Friday, September 2, 2011

Emmy Winner Predictions: Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series


Nominees are pictured and listed in alphabetical order. Submitted episode titles are in parentheses. Beware of minor spoilers for listed episodes.

Andre Braugher as Owen Thoreau Jr., Men of a Certain Age (Let the Sunshine In)
Braugher is back with his second consecutive nomination for this now-cancelled show. His submission is strong, featuring a grumpy weekend getaway with his two buddies as they prepare to get colonoscopies and has to deal with inheriting his father’s crumbling business. He’s been able to get nominated for many different shows, and while he’s only won twice out of six times, he could well triumph this year, especially since his show is now over.

Josh Charles as Will Gardner, The Good Wife (Closing Arguments)
Charles earns his first Emmy nod for the season finale of this show, in which his romance with Alicia finally blossoms into something physical. Charles is the kind of player that’s consistently good in the background, but his nomination is likely his win since he doesn’t have a part nearly as showy as almost all the other nominees in this category.

Alan Cumming as Eli Gold, The Good Wife (Silver Bullet)
Cumming makes the transition from the guest actor category to this race this year after being promoted to series regular. Cumming has some entertaining interactions with his onscreen daughter and America Ferrera’s nanny in his submitted installment, and this could be a great chance for Cumming to take home his first Emmy since he’s certainly the comic relief on his show and still manages to be dramatically compelling.

Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones (Baelor)
Dinklage got his first Emmy nod for his always hilarious, occasionally heartfelt performance as the short-in-stature but big-on-words Tyrion Lannister. His episode includes a drinking game in which Dinklage reveals a more serious side, and it’s a great showcase for him, which explains why he was singled out of the cast. He’s definitely a decent bet to win.

Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder, Justified (The I of the Storm)
After getting snubbed for the final year of “The Shield” and the first year of this show, Goggins managed to break into the race this year for a rather astounding performance as the trigger-happy Boyd Crowder. In the second season, Boyd struggled to stay on the good side of the law, and his episode, which finds him approached by someone seeking to get him in on a score, really catches him at the beginning of that inner battle. He’s a dark horse for sure.

John Slattery as Roger Sterling, Mad Men (Hands and Knees)
Slattery is the longest-running nominee in this category, earning his fourth nomination for his portrayal of ad man Roger Sterling. In his submitted episode, Roger deals with an unwanted pregnancy and the loss of a major client, which gives Slattery plenty of opportunity to appear pathetic and ignorant. Nonetheless, he is a sympathetic character, and it’s quite possible that he could finally win this year.

Who should win (based on entire season): Dinklage
Who should win (based on individual episodes): Dinklage
Who will win: It could easily be Braugher, Cumming, or Dinklage, or even Goggins. My money is on Dinklage.

Next up: Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

1 comment:

Richter Scale said...

I would give the edge to Slattery, because of his overdue status and his fantastic performance this season (I've made it no secret that I've been pulling for him all year), but also because he's the predicted winner at Gold Derby (at least he was last time I checked). I wouldn't be angry if Dinklage won though, since he is fantastic, and I also love Alan Cumming. This is a fantastic lineup overall, and it would be great to see the new guys on this list pop up in the years to come.