CarterMatt Awards 2016: Grant Gustin, Chandler Riggs, Matthew Gray Gubler among Underrated Actor nominations
What does it mean to be underrated? To us, it means being someone fantastic at what you do, but for some reason, your audience loses sight of how you should be recognized for it. Underrated Actor is a category that we’ve had running for some time at the CarterMatt Awards, with the honor last year going to Hugh Dancy of “Hannibal” fame. Given that this show is now over, it’s an open field this time around between several outstanding actors who all bring different dimensions to their work. Some are funny, some are dramatic, and some are anything and everything in between.
If this is the first time you’re reading a CarterMatt Awards piece, note that our criteria in this category is such that none of the nominees can have been nominated for a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, or an Emmy at some point over the past year. (Would they be underrated if they were?)
Underrated Actor – The Nominees
Matthew Gray Gubler, “Criminal Minds” (CBS) – Gubler has long been an outstanding performer on the crime drama, but if you are looking for a spectacular individual performance that shines head and shoulders above many others, you can go back to the start of the year to check out “Entropy,” a fantastic back-and-forth between him and Aubrey Plaza. It was a dramatic game of cat-and-mouse that demonstrated his strength, his intelligence, but also vulnerability. Spencer Reid is a man who perseveres through hardship and uses stumbling blocks in order to get better.
Grant Gustin, “The Flash” (The CW) – If we want to watch a fantastic hour of television, we know that we’re going to get it from “The Flash” routinely. (For the record, “The Flash” is the reigning Show of the Year champion here at the site.) It’s a show that is tremendous fun, but when it gets darker and more dramatic, it has performers worthy of carrying that material. Gustin is an absolutely perfect Barry Allen, and it’s the sort f performance comic fans dream of when you picture a TV version of the character in your head. You get those moments of exuberance and passion you’d want from this character, but also ones of great pain, burden, and humanity that come from having so many lives on the line. Highlights include the final episodes of season 2, in particular when the battle with Zoom gets even more personal.
Rick Hoffman, “Suits” (USA) – Hoffman’s probably one of the most-underrated actors working period, but Louis Litt remains one of our favorite characters he’s ever done and one of the most magnetic people on TV. Louis is so different from almost anyone else on this show or any show — arrogant but also vulnerable, viciously aggressive but also kind, and someone with the capacity to care so much if you can get past all the bluster. Watching Louis deal with every event in his life, whether it be the arrest of Mike Ross or him falling in love with Tara, had so many different layers to them that were earned and built up from so many years of great performances. It was a true pleasure to watch, and there was a reason for every action.
David Lambert, “The Fosters” (Freeform) – Lambert’s always been very good on “The Fosters,” but there was something about his story in the first half of season 4 that really took it to another level. Maybe it was seeing his character Brandon handle so effectively the struggle that comes with being a young person, desperate to make their dreams come true but also to be a supportive boyfriend and even a potential father figure to Cortney’s child. He carried that weight so effectively, and because he made the character so relatable, it made it all the more difficult to see Brandon stumble and make heartbreaking decisions. Consider this one of many great performances on a show always in need of more acknowledgment.
Chandler Riggs, “The Walking Dead” (AMC) – Like with so many other characters on the zombie drama, the struggle for Riggs is finding the moments to shine in the midst of such an enormous cast. Yet, he’s still found his places over the past year to deliver incredible moments and bring us into his world. As horrific as it was, the scenes featuring Carl and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in particular on this past episode were incredible. Few other shows have managed to capture a snapshot of simultaneous bravery and fear in such a way that never felt forced, and completely had us immersed in the surroundings.