Emmys 2016: Martin Freeman, Sterling K. Brown, Hugh Laurie top Limited Series / TV Movie Supporting Actor picks
With there being so many great Limited Series and TV Movies out there, how do you stand out now for the Emmys? It’s certainly a far more difficult proposition than it once was, since it basically requires finding new ways to elevate both yourself and your material to new heights.
Luckily, the six men we’ve chosen below as our picks in this field manage to do that and then some. They’re captivating, strong-willed, emotional at times, and they make the most out of whatever screen time that they have. In addition to our personal nominees, you can also vote for your favorite below! We’re going to announce the readers’ favorites on July 13, one day before the actual nominees are announced.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a TV Movie / Limited Series
Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story” (FX) – While we were a casual viewer of the OJ Simpson trial back when it was one, admittedly we did not recall much about Darden. After watching Brown’s performance, we’re never going to forget him again. He was a man steeped in moral quandaries, desperate to do the right thing but struggling to figure out just what that was. His lighter moments with Sarah Paulson were wonderful, but his calamities were utterly heartbreaking.
Martin Freeman, “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride” (PBS) -We admittedly could never tire of watching Freeman’s take on John Watson; through this movie, though, we effectively saw two different but very different iterations of Watson through time that were fascinating, sharp, and one of the best dramatic foils any lead could ever hope for. Without him present to uncover the madness of the Bride, Sherlock would be figuratively (and possibly literally) out on an edge.
Hugh Laurie, “The Night Manager” (AMC) – What is so remarkable, and a true testament of Laure’s talent, is watching him play Richard Roper at the same time as he is playing Tom James on “Veep.” One is among the meanest, most manipulative, and dangerous people on television; meanwhile, the other is a politician who is able to come across as so likable, you literally want to spend every second of the day giving him a giant hug.
Jesse Plemons, “Fargo” (FX) – One of the most remarkable things about this series is how Noah Hawley and company can manage to, over the course of a stretch of episodes, break down a character and transform them in shocking ways that, somehow, you believe could happen in life. For season 1, we had that in Lester Nygard; for season 2, Ed Blumquist was a great example, played by Plemons in his best, most varied performance to date.
Forest Whitaker, “Roots” (History) – One of the challenges for the cast of “Roots” is that so many of them only appeared in a few select chapters of the miniseries; therefore, you have a wide array of talent to choose from! For us, though, Whitaker stole every scene as Fiddler. Maybe it’s not a surprise at all to want to see one of the greatest actors of our time nominated for an Emmy … but hey, deserving is deserving.
Bokeem Woodbine, “Fargo” (FX) – Mike Milligan was amazing. The reality here is that there are probably three or four other actors from this show you could consider worthy here, so for us, what we had to do is merely sit down for a moment and picture who we gravitated towards every second they were on screen, and who we utterly missed when they weren’t. Bokeem gave that sort of performance that kept us completely locked-in from start to finish.