BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
This is the category with the most
room for growth. Over the 2010s, it was dominated by Aaron Paul (three Emmys)
and Peter Dinklage (four). With Game of
Thrones finally gone from the ranks (it averaged three nominations in this
category the last three seasons Thrones was
on the air), there will have to be some new choices. Considering that the
majority of the Westworld actors have
gone for the lead roles, it seems like a new crop of actors will be here. Here
are my best guesses.
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Even Peter Dinklage admitted that
Banks should’ve won at least once of the two last times he won. And its even a
bigger shocks that Banks has never won at all in a career stretching back as
far as Wiseguy. I’d call him the
sentimental favorite, except that those of us (and particularly himself) would
be hard pressed to call anything about Mike ‘sentimental’. So even if you don’t
want to consider his body of work going all the way back to Season 3 of Breaking Bad, just consider some of his
accomplishments this season, where he tried to recover from the murder of an
innocent by going in a downward spiral, as he did his best in a futile effort
to cut Nacho loose from the swamp he’s in, and in his finest moments, when he
saved Jimmy’s life twice, then had to walk him through the desert, and then
find himself the man’s only confidant. I don’t know what else man has to do for
an Emmy. He already had a great death scene.
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
In my opinion, the only threat to
Banks’ triumph at the Emmys is another seasoned character actor. Flying under
the radar of his far more famous co-stars was the work of Crudup as Cory, the
beleagured producer of the trouble series. Crudup has spent the past two
decades as one of Hollywood’s
most undervalued character actors, from Almost
Famous and Watchmen, to roles in
such great undervalued films as Jesus’
Son and The Stanford Prison
Experiment. His triumph at the Broadcast Critics Awards was one of the
bigger surprises of an award show that gives theses kinds of awards. He deserves some recognition from Hollywood, and while I
don’t want him to triumph, he more than deserves a nomination.
Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call
Saul
Frankly, there are a lot of good
choices for Supporting Actor from Better
Call Saul – arguments for Michael Mando and Tony Dalton could be made just
as easily, and there is a certain argument that there would be a level of
laziness in renominating Esposito. But take nothing away from his work. Gus
Fring was one of the great villains in television history, and one of the great
pleasure of both shows has been watching the Chicken Man try to outmaneuver his
enemies. Having to deal with Lalo, one of the most formidable foes he will face
until, well, Heisenberg, has been fascination watching him try to work often in
silence. Seeing him test an employee to make sure the frier is adequately
cleaned while an informant is being captured, blowing up his restaurant to
forestall his enemy, and coldly dismissing any idea that Nacho should be cut
loose –reminds us how great a character Fring is and how brilliant Esposito is.
David Harbour, Stranger
Things
Another member of the cast who
should’ve won an Emmy by now. The kind of patience Hopper has with so many of
the bizarre events that are happening in Hawkins, trying to protect his
surrogate daughter Eleven (adolescence is going to be a bitch), and all the
while to remain a real force for good is rare even in the golden age. Throw in
the fact that Harbour himself is a genuine engaging personality (his work on
SNL was one of the highlights of a shortened season) the fact that he’s won a
couple of prizes from the Critics Group and the SAG awards, and the fact we
know he gives a great speech makes me want to see him there.
Josh O’Connor, The Crown
Leaving aside that Tobias Menzies
should really be in this category instead of Best Actor, there’s a pretty
strong argument for this relative newcomer to be in the race against some
established presence. Charles has become a real force in the third season of
the crown, and watching his struggles with his family – his being forced to go
to Wales to give a speech, and then being admonished by his mother by what he
says, his complicated relationship with Camilla and his great-uncle, and the
fact that everybody in his family sees him and problem – and possibly dangerous
– has made me feel for Charles in a way I never have. And all that credit must
be given to O’Connor, who bears an eerie resemblance to the young Charles on
top of everything else. He’s a bit of a long shot, but I’d like to see him
considered.
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
How is it that Patinkin has never
won for his work on Homeland? You
could call Saul Berenson the role of a lifetime, except that Patinkin has had
so many over the years its hard to think which one would be. But as the source
of calm, level-headedness in the CIA, a man who has put the country before
everything else, most often to his detriment, who is relied on by several
Presidents, who has a measure of the long game that few real agency people seem
to have, and who was the source of steadiness for Carrie for eight increasingly
troubled seasons, he should have won at least once by now. I think the odds are
against his prevailing – given everything that’s happened the past few years, Homeland doesn’t quite seem as relevant
in its final season - but I really think
he should get at least one last bite at the apple.
Adam Scott, Big Little Lies
This is my major longshot for the
category. Scott has always been one of the great actors at playing a relative
straight man to explosive woman which served him well in Parks & Rec and was a
huge help in the first season as Madeline’s husband in Season 1.. But as he
watched his wife breakdown and realize just how big some of the secrets she was
keeping from him, his performance took on a new level as he realized just how
much of a placeholder he was in her life, and it led him into angry, dark
territory. Scott is never the flashier member of any cast, and its true here –
he wasn’t as evil as Skarsgard or as despicable as Jeffrey Nordling, but for
sure steady performance, he deserves a nomination.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Michael Emerson, Evil
Let’s be honest. You never trust a
Michael Emerson character. You knew he was a killer on The Practice, lying was his superpower on Lost, and even when he was the good guy on Person of Interest, you knew there was a beast waiting behind those
glasses. So in a sense, Leland, the archnemesis behind almost everything that’s
going wrong for the characters, is the role he was born to play. He manipulates
people subtly and quietly – except the protagonist, who he openly and joyously
taunts. He never seems to be set back by anything, and we does it really gets
him pissed. One wonders about the therapy he’s getting. There isn’t any scenery
left in sight when Leland’s around. For some reason, I can’t even see a listing
for him for this series. Clearly dark forces are at work – or maybe I’m just an
instrument of them. Either way, give him a nomination.
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