Emmy Race: Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

The Emmy Award nominations are still a few weeks away, but this year looks to be quite competitive in all the major categories. This year, there will be six, rather than five, nominees in the regular acting categories and series categories, but not in the guest categories. At this point, I’d like to offer a rundown of the potential nominees. I’ve profiled, in alphabetical order, the top ten contenders who, right now, have the best shot at a nomination.

Last year’s nominees:
Four of last year’s crop came from “30 Rock,” and three of them won’t be returning this year. Winner Tim Conway didn’t appear on the show this season, and both Rip Torn and Steve Buscemi weren’t submitted this time around, which is fortunate since they barely appeared in their respective episodes last year. Fifth nominee Shelley Berman couldn’t possibly be eligible since “Curb Your Enthusiasm” hasn’t seen the light of day since way back in 2007.

The contenders:
ALAN ALDA as MILTON GREEN, 30 ROCK
Alda is an Emmy legend, receiving 11 consecutive nominations for his performance on the comedy series “M*A*S*H” in addition to writing and directing nods, and numerous other nominations and awards, most recently in 2006 for his supporting role on the final season of “The West Wing.” Basically, Alda can do anything he sets his mind to, and Emmy voters will eat it up. This year, he guest-starred as Jack Donaghy’s father, and there’s almost no chance he’ll be snubbed. He’s both a big name and he has screen time, so he should be all set to standout among the plethora of eligible “30 Rock” male guests.

WILL ARNETT as DEVON BANKS, 30 ROCK (1 nomination)
Arnett is the sole nominee from last year who could get nominated again. Emmy voters loved “Arrested Development” and recognized Arnett for its final season. When he failed to make the list of nominees in this categories for the first season of “30 Rock,” there was an uproar, but he was safely here last year as the only deserving nominee whose performance legitimated a nomination. It’s very likely that voters will feel Arnett has already been honored, especially because Arnett barely popped up this season and he has a number of hard-working guest stars (see above and below) to contend with, and he may fall short as a runner-up.

SCOTT BAKULA as STEVE BARTOWSKI, CHUCK
Bakula is a four-time Emmy nominee for lead actor in a drama series for “Quantum Leap” back in the early 1990s. Bakula resurfaced for a few years in the early 2000s as the leading actor on another sci-fi series, “Enterprise,” the latest Star Trek incarnation. This year he tried something slightly less sci-fi in orientation, and proved to be a valuable (if not terribly funny) guest star as supercomputer Chuck’s father. He does have to contend against Chevy Chase, who guest-starred in the finale with him, and “Chuck” didn’t strike a chord with Emmy voters last year, but Bakula may still be able to stick out the race.

ROGER BART as BRAD HALSTER, 30 ROCK
Bart is a Broadway sensation whose last big venture to TV found him playing a crazed pharmacist out for Bree’s heart on “Desperate Housewives.” This year, Bart had a small guest spot on an episode of NBC’s hit comedy as an executive who Liz needs to seduce in order to prevent cutbacks. Bart didn’t have much of a part, but the actor has never been recognized by the TV academy in any way, and they really like to honor “30 Rock” guest stars who didn’t do much. Then again, Bart was fairly funny and the episode was fun.

DEMIAN BICHIR as ESTEBAN, WEEDS
Bichir first began on the fourth season of Showtime’s dramedy as an intimidating drug lord whose demeanor and existence intrigued Nancy. Soon, he was revealed to be the crooked mayor of Tijuana, and despite all his criminal activities, he was positively charming in his continuous efforts to woo Nancy. Bichir also had a major role in the recent Steven Soderbergh double-feature “Che” as Fidel Castro which could (but probably won’t) up his pedigree. The bad news: last year’s “sure thing” recurring “Weeds” guest star Matthew Modine (Sullivan Groff) didn’t make the cut; same goes for Martin Donovan (Peter) the year before. History is not on Bichir’s side here.

ALBERT BROOKS as LENNY BOTWIN, WEEDS
Now here we have a “Weeds” guest star who is already high profile, and despite his long, prolific film history, he’s never had a chance to be recognized by the TV academy. Critics were dazzled by his arc as Nancy’s lazy, cruel father-in-law who had to see his mother die right after the obnoxious family of his dead son arrived at his doorstep. Brooks does have to face the potential bias against both recurring players and “Weeds” actors, but perhaps he can be the one to finally break through on behalf of both groups.

JON HAMM as DR. DREW BAIRD, 30 ROCK
Hamm is at the height of popularity right now, headlining the most well-reviewed series of the century and proving that he has comedy skills by hosting “Saturday Night Live” and guest-starring on this laffer. His role as a doctor whose single status might indicate that he’s a serial killer leads to the revelation that he’s not actually good anything, he just gets treated nicely because he’s attractive. It’s a hilarious role, and a terrific performance from an actor who’s on fire right now. Consider him a lock.

STEVE MARTIN as GAVIN VOLURE, 30 ROCK
Martin delivers a very funny, fairly subdued, typical Steve Martin performance as an executive under house arrest pretending to be agoraphobic to cover up his fraud charges. He’s a perfect addition to the “30 Rock” universe, and the episode is one of this year’s best. Martin has been nominated several times for writing, and scored one Emmy nomination for hosting the Oscars a few years ago. This should provide his next nomination.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE as VARIOUS CHARACTERS, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
The cast of “Saturday Night Live” has flip-flopped categories recently, being transplanted from regular cast members eligible in the individual variety performance category (now defunct) to host Tina Fey getting nominated in that category last year, to eligibility now being in the supporting and guest categories for comedy series. This means that Timberlake has been submitted, the sole representative from the show here, and his popularity and funny sketches on the show could net him a nomination. He does have a whole lot of “30 Rock” competition – and does everyone take him seriously? Seriously enough to laugh at him, perhaps.

GLYNN TURMAN as GEORGE VALENTINE, SCRUBS
The intimidating Turman stopped by Sacred Heart Hospital this year for a moving turn as a gruff patient who impacts J.D. and Turk. Turman is fresh off an Emmy win in the corresponding drama category for his guest spot on “In Treatment” last year, and buzz for that and for this actor coming into his own could even net him a double nomination. “Scrubs” has never been overwhelmingly popular with Emmy voters, and even with the likes of Michael J. Fox in its history, the show has never netted a guest acting nomination. Turman could break that streak, but it’s safer to consider him an alternate.

Other contenders to watch out for: Callum Keith Rennie (Californication), Chevy Chase (Chuck), John Laroquette (Chuck), Beau Bridges (Desperate Housewives), Stellan Skarsgard (Entourage), Stephen Root (Pushing Daisies), Peter Dinklage (30 Rock)

The roundup:
This category will be likely be dominated again by “30 Rock” guys – but hopefully this year, the contenders will be more deserving. Everyone submitted, fortunately, did actually contribute something to the show and therefore things should work out. There aren’t too many possibilities for surprises here, although my gut is telling me that Steve Martin will be snubbed. I don’t know why, and it probably won’t happen. In any case, this category does contain some great actors.

Current predictions:
ALAN ALDA, 30 ROCK
ROGER BART, 30 ROCK
ALBERT BROOKS, WEEDS
JON HAMM, 30 ROCK
STEVE MARTIN, 30 ROCK

Who could win? Alan Alda

Next up: Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series