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Kerri Miller and Suzanne Pekow

Why our favorite actors are so good

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Broadway Opening Night Celebration For "Fences"
NEW YORK - APRIL 26: Actors Viola Davis, Denzel Washington and Stephen McKinley Henderson take a bow during the curtain call for the Broadway Opening of "Fences" at the Cort Theatre on April 26, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
Jemal Countess | Getty Images

What is it about the best actors that makes them exceptional? With awards season coming up, we thought we'd discuss this question on our Friday round table.

MPR News host Kerri Miller was joined by three Twin Cities theater professionals: Ansa Akyea, a stage, radio and television actor who won the 2011 McKnight Award for acting from the MN Playwright Center; Lauren Keating, a theater director who is the Associate Producer at The Guthrie Theater; and Shā Cage, an actor, playwright and performance artist who is one of City Pages' artists of the year for 2017.

Here is a list of Kerri's and the round tablers' picks for favorite actors and acting performances:

• Denzel Washington in "Flight"
• Viola Davis in "Fences"
• Daniel Kaluuya in "Get Out"
• Angela Bassett as Lady Macbeth
• Christian Bale in "The Fighter"
• Sally Hawkins in "The Shape of Water"
• Frances MacDormand in "Fargo"
• Ron Cephas Jones and Amanda Warren in the "Memphis" episode of "This is Us."
• Bryan Tyree Henry and Donald Glover in "Atlanta"
• Uzo Aduba in "Orange is the New Black"
• Steve Buscemi in "Boardwalk Empire"

Use the audio player above to hear the full segment.