I suppose I should be annoyed that yet
again this category has two shows making up all but one of the nominees. However,
I'm by and large okay with that because: 1) The White Lotus has only
three nominations rather than the four its gotten in its first two seasons, 2)
they nominated the three actors I would have nominated, 3) the one nominee from
neither White Lotus or Severance was one I hoped would be
nominated in this category and 4) I'm really not sure who else I would have
nominated in their stead besides that. Jack Lowden will be back next year,
anyway.
With that in mind this category is the
only one that does seem to have some genuine suspense. There is a favorite but
it's not as overwhelming as the majority of the winners in this category. We'll
see how it goes. Here are the nominees:
Zach Cherry, Severance. For
Playing: Dylan George,
who must face a harsh truth about who he loves. Pro: Cherry's storyline
as Dylan was by far the most wrenching one considering he has likely been
nominated for his work in Atilla. In it we see that Dylan is facing a crisis
with his wife and makes a decision so unsettling that even to hint at it seems
uncouth. An overlooked gems in a brilliant supporting cast. Con: There
is a favorite from Severance in this category but it's not going to be
Cherry.
Walton Goggins, The White Lotus. EXPERTS
PICK (?) MY PICK. For Playing, Rick,
a man on his mission that leads to violence and tragedy. Pro: Let's get
this over with. By this point in his career Goggins should have at least three
Emmys in this category alone for his work in The Shield and Justified.
(We'll set aside what she should have gotten for his collaborations with
Danny McBride over the years.) Instead this is only the third nomination he's
gotten ever since he exploded on to the scene as Shane Vendrell over twenty
years ago. To call him overdue is ludicrous and its kind of ridiculous – even to
him – that the rest of America discovered him this past year. To be clear, it's
not as if his work as Rick is the best work he's done in any show but that's a
tribute to Goggins as an actor. What is clear is that his work is the most radically
different performance we've seen on this show in three seasons. Rick is
completely miserable, thinks there is no purpose to his life and has only come
here on a mission of revenge and death. His storyline is by and large the
darkest this show has dealt with over three seasons. And his fate is by far the
most tragic of any character on this show because it really seemed that he was
going to overcome the burden of his past. And then in the final minutes he gave
into his trauma, acted impulsively, immediately regretted and paid the ultimate
price. Goggins has already won the Astra Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor
in this category and was the overwhelming favorite from the moment the
nominations came out. Con: He's still the favorite but there are signs his
momentum may be beginning to flag. Still there is the fact that every White
Lotus character who dies on the show wins the Emmy that year. That may be
enough to help.
Jason Isaacs, The White Lotus. For
Playing: Timothy
Ratliff, the wealthy father bringing his family on vacation who learns that
they when they return home they will lose everything. Pro: Isaacs is, if
anything, an even more undervalued actor than Goggins and for nearly as long in
TV. I still remember his work in Brotherhood as Tom Caffee as utterly
mesmerizing. As Timothy he plays a character who is dealing with the fact that at
home, his fortune and his freedom will be taken away from him as soon as they
return home. Timothy spends the series balancing the high wire actor of extreme
tragedy and very black comedy as he spends his time doing everything in
his power to keep his children from learning the truth, self-medicating to the point
of numbness and trying desperately to persuade his family to see if they can
live without money, only to keep learning that they can't do without it.
Eventually he begins finding his way towards a mass suicide as his only exit –
until at the last minute he backs out and almost loses his son anyway. It's
rare to see a redemptive arc even of this limit play out but Isaac does it
incredibly well. I'm glad to see him nominated for an Emmy at last. Con: There
can only be one winner from The White Lotus in this category and it's
probably going to be Goggins.
James Mardsen, Paradise. For
Playing: Cal Bradford,
ex-President of the United States and President of Paradise. Pro: To
make a humble brag I predicted Marsden's nomination in this category when most
of the experts didn't give him a chance in hell. Like the majority of the
actors in this category Marsden has been one of the most undervalued actors in
Peak TV for the past decade in particular, able to play comedy, drama and
himself with equal measure. So it's striking his work as one of the youngest
presidents in history – and as we learn in flashbacks, the last one – is one of
the best he's ever given. Seen entirely in flashbacks (his character's murder
is the engine drives the series) we see Cal as a man who's boyish appearance
hides the trauma of everything that has happened not much better than anyone else. He's almost
always drunk, barely able to keep up a
public face, not respected by his father or his son. And we see that in his
last days he was trying to find a way to make the truth come out and ended up
being killed because he was the target of all that was wrong with Paradise even
though he may have had the best moral compass closer to the end. Privately he
would be my favorite in this category, if for no other reason that while the
show will be back for a second season his character won't. Con: I'm wise
enough to know that the only chance Marsden has is if the three nominees of Severance
and White Lotus split enough to give Marsden a chance to win. But in
recent and past Emmy history that rarely, if ever, happens. The nomination is
reward enough.
Sam Rockwell, The White Lotus. For
Playing: Frank, a
friend of Rick who has gone on a spiritual journey and losing it after one
night in Bangkok. Pro: Just when you though Sam Rockwell couldn't do
anything more to surprise you he delivers a six minute monologue in Episode 5
that is by far the comic highlight of the entire season, describing how he
abandoned a life of alcoholic and sexual abandon to become a Buddhist monk and
describes in very graphic detail how it played out. We then see him travel with
Rick to the home of the man who ruined his life to play a part and within ten
minutes ends up throwing away his lifestyle to alcohol and spends the final
minutes of that episode in an orgy. ("I'll go back to being the monk
tomorrow.) Compared to his fellow nominees in this category his role is smaller
but no one, certainly not me, can say he didn't earn it. And when Season 4
comes I want to see Frank again – or maybe Mike White can do a spinoff? Con:
I can't rule out the possibility of Rockwell pulling off an upset but I
think with so many other major leads in this category, it's unlikely he'll pull
it off.
Tramell Tillman, Severance. For
Playing: Seth Milchick. Pro: Tillman
has been moving up in the odds for recognition in this category for several weeks
to the point that he has been given the most chance of upsetting Goggins. He's
already won the Best Supporting Performance in a Drama from the Dorian Awards
so it's clear he has some momentum. Watching as we realize the head of HR in
Lumen has a more complicated history but is just willing to toe the company
line is an unsettling performance that leads to a terrifying final image in the
finale. Tillman has had a solid record in some of the more underrated dramas on
TV including the cult series Dietland and the first season of Godfather
of Harlem. Con: I'm not entirely sure why the momentum for Tillman
is building as opposed to Turturro or Cherry.
John Turturro, Severance. For Playing: Irv, trying to get answers at Lumen
and protect the man he loves. Pro: If I have a favorite from Severance
in this category it's Turturro though not entirely for his work here. For starters
Turturro is one of the greatest actors in film and TV for the last four decades
and has got almost no recognition for any awards. This has been as true for TV
as film. To be fair he does have an Emmy for his guest work in Monk but
considering his work in such astounding Limited Series as The Night of and
The Plot Against America he should have won something. Calling his work as
Irving his role of a lifetime is an exaggeration but his love story has by far
the soul of the show when the strangeness of it gets to difficult to bear. And
in the penultimate episode when Irv faces the possibility of never seeing Burt
again, it is the most moving moment in the show. Of all the cast member
Turturro deserves to win the most. Con: I'm not sure Turturro has the
power to emerge from this unscathed.
MY PREDICTION: I think Goggins finally gets his first
Emmy for his work. Hopefully they'll start giving him more.
Tomorrow I'll wrap things up with Outstanding
Supporting Actress in a Drama as well the other major awards in this category.
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