Teen Choice Awards 2016: Grant Gustin, Ian Somerhalder, Andrew Lincoln vie for Sci-Fi / Fantasy Actor
If there is one thing that we know to be true about the Teen Choice Awards and the entirety of the Sci-Fi / Fantasy TV category, it is this: They really love guys who work on The CW. Therefore, you really should not be too shocked at all that the majority of the names on the Choice TV Actor: Sci-Fi / Fantasy list below are ones who are currently calling the network home. Even if a few of them were excluded from this list, there are some others who could have taken their place: Think along the lines of Daniel Gillies, Bob Morley, Stephen Amell, or Brandon Routh.
Among this list there is one clear exception in the CW-only mold Andrew Lincoln. How in the heck did the guy from “The Walking Dead” make it onto the list? It really has to do with the show’s crazy popularity, which shatters some of what we consider to be traditional barries for the TCAs.
As we’ve been doing all week, we’ve got our own analysis of the category below, coupled with a way for you to share your own thoughts below. (We’ll compile the voting results and share them in a separate piece later this month.)
The nominees
Andrew Lincoln – “The Walking Dead”
Grant Gustin – “The Flash”
Ian Somerhalder – “The Vampire Diaries”
Jared Padalecki – “Supernatural”
Joseph Morgan – “The Originals”
Paul Wesley – “The Vampire Diaries”
Who will win – This is going to be a really tough category to call this year, since Paul and Ian could end up canceling each other out, and we’re going to go with the reigning champ here in Jared. “Supernatural” fans are notoriously great when it comes to voting for him and Jensen Ackles; without Jensen on this list, there’s no fear of a similar Paul / Ian effect, and he’ll be able to rally most of the #SPNFamily behind him for another deserved victory.
Who should win – We’d go with Lincoln or Gustin based on our own personal preference from the past year’s worth of work, but we’re personally going with Gustin based on this past year of work. He makes Barry likable, but at the same time flawed, human, and fascinating. It’s so hard to make a superhero stand out within a sea of them right now, but both this show and him are trendsetters in a way that a main hero doesn’t have to be super-serious, and nor does he have to be brooding or depressed much of the time.