Emmys 2015: Will Peter Dinklage, Jonathan Banks, or Alan Cumming take Supporting Actor?

As we get further and further into our CarterMatt Emmy preview series for 2015, we do continue to be impressed with what is for the most part a heck of a field. We don’t think that there is any clear dud category of the entire scripted crowd, and while there are some snubs and things that we would change, we’re not going to get too angry about the best overall crop of nominees the show has put forward in years.

With that, let’s move into the Supporting Actor in a Drama Series field, given that we personally do find this one to be one of the best ones year in and year out to analyze. There’s never a sweeping favorite, and much of it comes down to the personal preference of the voter at the time they are making their choice.

The nominees

Alan Cumming, “The Good Wife” (CBS)

Ben Mendolsohn, “Bloodline” (Netflix)

Jim Carter, “Downton Abbey” (PBS)

Jonathan Banks, “Better Call Saul” (AMC)

Michael Kelly, “House of Cards” (Netflix)

Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones” (HBO)

Who should win – As much as we love Dinklage, this really wasn’t his season of “Game of Thrones.” He had a slightly slower year, and with that we have to lean a little bit more towards Banks. The “Five-0” episode of “Better Call Saul” is to us one of the best performances we’ve seen by any actors across the board over the past year. Sure, we’re also probably giving him even more love because we’re shocked that he has never won an Emmy before.

Who will win – This is why we label this one unpredictable. We think that Banks may have an edge, but awards shows do love “Downton Abbey” and “The Good Wife” very much. Also, we’re still not ruling out Dinklage, given that he is the one “Game of Thrones” actor who has actually won a trophy in the past. We’d be very surprised if this is either the year for Mendolsohn or Kelly.

Photo: AMC