2012 Emmy preview: Paul Rudd, ‘Glee’s’ Max Adler lead Guest Actors

If there are some categories that are incredibly hard to predict for the Emmy Awards, it’s the guest-star fields. Unless you are a big star, it’s pretty hard to be assured of much of anything. With that in mind, these categories are the first in our series where we are focusing solely on who should be nominated for lead Guest Actors — it’s simply too hard to speculate who will win since the criteria is so varied.

Let’s dive right in and get to the fun part here — the debate for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

The deserving nominees

Michael J. Fox, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” – You could make an argument that Michael J. Fox doesn’t have room for any more awards — but the man turns any role he touches into gold. With just a small part of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” the former “Family Ties” and “Spin City” actor created one of the best episodes in the series’ history.

Justin Long, “New Girl” – Justin had a few episodes to shine as Paul, and he may be the closest thing this category has to a lock. After watching his awkward Jimmy Stewart bedroom impression, it’s hard to imagine anyone else being able to play this part as effectively.

Paul Rudd, “Parks and Recreation“ – If there was anyone capable of going up against Amy Poehler, it was Paul Rudd — and he delivered. This has to be a surefire nomination, but more importantly than that we are psyched about possible chances to see Rudd show up on this show again in the future.

Max Adler, “Glee” – Unfortunately, we’re not sure if Adler’s Karofsky will be given any screen time on “Glee” moving forward, but out of these nominees he’s the only one to get to us in an emotional way. There may be some bigger names who guest starred on the show this year, but few brought the power and the weight to their parts that Adler did. For the suicide-attempt episode alone, Adler’s devastating and heart-wrenching performance should merit a nod.

John Goodman, “Community” – At a community college full of so many hapless people, it was interesting to see someone legitimately be able to strike fear into students — and Goodman’s Vice-Dean Laybourne was just that. While we wish that the character had been given more to do at times, the scenes he were included in were over-the-top gems — especially the monologue to Dean Pelton during the season 3 premiere.

Jimmy Fallon, “Saturday Night Live” – There were a few solid “SNL” hosts this year, but this is really the one that shined the brightest out of the guys. Fallon’s return to the show was marked with not only strong comedy, but also some great silly moments — including a random song-and-dance number and the return of some great old sketches.

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Who do you think is the most deserving winner for this category? Be sure to share your thoughts in the poll and comment box below!

Photo: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences