Robert Pattinson's Primetime Oscar Buzz Overlooks A Crucial Co-Star

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The majority of the marketing for "Primetime" (read our review here!) has been focused on Robert Pattinson's portrayal of "To Catch a Predator" host Chris Hansen. And that makes sense: Pattinson is a big star at this point, and his work in the film is memorable and unhinged. There's plenty of talk about Pattinson landing an Oscar nom, and I wouldn't be surprised, especially since the actor has had one hell of a year with work in "The Drama" and "The Odyssey" and "Dune: Part Three" still to come.

But once you see "Primetime," you'll notice that Pattinson's Hansen isn't the only main focus here. The film has a secondary lead character: Skyler Gisondo's Dan Plumb, a struggling actor hired to be a decoy on "To Catch a Predator." Gisondo has become a memorable character actor in his own right, ahd most recently played ladies man Jimmy Olsen in James Gunn's "Superman." 

But his work in "Primetime" might be his best yet.

Skyler Gisondo deserves just as much attention as Robert Pattinson for Primetime

In "Primetime," Dan is an actor who loves musical theatre and wants to earn enough credits to finally get into the Screen Actors Guild. He lands a role on "To Catch a Predator" without really knowing what he'll be doing. His first day on set is a crash course that sees him posing as an underage boy luring a potential pedophile into the spotlight.

Dan is conflicted about all of this, but eventually excels at the role, growing better and better at his decoy duties. In one of the best scenes of the film, he also does an uncanny job imitating Pattinson's Hansen when the host finds himself incapacitated due to a mental breakdown. But as the film progresses, Dan becomes more conflicted about what he's doing. "I don't want to be a bad person," he says during the film's shocking climactic sequence.

Pattinson is great in "Primetime" and will no doubt get most of the attention, but Gisondo deserves just as much attention and acclaim. Dan is the only character in the film who seems to have both a soul and an arc, and we sympathize most with him as all the other characters give in to their worst impulses.