo, and her appearance onscreen was such a delightful treat.
Because there’s just something about Perabo who can lure me in, no matter what role she’s playing and how fantastic or even ridiculous it may be.
Take Butterfly, for example. The series itself is a serviceable watch. It’ll scratch an itch if you’re looking for a simple action series with some familial elements and a thrill here and there.
Daniel Dae Kim is one of the most underrated talents of our time. For him alone, Butterfly was something worth giving a chance. And as per usual, his performance was strong.
The plot itself didn’t always hold my attention, but you know who did? Piper Perabo, because as someone who has been a longtime fan of this actress in a way I never really examined or realized, it was genuinely nice to see her play such a morally complex villainess.
Juno was such a fascinating character, and watching Perabo slink around the command center of the C.I.A. in power suits and radiating a dominant aura is a special kind of delicious.
It’s something different for her. She’s an incredibly versatile actress, and that’s reflected in her roles, and this was a prime example.
How can someone who radiates a level of sunshine in other aspects of her life come across as such an intimidating, dominating, and imposing figure like Juno?
Well, sheer talent, of course. It’s a byproduct of a seasoned performer who knows her craft well and executes it in such a deceptively, flawless way that she makes it seem too easy.
These are the things that I thought about when Perabo was onscreen. I gleefully tapped into every Juno scene, just like I did when she played Summer on Yellowstone.
On paper, Summer was a character so irritating that the likelihood she would put off viewers was strong.
Even I cringed at her extreme activism and how she presented it against those who were the opposite of her. And she could’ve almost been a joke of a character.
I’m not entirely unconvinced that was the plan the whole time, but you can’t make Perabo a joke in anything, now, can you?
She infuses so much charm and aura into her every role that her characters have a funny way of getting beneath your skin and sticking with you, whether you want them to or not.
Going toe-to-toe with the likes of Kevin Costner and Kelly Reilly in a series like Yellowstone is no easy feat, and yet Perabo did, and did so well, with a character that irks me but still wormed her way into my heart despite that.
Likewise, there are few lost series that will stick with me for the rest of my days because of how meaningful they are — how much they resonated and mattered, and FOX’s The Big Leap is one of them.
Every episode was magical, with an exceptional cast, heartwarming stories, and characters so real that losing them felt like saying goodbye to friends.
In stark contrast to the calculated and cold nature of Juno or the naivete of Summer, Paula was warm, witty, and intelligent, and crucial to the very core of The Big Leap and how the season played out.
Paula made me smile every single moment she was onscreen — something that happened frequently with the series as a whole — because there was this wonderful, accessible quality to the character.
Of course, it was that unspoken, indescribably effervescent quality that’s just so Perabo, too.
She had such a meaningful arc with a narratively necessary conclusion. Yet, her presence still lingered over the show — not just because the script called for it, but because Perabo just has that natural presence and effect.
I don’t know what it is about her that she falls back to the recesses of your mind like a buried memory — but utterly commands your attention the second she appears onscreen.
It’s a wholly unique thing — how she stands out when it counts and matters the most and fades into a quiet, calculated obscurity at her choosing.
That’s the essence of Piper Perabo; she commands everything — sometimes subtly, sometimes boldly, but always memorably.
Her roles may not always define the shows she’s in, but her performances define how we remember them.
Covert Affairs exemplifies that. Its blend of fun, lighthearted quirkiness, and romance with action and thrills made it an entertaining watch.
Even though Annie was like Bambi in heels, jetsetting around the world and needing saving almost as much as she was kicking butt, it all fell into place in a fun way that likely wouldn’t have worked in the hands of another type of actress.
And that’s what I mean about how Perabo has this quality where she elevates everything she’s in and makes anything work.
Perhaps Annie Walker shouldn’t have worked, at least in the context of leading female characters in spy shows. Covert Affairs, as a series, doesn’t hold up to Homeland or Alias.
But her performance still leaves this lingering impact.
Summer isn’t topping the list of Yellowstone’s greatest characters, but Perabo is indeniably one of the series’ best guest-stars despite that.
And maybe no one outside of The Big Leap fandom will think much about Paula as a character, but we’ll at the very least carry with us how the character made us feel.
I don’t recall much about the plot of the one-and-done series Notorious.
Still, I can tell you Piper Perabo played a ballsy character and had fantastic chemistry with Daniel Sunjata.
And it was very much the same watching her play opposite the late Matthew Perry in Go On.
Hell, just recently, she had a short arc in Grey’s Anatomy, resulting in one of the most explosive season finales of this juggernaut series.
She was so riveting with her raw performance as a desperate mother trying to save her daughter that I almost forgot it was Perabo playing this role.
Watching Butterfly was an interesting experience. Because much of the plot eluded me shortly after the credits rolled — and that cliffhanger wasn’t entirely unexpected, so it didn’t have the explosive effect it should have had.
But what lingers, outside of the admittedly shallow appeal of a certain assassin bad guy, is that Piper Perabo’s portrayal of a morally bankrupt, cutthroat, sharp, and layered HBIC was magnetic.
And that’s Perabo’s gift. She makes you realize mid-watch that you’ve been a fangirl of hers all along.
Damn if I don’t love her for that.
If you read this whole thing — you must be a Piper Perabo Fanatic, too. Or you can respect us for giving that woman her flowers!
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