There is a very good chance that
any number of the fine actress from Mrs.
America and Hollywood will be among the nominees. Considering that there are so many
they will probably divide the Academy, I’m going to do my best to split the
difference, as well as add some who might very well be overlooked from other
series.
Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America
Admittedly, I’ve never given as
much due to Orange is the New Black, even
though its hard to ignore Aduba’s extraordinary – and in one case, genre
bending –work that earned her two Emmys. But those who only knew her as Crazy
Eyes will be stunned by her work as Shirley Chisholm, the first African American
woman to run for President, who finds herself fighting for the ERA almost
entirely against her will. Even historians may have forgotten Chisholm’s role
in history, and the fact Aduba disappeared into her in a way you wouldn’t have
though, makes her in my mind, one of the more likely candidates for a
nomination from this series.
Rose Byrne, Mrs. America
This is a more personal pick than
some of the others. I was always a huge fan of the show that introduced Byrne
to America:
Damages. Byrne’s work as Ellen
Parsons, the dedicated attorney who fought with and against Patty Hewes, never
got quite the same recognition as Glenn Close’s (though Byrne did get two Emmy
nominations). Considering that she spent so much of her career playing the
model of a feminist icon, I think it would be fitting for Byrne to receive
another nomination for playing an actual one.
Her work as Gloria Steinem, one of the major forces behind the ERA would’ve
been dazzling enough on its own, but will likely get lost among all the other
extraordinary actresses on the series. I’m giving a push for Byrne because
she’s a personal favorite.
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Ever since Toni Collette dove into
a Kansas housewife with multiple personalities
in the undervalued United States of Tara for
which she deservedly won an Emmy, the Hollywood
world has well been aware that there’s nothing she can’t do. Which is why her
turn as Grace Rasmussen, the utterly solemn, seemingly joyless, workaholic at
the center of the action in Unbelievable who
serves at the catalyst that gets the task force started and who helps lead the
detectives through the darkest part of the human soul, was so astounding. So
much of her best work has centered around comedy, it’s actually kind of
stunning to see her do something so perfect. I don’t know why she’s competing
in the Supporting Actress category instead of Actress, but based on her triumph
at the Critics Choice Awards, it seems to have determined she has a lock on it
– were it not for another brilliant investigator in this category.
Allison Janney, Bad Education
I’ve long since stopped being
amazed at the vast array of talent that Janney is capable of - she has seven
Emmys and an Oscar, so it really seems like there’s nothing more she can do to
surprise us. Then you see her play a character like Pam Gluckin, Frank’s
utterly indispensible right hand woman, with her perfect Queens
accent, and you realize she has more to teach us. She seems to be the perfect
undervalued assistant, until we learn she’s been embezzling millions of dollars
to give her family the life she wanted from the schools budget, and everything
goes out the window again. I think at this stage, even Janney would say she
doesn’t need another Emmy. But another nomination seems more than fair.
Jean Smart, Watchmen
How times have changed. Four years
ago, Jean Smart was almost certainly robbed of an Emmy for her exceptional
performance as Floyd Gerson, the head of a Minnesota crime family making a last stand
against the business model, by Regina King. Now its 2020, and she’s starring
with the woman who beat her. Smart continues to demonstrate why she is one of
television greatest actresses, playing FBI Agent Laurie Blake, a former
costumed hero now bent on arrested them, an utter cynic who has no patience for
vigilantes, who doesn’t even want to hear the villains explain their plots
because she’s been there before. When Watchmen
was regarded as a series, Smart upset many bigger names with a win for Best
Supporting Actress in a Drama at the Critics Choice earlier this year. Could
she manage to do the same thing here? God snaps his fingers, and she might win
an Emmy.
Megan Stott, Little Fires
Everywhere
There are a lot of great supporting
performances in Little Fires, from
Alex Pettyjohn’s work as the put upon oldest sister to Rosemarie DeWitt as Elena’s friend whose desperation for
motherhood has driven so much of the action in the series. But in my mind, the
most stunning work was given by Megan Stott as Izzy, the problem child, at
least as far as her mother goes, mainly because she never wanted her in the
first place. Facing the struggle of being an artist and a lesbian in a very
suburban community, ostracized by her best friend who won’t accept her
sexuality, Stott gave arguably the most realistic performance by a young actor
or actress in this long year. The series ended with no clear idea of Izzy’s
fate. I think a nomination would be in order.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Naomi Watts, The Loudest Voice
It seems very odd that the two
actresses who played Gretchen Carlson, the Fox News personality whose lawsuit
brought down Roger Ailes were both Australian: Nicole Kidman in Bombshell, and Watts
here. Kidman was the only female lead ignored by the Oscars, and it seems just
as likely Watts will be ignored by the Emmys.
But Watts had much more to work with in The Loudest Voice. We got a far greater
portrayal of just how much abuse she ended up taking, how she plotting to go
against him, and when she delivered the fatal blow. When she brought him down,
it meant more when we saw it because we’d suffered along with Carlson. I’m not
sure enough people want to recognize her, given the atmosphere, but Watts shone brightly.
See you on July 28th,
when the actual nominations come out.
No comments:
Post a Comment