Dream Emmy Ballot: Lead Actress, Drama

The Primetime Emmy awards aren't until September, but I thought that I would start periodically sharing my picks for the awards, whether I think that they actually have a chance or not.  I will only be sharing picks from shows that I've actually seen, so even though shows like Westworld and The Walking Dead are uber popular, you won't be seeing any picks from those shows since I stopped watching both a while ago (don't judge).

First up, leading actress in a drama series:

1.  Claire Foy (The Crown):  Portraying an actual famous figure who is still alive is difficult, but when this person is Queen Elizabeth II, it becomes an almost impossible task.  The public views her as a fussy and stodgy monarch who is mostly out-of-touch with the public.  Foy portrays the queen as all of these things, but she also makes her sympathetic, a simple woman thrown into a role that she didn't ask for, and who is suffering under the weight of a mostly unhappy marriage that she can't escape.  The role will be taken over by a different actress next season; here's hoping that she can convey the same quiet strength and dignity as Foy.

2.  Ellen Barkin (Animal Kingdom):  As Smurf, the matriarch of a crime family and the only female member of it, Barkin is electric onscreen.  She exudes such power and control that it makes perfect sense why grown, muscular men, her own sons, would be afraid of a petite older woman.  In season 2, her sons began to discover that their mom had betrayed them and they began to break away from the fold.  Barkin showed a softer side, desperation and despair over losing her family, who she loves above all else. 

3.  Constance Zimmer (Unreal): As Quinn, the executive producer of fictional Bachelor-style dating show Everlasting, Zimmer is the queen bitch in charge.  She manipulates the show's contestants and her own staff to shocking extremes in order to boost ratings and further her own career.  Somehow Zimmer makes you root for Quinn though, despite her nastiness.  In season 3 viewers Zimmer began to show a different, damaged side of Quinn, as we were clued into the extent of her alcoholism and loneliness.

4.  Lena Headey (Game of Thrones): Cersei Lannister is perhaps the most evil character on television.  She stops at nothing to keep her spot on the Iron Throne, and she aims to take down fan favorite Daenerys and Jon Snow for threatening her power.  I have the rather unpopular opinion that I want Cersei to remain on the throne when the series ends next season, simply because I love watching Headey so much and want her to have as much screen time as possible.  Cersei will never show anyone any sort of softer side, but Headey still conveys her character's inner grief over the loss of all 3 of her children.

5.  Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale): Moss's best moments on this show are when she's completely silent, as her character Offred (aka June) quietly grapples with the harsh realities of her world, in which she's repeatedly raped by her military commander master and physically abused by him and others.  In the most recent episode, the first glimmers of hope appeared on her Moss's face when she made a daring escape attempt, but her blistering pain and agony soon reappeared when she was caught. 

6.  Mandy Moore (This is Us): Many people would disagree with this choice.  Moore is just a pop singer and wannabe actress, right?  Wrong.  I may be biased (I have a huge crush on her), but Moore is the heart of this time-jumping weepy family drama.  In the much-hyped post-Super Bowl episode this year, Moore gave a quietly affecting performance, as her character Rebecca found out that her perfect husband Jack had died after a house fire.  She's even believable in old-age makeup in the present day, as an older woman to thirty-something kids. 

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The Death of Jack Pearson