‘Keeping Faith’ Star Eve Myles Is So Good She Should Be On Every Emmys Dark Horse List

Consider the following: A celebrated TV actress who has been plugging away in ensembles finally gets the role of a lifetime. It’s a juicy crime drama where she gets to be smart, sexy, messy, lost, and every passionate contradiction you can think of.

This is what Welsh actress Eve Myles gets to do on Keeping Faith, an international hit that’s exclusively available in the United States on on Acorn TV. Myles is an alumni of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Victoria, but Keeping Faith is the first time she’s been given center stage in quite this way. Myles plays Faith Howells, an attorney, mother, and fun-loving “party girl” struggling to figure out what to make of her picture perfect husband Evan’s sudden disappearance. It turns out that Evan wasn’t the straight shooter he pretended to be, and the cozy small town Faith lives in is dead set on turning on her.

Myles puts forth a tour de force performance in the series’ premiere alone. She’s magnetic and devastating, charming and completely down-to-earth. Faith is a woman who has to hold the illusion of a perfect suburban life just as everything is falling apart. Her greatest performance has to be in front of her children, who aren’t convinced she’s pulling it off. All in all, it’s the kind of performance that made me think, “Wow, she should be in Emmy contention,” even though I know that’s a long-shot bordering on impossibility.

First of all, as of today, Acorn TV isn’t even pushing Keeping Faith or Eve Myles into the conversation. (That could change, but last month it was reported the streaming service was throwing its weight behind Phyllis Logan, Miranda Richardson, and Zoe Wanamaker.) Second of all, the Best Drama Actress race is kind of tied up. And Acorn TV seems far from the conversation.

However, there is a small glimmer of hope. After all, Acorn TV could still push Myles into the conversation and, depending on how Keeping Faith is submitted, she could be a contender for a nomination in the much more open Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie category. I mean, it’s still tight, but there’s hope. And Acorn TV has shown itself capable of netting Emmy nominations in the past, specifically in the Limited Series/Movie categories.

So what would an Emmy nomination mean for Myles? Well, it would mean recognition for her steadfastly brilliant acting work. But it would also mean that more Americans would get hip to a truly exceptional under-the-radar performance. Television might be inundated with star turns and Emmy-bait, but that’s kind of why Myles’s performance felt like a revelation to me. It was brilliant acting presented in an understated way, without the fanfare of a loud FYC campaign or stunt casting. It was pure, pristine craft.

Even if Myles fails to get the recognition from the Academy, her performance in Keeping Faith should be seen by as many viewers as possible. It’s a riveting reinvention of the crime drama protagonist — and on the level of what Reese Witherspoon pulled off in Big Little Lies.

Where to Stream Keeping Faith