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!
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
Comments (1-30) of 195 Add your comment
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
Benjamin Bratt in The Cleaner
Tim Hutton in Leverage
Kyle Chandler in Friday Night Lights
Jill Scott in #1 Ladies Detective Agency
All the Villians in Snapped
Jeanne Triplehorn in Big Love
It would be amazing if McDonnell or Olmos got nominations. They’re both amazing times ten. And I love the woman from Southland–she’s incredible. I wish Connie Britton would also get a nomination. She’s insanely wonderful in Friday Night Lights.
Josh Holloway – Lost
Elizabeth Mitchell – Lost
William Petersen – CSI (a lifetime achievement award – a great actor who deserves recognition for his great work on an amazing show)
Connie Britton – Friday Night Lights
Kyle Chandler – Friday Night Lights (Coach and Mrs. Coach should get trophies every year if you ask me)
Taylor Kitsch & Zach Gilford – Friday Night Lights (maybe more supporting, but these two are some of the best actors on TV, with the misfortune of being on the same show with the acting master class that is Kyle Chandler)
Damien Lewis – Life
Sarah Shahi – Life
Garret Dillahunt – Life (Supporting)
Allison McAtee – Life (Guest performance)
Donal Logue – Life (Supporting)
William Atherton – Life (Supporting)
As you can probably guess, I loved the show “Life” and am so disappointed it was cancelled in favor of Jay Leno and a bunch of medical dramas I have no interest in watching.
“Rita” from Dexter deserves a nod. She was amazing this past season, and truly is underrated.
http://tvdonewright.com/2009/07/07/tv-tonight-wednesday-july-8th-2009/
Totally agree with Mary McDonnel…when, Emmy, when? I also think Elizabeth Mitchell on lost was fantastic for the last few seasons, and particularly this last one.
Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton should NOT be longshots for their work on “Friday Night Lights”, but since that excellent cast has been ignored up until now, I’m going to go ahead and mention them.
I also agree that Josh Holloway 1,000% transformed into a LEADING MAN just as Sawyer did the same in this season of “Lost.” He should be rewarded with a Lead Actor nomination.
Totally agree on Regina King. She makes Southland more than just another cop show. She elevates the whole thing.
Now I wish I’d said Josh Holloway…you guys are right, he’s totally Lead material, not Supporting anymore!
i know this is a long shot because the day that the cw get a nomination is the day hell freezes over, but i would love to see leighton meester get nominated
SO SAY WE ALL!
Edward James Olmos deserves not only a nomination but to win.
I think the emmys is the worst awards show. Every year feels exactly the same, with the same people getting (deserved or undeserved) nominations… and the same people getting snubbed. It’s boring and irritating.
Denis Leary !! Its about time that the best actor on tv gets the Emmy!
Last year’s Emmys bombed in the ratings, (the least watched broadcast ever), and Each & Every critic who reviewed them gave them negative reviews.
The Emmys also love to give the same awards to the same people and the same shows year after year. For example: 4 consecutive awards to John Larroquette on the show Night Court, and they only stopped when he requested they give someone else a chance. TV Guide, a few years ago, called the Emmys the least watchable awards show on tv.
I am not going to nominate anyone, or anyshow: Instead I am going to recommend that the Emmys hire someone who knows how to put on a good show, such as the Grammys. They seem to think that because they give awards to tv people, they can put on one of the worst programs on televsion, and not have to worry about being cancelled. They might not be cancelled, but, less and less people are watching they because they are so horrible.
Denis Leary NUFF SAID