Connor Storrie’s stint on Criminal Minds: Evolution was pretty fun to watch. And by fun, we mean it was kinda disturbing, and at the same time, an awesome showcase for his talent. It’s always great to see an actor play a role so different from his breakout role, and as much as we love Mr. Ilya Rozanov, it’s almost easier to appreciate how great that performance is when we compare it to what Storrie did on Criminal Minds, a procedural that’s been around for almost two decades.
Because what we got from Storrie in his four-episode arc was varied. If you’re a fan of the show, there is, of course, a lot to break down when it comes to the character arcs and what this means for the rest of the season of the show. In fact, we do that here in our ‘The Witching Hour’ review, our ‘Friendly Fire’ review, our ‘Proxy’ review, and our ‘Special Agent Garrity’ review. But I want to take this time to just focus on Connor Storrie’s performance, because… well, because I can!
Watching Connor Storrie through Heated Rivalry and later, discovering his filmography, including his shorts, has been an interesting experience for a whole number of reasons that can all be summed up into one idea: it’s all so different. And that’s so very hard, and also rare. A lot of actors can play to type, and once they discover what they’re good at, they stay there. Can you blame them? If it works and all that. We’ve only known of Storrie for a few months, but we’re already sure he’s not one of those …in front or behind the camera.
Kirsten Vangsness, who plays Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds: Evolution, called him an “artist” in an interview she did with our outlet, and we gotta say, the word fits. One example: Storrie’s horror short ‘Coax’, which he directed. Sometimes, what a performer does behind the camera can give you a pretty big clue about what kind of career he’s going to have. But I digress, we’re not here to talk about that side of Storrie. Not now.
Instead, we’re here to talk about his Criminal Minds: Evolution guest stint, and what it says about his craft, and maybe even about his upcoming career.
There’s no doubt that Storrie is a very good actor. We’re starting from that basic fact. We knew that before Criminal Minds: Evolution. We saw him become Ilya, after all. We saw him develop a character that’s brash and loud in public, but that somehow manages to transmit vulnerability and fear even while what’s being outwardly portrayed is anything but that.
Because the thing about Ilya is that we never believe that he’s just the bad boy of hockey, even if he acts like it. There’s a hidden depth to the character in every moment we see him on screen, not just when he’s with Shane. And when he is, the yearning, oooofff. If we could give awards for yearning eyes, Storrie would get a few.
And we didn’t just see that, we understood, thanks to his acting choices, that Ilya is more than what he presents to the public. We didn’t need Ilya to tell us, because Storrie made sure to show us. Ilya seems like an easy character, because so much of what we get from him is external. But there’s an extra layer there, because what we’re seeing is usually a mask. And Storrie’s job is to show us the bravado, but make sure we understand that’s not the real Ilya. Not even close.
In Criminal Minds: Evolution, the challenge is different. Lance Kingston is, on the surface, a much easier character: a dude who gives creepy from the jump (stalking your ex is a big no-no), but that, as much as he presents hostility and bravado, is really a damaged man who might not know how to channel his anger. Not a villain. Not a hero. But someone who, deep down, wants to be better than what he is, he just doesn’t know how.
The problem with a character like this, of course, is that there’s so little time in a show like Criminal Minds: Evolution to really develop him and make him not just believable, but relatable.
Storrie, however, nails it. And he does it with acting choices that provide Kingston with a lot of depth in very few scenes. He’s cocky, at first. Then he’s a little wary. He’s terrified later. He’s angry at the hospital. He’s also sad. And later, he’s cunning, but he’s also scared and doing his very best to protect the one person he cares about. There’s so much to reconcile, so much we have to understand. And we do, because he’s not making it black and white. Even in procedurals, people rarely are.
It seems counterproductive to analyze these two roles as if Storrie were in a position to be super selective when he took them. This is the start of his career. Surely we will soon find out what kind of roles Storrie gravitates towards when he can pick and choose. And yet this role and the role of Ilya leave us with a very clear idea of what kind of performer Storrie is, and what he can bring to any role.
Because the answer is not just 100% commitment, but an uncanny ability to disappear into the role. And that’s not all. Storrie is also blessed with that “it” that not all actors, even ones who do a consistently great job, have. It’s hard to define exactly what it is, because it’s a combination of charisma and just…a spark that cannot be defined.
So many of the best actors do their most important work in the time between dialogue. Storrie is one of those. And it’s not always about physicality. Yes, some roles require a performer to convince us with their moves or how they look. We certainly took note of the fact that Storrie looked like he could indeed be a hockey player when we watched Heated Rivalry.
But what made audiences fall in love with Ilya wasn’t how he looked. It was what he said, how he said it. It was what he didn’t say. It was the way his eyes went soft whenever Shane was around, and how his voice took on a different timbre when he was talking about this boy he almost fell in love with against his will, whether Shane was around or not. That’s intentional. It was so with Ilya, and it’s so with Lance Kingston.
There’s a cocky man in that interrogation room, the first time we see Lance. Then a cautious boy when his mom is brought up. There’s a terrified victim as he’s reading from a script while tied up in that weird contraption by The Fan. There’s someone in the middle during that hospital scene, stripped of his bravado but not in the throes of fear anymore. It all turns, then. For a moment, he’s what The Fan wants him to be. But then he isn’t. He’s trying to be better, even if just for one person.
And it all makes sense. All of those versions of Lance are the same person. It all works.
But it works because we believe Storrie. And believing him as Ilya Rozanov and believing him as Lance Kingston are two different things. I’d even argue in some ways, it’s harder to do what he did in this show. There’s this belief that procedurals are easy work, but sometimes roles like Lance Kingston are the hardest ones to pull off because you have to act against people who have years of embodying a character and not just keep up, but bring something new to the table. Plus, you have to do that in mere minutes, while these people have had years to build a character. Storrie doesn’t just do that; he makes us want more.
The story ends in a way that makes clear we won’t see more of Lance Kingston. Though who knows. This is a procedural. Never say never and all that. But Storrie already showed us what he had to during these four episodes. He showed us that he can be Ilya Rozanov, and we can love him. And he can also be other characters, good, bad, somewhere in between, and we will enjoy him too.
Storrie has a bright future ahead. He’s got roles in Turpentine, Peaked, Please, and a rumored role in The Bell Jar still to come, on top of the second season of Heated Rivalry. He already got an Emmy nomination for hosting Saturday Night Live. And if this guest stint in Criminal Minds: Evolution proves something is that we don’t have to worry about seeing the same side of Storrie in any of those upcoming roles.
In fact, we’ll even argue that we probably won’t even see the same from Storrie as Ilya in Season 2 of Heated Rivalry. After all, Ilya has to grow, too. If Storrie could give us so much with Lance Kingston in four episodes, imagine what he can do with Ilya in two, maybe even three seasons.
Whatever comes next, we’re pretty sure it’s going to showcase a new side of Storrie. And hey, as a fan, there’s nothing more fun than that.
Are you a Connor Storrie fan? Share with us in the comments below!
Connor’s episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution are available to stream on Paramount+. Heated Rivalry is available to stream on HBO Max.
Great article on Connor! He’s got me hooked on the show with his performance.