Periodically this summer I'll be sharing my picks for the primetime Emmy awards, which will take place this September. Up this week, Best Lead Actor in a drama. Click the links below each description for videos of the actors.
1. Sterling K. Brown (This is Us): As Randall, the adopted member of "The Big Three", Brown is far and away the best actor on the show. He's a believable man's man, but he's also not afraid to get silly and emotional at times. The 2nd season of the hit family drama included a plot about Randall and wife Beth adopting a troubled teenage girl named Deja. The storyline could have been hokey and predictable, but Brown skillfully portrayed the struggles that go along with adoption, as well as the joys. Speaking of Beth, Randall's conversation's wife his wife seem so real, like watching a real married couple, and that's thanks to the ease and skill of the two actors who play them.
Randall and Deja
2. Delroy Lindo (The Good Fight): The entire cast of The Good Fight is terrific, but Lindo stands out among the male actors on the show. As Adrian Boseman, managing partner of the law firm Reddick, Boseman, and Lockhart, Lindo is formidable in court and with his enemies, but he's a big teddy bear with his friends. Adrian seems like a real person that you might work with, a friendly but tough boss. This season he played a major part in the "lawyers getting targeted" storyline, and he was at the center of one scene that for me will go down as one of the most shocking in tv history. Don't click the link below if you don't want it spoiled for you.
Adrian Boseman
3. Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid's Tale): While this dystopian drama is mainly centered around the persecution of women, and Fiennes usually doesn't get all that much screen time, I would argue that he is a lead actor because his character, Commander Waterford, is the most prominent male figure on the show. At first he seemed gentle and rather kind to his wife and handmaid, which seemed to be a bit of a cop-out on a show centered on men persecuting women, but this season Fiennes has fearlessly showed viewers the dark side of his character. He controls all of the women in his household in a usually quiet manner, but in one recent memorable scene he viciously whipped his wife for disobeying him. I'm sure it's hard to play such an unlikable character, but Fiennes never holds back onscreen. He's truly mesmerizing to watch.
Commander Waterford is confronted
4. Darren Criss (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story): While this was technically a limited series and not a drama series, I'll include it here for the sake of not droning on about too many Emmy categories. I liked the show at first but lost interest about halfway through due to the slow pace and meandering storytelling, but Criss was always a strong force onscreen as killer Andrew Cunanan. The show smartly realized early on that Criss was the star of the show, focusing mostly on Cunanan's life and what led up to him killing fashion designer Gianni Versace and others. Over 9 episodes he took viewers on a complete journey to becoming a madman, and I couldn't look away. When he started off on Glee I never would have guessed that he could pull off a role like this.
Andrew Cunanan
5. Milo Ventimiglia (This is Us): While Sterling K. Brown is the best actor on this drama, Milo is the undisputed heart of the show. His character Jack only appears in flashbacks, but every week viewers are treated to the best damn dad on television: giving his kids pep talks and doting on his wife Rebecca while dealing with his own demons (namely alcohol addiction). This season viewers finally learned how Jack died, and while the episode was really a showcase for Mandy Moore as Rebecca, Ventimiglia didn't disappoint either. Eventually the show will probably have to lose the flashback device, but here's hoping that they find a way to continue using this talented actor.
Jack and Rebecca
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