Emmys 2017: Norman Reedus, Cole Sprouse, Josh Segarra among Supporting Actor – Drama picks

Who deserves the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Emmy for 2017? Trying to answer that question with all of the competition out there feels like an almost-impossible task, so for this entry in our CarterMatt Emmy Preview Series, it’s all about narrowing down the field to a group of contenders who made us smile, laugh, cry, and everything in between over the past 12 months.

It was a tough decision for the CarterMatt staff when it came to picking some of our favorites, but below, you can check out our staff Emmy picks in the category! There are good reasons why every person on this list was chosen, and beyond that, we also welcome you to vote for your own favorites in the attached poll!

How do you vote? It’s easy. Just pick your favorite of the nominees at the bottom of the article, and you can do so however many times you like — you may need to clear the cache first. (Note that if you are visiting on mobile and do not see the poll, you may need to click to view the non-AMP version of the page.) If your favorite is not on our list, be sure to leave us a comment in the box below with your choice. We still want to hear from you!

The 2017 Emmy nominations will be formally announced on July 13. The results of all of our CarterMatt Emmy polls will be formally revealed on July 12 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific. They will officially close in the minutes leading up to that time.

Alex Høgh Andersen, Vikings (History) – Physically, Andersen brought so much to the table with Ivar, in between how he carries his body and how utilized his eyes so much to carry emotion. Thanks to the work he put in here, you could see how this character was a product so much of circumstance, and why he felt the need to be as ruthless as he was. His scenes with Travis Fimmel were on another level, and even with Ragnar gone, Andersen offers up further hope as to how good Vikings will continue to be in the seasons to come.

Matthew Gray Gubler, Criminal Minds (CBS) – It’s no secret why Gubler should be a contender this year, given that this season brought the actor his most complex, fascinating material to date. He hit his scenes with Jane Lynch out of the park, portrayed his prison sequences in a devastatingly human matter, and then completely nailed his closing scenes with Aubrey Plaza’s Cat Adams. Through and through, this was Gubler’s strongest year on Criminal Minds ever, and maybe the best overall performance the show has ever witnessed.

(Quick Note: Gubler was originally on our list of Lead Actors due to ABC Studios informing us he was submitting as such. They’ve since corrected that, which is why he has been moved here. Votes previously cast for him will still count and will be added to his final total.)

Lou Diamond Phillips, Longmire (Netflix) – Phillips turned in another stellar performance this past year as Henry Standing Bear, a man whose view of justice is not always simpatico with the rule of law. He’s caring to those close to him, but overtime he’s evolved to become even more determined to have a say in the injustices within the Native American community. He is one of those actors who can make the most of very little dialogue, and is just as effective with his body language as he is reading his lines. The fight between him and Robert Taylor at the end of season 5 was so long in the making that the end result of it was one of the show’s most brutal and heart-wrenching moments.

Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead (AMC) – This year was far from easy street for Norman, who deserves this honor just from the episode “The Cell” alone, where he had to do everything from eating a dog food sandwich to being tormented perpetually be Dwight. This was a performance that pushed Daryl Dixon to his physical and mental limits, and Reedus found a way to express that subtly without altering the character we’ve come to know and love. When Daryl shows that ounce of vulnerability, it matters so much more because of the work he’s put in to get to that place.

Josh Segarra, Arrow (The CW) – There are villains, and then there is Adrian Chase. By far, Segarra delivered the best performance of any Arrow villain to date, and you can throw in there any other DC Comics show on The CW while you are at it. He was determined, truly psychotic, and a character every single person on the show had a reason to fear. Even with his final showdown, Chase never strayed from his goal of making Oliver suffer, and trying to force him to admit that he was nothing more than a killer who enjoyed doing it. It was sinister, terrifying, and all sorts of brilliant.

Cole Sprouse, Riverdale (The CW) – One of the most unexpected hits of the year was anchored largely by the performance of its cast, and few were as impactful as Sprouse’s take on Jughead. He managed to inject so much life into who was arguably one of the more oddball characters into the Archie comic. He made you want to root for him in all aspects, whether it be his relationship with Betty or his complicated home life. He was a flawed character, but nonetheless one of the most sympathetic as he struggled to do the right thing no matter what barriers stood in his way. Thanks to Sprouse’s performance, our heart broke for him on a frequent basis, but it also cheered him on when we saw him try to open up his heart.

Other favorites – Ron Cephas Jones, This Is Us (NBC), John Lithgow, The Crown (Netflix), Scott Glenn, The Leftovers (HBO), Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul (AMC).

Now, we leave it to you to vote!

Remember that to see some other Emmy categories posted daily (including Outstanding Drama Series), be sure to visit the link here. (Photo: Emmys.)