So look. I know some of you are probably scoffing at the folly of this exercise, thinking to yourselves, "What's the point? The nods are — as uzh — going to go to James Spader, Hugh Laurie, Holly Hunter, and Mariska Hargitay (even though SVU has gone completely off the rails)." But with Emmy opening up room for a sixth nominee in its main races, maybe there's cause for a little optimism, for the belief that heretofore brilliant-but-unheralded performances might make the Academy of Television Arts and Science' grade. (Of course, if your ideal candidates don't get recognized, they might wind up with a nomination in EW.com's second annual EWwy Awards.) So check out Gold Derby's list of front-runners in the men's and women's lead drama races, then tell us who you'd like to see get his/her name called on July 16. In the meantime, here are four folks I'm rooting for:
Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica: Seriously, Emmy, THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. McDonnell's been revelatory for four seasons of BSG, and her final episodes showcased some of her finest work, as her Laura Roslin convincingly shifted from flirtatious lover to defiant cancer patient to resurgent fleet heroine. Failure to recognize her genius would be like calling Bill Gates a small business owner or saying Michael Phelps is just an okay swimmer. (Okay, so those are frakked up examples, but you know what else is frakked up? The inevitability of another McDonnell snub!)
Edward James Olmos, Battlestar Galactica: Can you imagine one of the best SciFi dramas in recent TV history without Olmos' stoic-but-tender performance? Yeah, me neither. If McDonnell gets her due, so should this dude. So say we all? So say we all!
Regina King, Southland: Maybe her role is too subtle for Emmy voters, but with a single facial expression, the 227 vet Ray star can deliver the equivalent of 1,000 lines of dialog. Witness that rush of maternal love when her Det. Lydia Adams cradles an abandoned baby, or the ferocious lioness who's unleashed when gang members descend on her house to try to gun down a young witness, or even the weary singleton who strains to smile her way through another doomed lunch date. Is there anything King can't do? (And don't answer me by asking, "Win over fusty Emmy voters?")
Simon Baker, The Mentalist: Yes, his CBS crime procedural is a breezy trifle, but is there any TV star who's more enjoyable to watch than Baker? His Patrick Jane may not pack the gravitas of characters in more Important Series, but damned if I didn't find myself completely submerged in his world for an hour every Tuesday night last season.
All right, PopWatchers…you've got my list of Emmy longshots in the Lead Actor/Actress Drama catgeories, now it's time to head to the message boards and share yours (along with your reasons why). Ready, set, argue!
addCredit("Carole Segal/SyFy(2); Robert Voets/NBC")
Related stories:
Michael Ausiello's Dream Emmy Ballot: Best Lead Actor and Actress (drama)
2008's EWwy winners
Marc Bernardin recaps (and pays tribute to) the 'Battlestar Galactica' finale
My wish lists:
Lead Actor in a Drama:
Hugh Laurie in “House”
Josh Holloway in “Lost”
Jensen Ackles in “Supernatural”
David Boreanaz in “Bones”
Lead Actress in a Drama:
Elizabeth Mitchell in “Lost”
That’s pretty much it for me, but I think these are some of the most talented but underappreciated actors out there.
jackie, i agree with you 100% with david boreanaz in bones. he is so amaaaazing on that show. definately doesnt get the respect he deserves.
Kyle Chandler. His performance on Friday Night Lights blows me away every week.
Lead Actor:
-Matthew Fox, “Lost”
-Hugh Laurie, “House”
-Josh Holloway, “Lost”
Lead Actress:
-Evangeline Lilly, “Lost”
Leading actor:
Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
CONNIE BRITTON, KYLE CHANDLER! CONNIE BRITTON, KYLE CHANDLER! CONNIE BRITTON, KYLE CHANDLER!
110% Kyle Chandler. It’s a crime he’s been overlooked thus far. And then Josh Holloway. What a 180, done RIGHT!
Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica)
Can’t she go in the Best Actress category? She sure seems like one to me. Phenomenal this season.
Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica)
Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica)
Definitely.
So say we all!
There has to be love for the ladies of ‘Big Love’ this season, especially Chloe Sevigny, but perhaps she’d be considered supporting? Jeanne Tripplehorn was also fabulous last year…the scene in the temple alone should win her the Emmy. I didn’t believe that Anna Paquin’s Golden Globe win was deserved last year, but I’m a ‘True Blood’ convert, so I want to see her nominated as well. And, I won’t lie…Leighton Meester deserves a nod.
Well since, like you said, SVU has gone totally to crazy-town, I think there’s room for another procedural actress (and, no, not Kyra Sedgwick). How about Cote de Pablo from NCIS? She deserves it for the last four episodes of the season alone, if not for that single moment in the episode Cloak where she takes a beat after Tony leaves the elevator to show three seasons worth of longing on her face. That scene gets me every time! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0h0DezmSU8
callie thorne in Rescue Me. she’s really hit it right on the money this year.
So. Say. We. All. I’m really hoping the Emmy ceremony will pull a “Return of the King,” and just give every single award to BSG.
Mary McDonnel is probably the best “unknown actress” on the planet. Somehow, she manages to fly under the public radar as far as recognition is concerned. Both for awards and also for name recognition