Dream Nominees- Supporting Actor
- Noah Emmerich- The Americans
- Walton Goggins- Justified
- Mads Mikkelson- Hannibal
- Mandy Patinkin- Homeland
- Aaron Paul- Breaking Bad
- Corey Stoll- House of Cards
So, for the last few years this category has been the toughest one to break into. There could very easily be a list of ten or more worthy men, and it is HARD to narrow it down to six. An entire alternate list of deserving nominees could and probably will show up here (the only reason I left out perennial nominees like Peter Dinklage and John Slattery is because I don't think they had as much to do on their shows this season). But these are my favorites, and of them I think the ones most likely to score noms will be Aaron Paul and Mandy Patinkin. Paul is fantastic on Breaking Bad, has won the last two years in a row, and will definitely be back. Patinkin has not been nominated for Homeland yet, but I have to assume he was in 7th place or so last year, so I'm guessing he makes it this time. The rest of my guys could all fall out for other people. Walton Goggins was nominated two years ago, but is great as lovable antihero Boyd Crowder on Justified, so good that I think he deserves to win. Stoll gave a heartbreaking performance and was the best character on House of Cards for me (review of that show coming tomorrow), Mikkelson is really a co-lead, but I've already talked about how mesmerizing he is on Hannibal, and I was very happily surprised at what a nuanced, sensitive and rich supporting turn Noah Emmerich gave on The Americans this year. To be honest, any of these guys deserve to win, but I chose Goggins because he's been so good for so long now, and I think he's somewhat overdue, especially counting his years on The Shield.
Dream Nominees- Supporting Actress
- Joelle Carter- Justified
- Emilia Clarke- Game of Thrones
- Anna Gunn- Breaking Bad
- Rose Byrne- Damages
- Kiernan Shipka- Mad Men
- Olivia Munn- The Newsroom
This field is a bit less crowded, and I have again chosen almost all people who will not make the cut. The only guarantee is Anna Gunn (and she's probably also the winner, because she has an AMAZING episode to submit). Joelle Carter had more screentime as Ava this year than I think she ever has, and as the only woman with any real role on Justified, I think she deserves recognition. It's a similar situation with Emilia Clarke, who was given a lot more to do this year than whine about her dragons, but they don't seem to like anyone except for Peter Dinklage on that show. I went for Kiernan Shipka as Sally on Mad Men over Christina Hendricks, because I think she handles the dark, emotional stuff they give her as well as or better than many of the adults, and Joan was kind of short shrift this season anyway. Olivia Munn was the only woman on The Newsroom who was not written as an idiot, and managed to play both comedy and drama surprisingly well, and finally there's Rose Byrne. Yeah, she was on a show called Damages that most people have forgotten existed entirely, much less that it aired its final season last summer. And that's really too bad, because it was a great show, and the only one I can think of that was entirely about two women as they confronted their professional and personal conflicts as well as any of these shows about male antiheroes that are ubiquitous now. Rose Byrne was essentially a co-lead, but she was terrific, and deserves at least much recognition as Glenn Close got in the show's early years. But it won't happen. Expect this category to be filled with people like Maggie Smith again, and more women from The Good Wife and Downton Abbey.
