Emmys 2017: Martin Freeman, Alexander Skarsgard, Idris Elba top Miniseries / Movie Supporting Actor picks
In addition to sharing some of our picks for this category below, we suggest that you also vote for you favorite! There’s a poll at the bottom of this article for you to do this very thing.
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.
CarterMatt Picks – Supporting Actor in a Limited Series / TV Movie
Idris Elba, Guerilla (Showtime) – It’s true that Elba is an actor that it’s hard to find fault with in most of his work. Nonetheless, there was an extra dimension to what he brought to Kent in the Showtime limited series. The subject matter in 1970’s London was powerful and real, especially given that so U.S. viewers are unfamiliar with the period and its stakes. Even though he wasn’t always at the forefront of the story, Elba brought so much to every scene he was a part of from start to finish.
Martin Freeman, Sherlock: The Lying Detective (PBS) – Somehow, Freeman finds a way to consistently hold his own in the part of John Watson, even when he is surrounded by such larger-than-life characters such as Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. He is the lifeblood of the show, the everyman who still feels this uncontrollable urge to continue sleuthing even when times are devastating and a part of him knows he should take a step back. For John, there are few times that were as devastating than the aftermath of Mary’s death. As a whole, The Lying Detective marks one of his best performances of the series.
Mark Gatiss, Sherlock: The Lying Detective (PBS) – Mycroft had a decent amount of story to tell in The Lying Detective, and his history with the third Holmes sibling played a big part in setting the stage for the finale (and produced a number of theories, no less). In general, Gatiss remains supremely underrated for his fantastic portrayal of Sherlock’s brother, one of the few intellectual rivals to Sherlock and someone with unparalleled gravitas. He’s a commanding scene partner, and also a fantastic emotional counterpoint. He’s consistently one of our favorite people to watch on the show.
Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette & Joan (FX) – As director Robert Aldrich, Molina had the incredible challenge of trying to corral Bette Davis and Joan Crawford long enough for them to work together on What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. Luckily, he succeeded in making this flawed character compelling at every step. He brought a great sense of fraught confidence to the role, as Robert himself knew consistently that he was always on a knife’s edge to his career going down the tubes. He’d have moments of victory with ones of devastation soon after.
Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies (HBO) – As the abusive and altogether terrible Perry, Skarsgard had one of the biggest challenges of the entire HBO limited series: Committing to the darkness and the terror of this role. It’s a character that needs to be so dark that it helps to put the finale into perspective. He didn’t shy away from any of the hard moments, and while Perry was never a man worth rooting for, we absolutely appreciated all of the effort that was put into the role by a man knows people knew a vampire Eric Northman going into it.
Michael Kenneth Williams, The Night Of (HBO) – One of Williams’ greatest talents is as a chameleon of characters. He can dive into almost any role, and it will take a few scenes before you start to wrap your head around it being him. Watch his work here as the prison kingpin Freddy, an influential figure in Naz’s development at Rikers Island, and then try to compare that with what he did over on Hap and Leonard as one of the title characters. Few actors can pull off this sort of range, and make you believe that they inhabit the part as much as he does.
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.)