2013 Emmy reaction: Why it’s okay that Jeff Daniels defeated Bryan Cranston
Dear internet, we’ve taken notice; and clearly, you’re not that big of a fan of Jeff Daniels winning an Emmy tonight for his role as Will McAvoy on “The Newsroom.” To a certain extent, we get it: “Breaking Bad” is on right now in its final season, and there is a huge contingent of folks out there who were eagerly hoping to see Bryan Cranston walk away with another award. Or, what about Jon Hamm playing Don Draper six times, and getting no love for it at all? He only has two more opportunities, and Cranston also has another.
The way Daniels won this year is probably due to a number of other nominees canceling each other out. Many voters probably struggled to decide between Cranston and Damian Lewis in particular, while Kevin Spacey probably received a few votes to go along with Hamm. “The Newsroom” has vocal fans, and they likely all stuck with Daniels for his sharp, human performance of a man in Will McAvoy who is barely together enough to function on the job a good part of the time.
While “The Newsroom” may be polarizing in subject matter at times, it does not diminish the performance of the man in the role. Daniels makes a character of someone that is not that easy to like at times, and turn them into someone that is easy to root for. He’s not a bad guy like Walter White or at times Don Draper; he’s more of a traditional hero except with an ego and a problem with telling people off. He’s not interested in the evil things; he just wants to do his job, do it well, and leave an impact in a way that he can look back on fondly.
So in the end, we close with this message. If you don’t like the winner for this year’s show, just remember that there’s always next year. All of these actors will again be eligible, and the voters could then change their mind.
If you do want to read some more news related to the Emmys, don’t worry: We’ve got you covered with a full winners’ list and more here.
Photo: HBO
Diane Andrasik
September 26, 2013 @ 4:59 pm
I think Daniels won because he was great in that role in the same way he was great in The Squid and the Whale (for which many thought he should have received an Oscar nom), great in God of Carnage (so that he was nominated for a Tony alongside the late Jim Gandolfini), along with SAG and Golden globe noms. If we were to think he was nominated and won because of liberals liking Sorkin’s liberal agenda, then I guess Bryan Cranston won twice because drug loving, murderous Emmy voters voted for him the two years he won. Six wonderful actors were nominated. Each played a different type of role. Any one of them might have won. Cranston was great as a true wicked Tony Soprano type anti-hero. Daniels character is dramatic in a different way–suffering the despair of having lived with an abusive father, his life is forever in turmoil and bitterness. Some viewers don’t get that watching an actor convey that inner drama of an individual is equally important–and perhaps harder. When I sat down to watch The Newsroom, I was hooked immediately because of Daniels’ delivery of that first extensive monologue. I think others were impressed too. So I like the fact Daniels won because no single actor is ever the best because every role is different. I thought it was great Damian Lewis won the previous year, and I was glad Daniels won it this year. Congrats to all.
Feedback
September 23, 2013 @ 5:14 am
I’ve seen all 19 episodes of the Newsroom. I agree with most of their messages even though I hate how they go about it. I’m a proud Democrat and very critical of the fanaticism in the GOP. That being said, JEFF DANIELS WON BECAUSE OF F**KING LIBERALS. Seriously, the only reason he won is because they just loved seeing the way he humiliated conservatives every week on TV. He’s a liberal’s wet dream of a news anchor and they just had no choice but to masturbate to his snarky performance and vote him to the top of their Emmy ballots.
Democrats are always complaining about how the Republicans are inside a bubble, but this really shows how bubbled we liberals are too. Jeff Daniels put on a snarky cartoony performance in a horribly written in-your-face melodrama and he gets the win because Hollywood just loved his politics on-screen.
Can’t wait to see The Newsroom win Best Writing next year. Now that’s going to be a spectacle.