I have to
admit when the nominations this year came out in this category my first
reaction was much like Bill Murray when he discussed the Supporting Actor and Actress
awards at the Oscars on Saturday Night Live: “Who cares?” I have slightly come around on that point,
but not by much.
Seriously did
the Emmys only see Succession and The White Lotus for this
category? Did they miss Better Call Saul? Were two of the greatest actors
named John somehow ignored for this category (John Lithgow for The Old Man and
Johnathan Pryce for The Crown)? Did they miss Elijah Wood in Yellowjackets?
Were Stellan Skarsgard in Andor and Matt Smith for House of the
Dragon forsaken?
Now I am
willing to let this pass for two reasons. One, none of these actors will be
eligible next season. And two, with the exception of Better Call Saul, all
of the actors I listed above will get another chance. Still even though I
admire many of the performers in this category’s work; it’s going to take some
effort for me to care about who wins. That said, here I go:
F. Murray
Abraham, The White Lotus. Odds: 8-1. For Playing: Bert Di
Grasso, the patriarch of a family on a vacation to Italy. Pro: Of the
four actors nominated for The White Lotus, Abraham is the one I most
want to win; indeed, he’s my favorite in this category. It is not merely due to
the fact that his work in the series is by far the comic highpoint – yes, even
more than the wonderful Jennifer Coolidge. It’s that Abraham has been one of
the most undervalued character actors of all time, not merely in movies but in television.
His work as Dar Adal on Homeland was one of the more nuanced performances
in a series filled with incredible complicated characters. He was one of the
few members of the cast other than Coolidge to receive a nomination for his
work on the series, justifiably receiving a Golden Globe nomination last year. And
when he spoke for the cast when the show took the prize for Best Ensemble, his
speech was both gracious and profoundly moving. I would like to see Abraham up
there. I really would. Con: It's
looking like this may be more Succession’s year than The White Lotus,
and sentimentality hasn’t prevailed at the Emmys in a long time.
Nicholas
Braun, Succession. Odds: 8-1. For Playing: Cousin Greg,
trying to find a position of power in the aftermath of so many betrayals. Pro:
Braun has been the comic highlight of Succession since the beginning
of the series, almost always in the midst of the wonderful byplays between him
and Tom for four years. Now as the stakes got impossibly high, Greg remained incredibly
clueless in the face of tragedy, devastation and betrayal. In other words, he
was by far the most fun. I guess you could say he was the only member of the
Roy clan who might have managed to come out ahead by the series finale, but we
all know how easily he’ll be ground into dirt. For that at least, he deserves a
prize. Con: Braun has always had the misfortune of being overlooked by
the incredible display of dramatic acting his cousins and in-laws were doing
throughout the season. And in a year where the darkness was the most important
part, his comic highpoints are going to be overlooked.
Michael
Imperioli, The White Lotus. Odds: 9-1. For Playing: Dominic Di
Grasso, dealing with his sex addiction and trying to reconcile with his son. Pro:
Christopher, boy have you let yourself go! It has been rare that we’ve
gotten to see Imperioli in his long and storied career get to play someone
whose basically a joke in the eyes of everybody and it’s clear that Imperioli
was relishing being able to play a sad sack.
Of all the characters this season, he was the most obvious failure of the
bunch, trying to reconcile with his wife about his sex addiction, trying to win
his son’s approval and utterly and completely failing at both. And let’s not
kid ourselves that one of the highpoints of the series was watching Dom trying
to explain that he was letting women who were clearly prostitutes use his room
and insist it wasn’t for sex. I hope we get to see Imperioli back on the show
again someday. This was a lot of fun. Con: Imperioli does have an
Emmy for his work on a slightly more famous HBO drama series. Much as I’d like
to see him get a bookend, I don’t think the Emmys will let him.
Theo James, The
White Lotus. Odds: 19-2. For Playing: Cameron Sullivan, a
billionaire on a trip to Italy with his old college roommate and his wife. Pro:
There’s an argument that the Sullivans came out the winners of The White
Lotus because they were as clueless when they started the trip as they were
when they ended it. We expected nothing from either of them from the start of
the show and that’s exactly what we got from them. It was hysterical watching
James play a man so utterly contemptible and basic in his sexuality, showing no
shame in his actions either in trying to bully his college roommate or seduce
his wife, blatantly lie to everybody and be utterly baffled as to why his
friend would want to beat him up at the end of the series. Cameron was as
clueless as the jungle beasts his wife compared him to, so maybe he’ll come out
of it the happiest. James has been acting in TV for awhile but this is his
first truly great role and its worthy of a nomination. Con: This kind of
dullness didn’t work out for Steve Zahn or Jake Lacy against Murray Bartlett
last time; I doubt it will work here.
Matthew
MacFayden, Succession. Odds: 4-1. For Playing: Tom, trying
to balance his power play with his betrayal of his wife. Pro: Since the
nominations were announced it seemed a near certain that MacFayden was going to
repeat last year’s win. And it’s hard to argue that given the evidence of the
last season. He called and told everybody that Logan was dying. Having made his
choice to be on Logan’s side, he was the victim of a stunning reversal with Logan’s
death. One day, he seemed to be reconciling with Shiv; the very next night the
two of them have the fight that’s been building for four seasons when Tom
finally laid all of Shiv’s flaws for her to see – and she refused to
acknowledge them. He abandoned his responsibilities on election night and spent
as much time trying to get in with the head of the company. He sold out Shiv in
order to get the title. And he technically won ‘Succession’ – but we all know
the win was meaningless. Tom lost his soul and may have gained the world – but
he won’t even have that for long. MacFayden deserves another Emmy for the pain
he’s undergone. Con: MacFayden has won before and it’s never been easy
to win in the category when there were only three nominees. Can he pull it out
with three of his co-stars in the category?
Alan Ruck, Succession.
Odds: 13-2. For Playing: Connor, the oldest Roy son trying to build a new
life. Pro: I’ve always thought Connor Roy was the only sympathetic
character in the Roy family, maybe because he never cared enough about Waystar
Royco to be spoiled by it. And Ruck’s work in the final season featured some of
the greatest moments. When he brought the family together to try and reconcile
and it blew up, he made it very clear just how broken his siblings were in
regard to their father – and that he was in a different way. In the wedding
where Logan died, his reaction was the most honest: “He never loved me!” And I
think that at the end of the episode, where he took his new wife’s hand at a deserted
service, he looked happier than anyone of the Roy siblings. While his three
siblings spent their time trying to position themselves to take over the
company, he was the one taking care of every aspect of their father’s burial
and memorial. Even his devastating loss on Election night seemed far less
painful then what his siblings did for the country. I really think that Connor
was the winner of Succession and because Ruck has never received his due
for his work on the series, I think he deserves an Emmy. Con: No one had
any real respect for either Connor or Ruck’s work on the series during the four
years the show was on the air. Throw in the fact that there has been some
recent controversy involving him, and it might not be enough for him to
prevail.
Will Sharpe, The
White Lotus. Odds: 17-2. For Playing: Ethan Spiller, celebrating the
sale of his company and dealing with the struggles of his marriage. Pro: You
so wanted for Ethan to come out on the other side of this winning. He was really
a sad sack who just wanted to work things out. His marriage was unhappy and he
clearly was being bullied by his old roommate who he wanted to triumph over. And
he tried so hard to prove himself a man. But as always on The White Lotus, his
efforts were useless. While you could argue that he managed to prove himself a
bit in the final episode of the series, by this point we all know better: there’s
no way to look at either him or his marriage as worse than we came to the hotel
in the first place. The Emmys should reward
him. Con: But they won’t. If the Emmys will recognize anyone from the
series (a long shot) it’s going to be from the Di Grasso family and not one of
the two men who no one in this series could root for. (Their wives are another
story…but that’s in the next article.)
Alexander
Skarsgard, Succession. Odds: 6-1. For Playing: Lukas
Matsson, the social media mogul trying to acquire Waystar Royco. Pro: Skarsgard
has been rising in the polls for the last few weeks and considering the nature
of his character it is to see why. He was the final antagonist of the Roys in
the season and was yet another example of someone so rich and powerful that no
one noticed how utterly clueless he was or how much of a house of sand his company
was until the acquisition began. Just a little bit of effort could have done to
outmaneuver him and the Roys were utterly incapable of doing it. Skarsgard utter
willingness to be a sexist and clueless jerk – he even told Tom the only reason
he was making him figurehead was so he wouldn’t be tempted to sleep with Shiv! –
would have been horrible were it not so hysterical. Skarsgard demonstrates in
his third consecutive project for HBO that he is one their greatest
discoveries. Con: This is a very divided field and there are more powerful
nominees here. Lukas took over Waystar. Can he take another Emmy from the Roys?
PREDICTION: Much as I
would like to see Abraham or Ruck prevail, it’s likely that MacFayden triumphs
here.
Tomorrow I
wrap it up with Best Supporting Actress as well as the remainder of the major
categories. And in this one I’m definitely going against the tide.
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