The TV IV:IVy Awards/2006/Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Candidates to be considered the Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series for work in a series which first aired one or more episodes in the United States between June 1, 2005 and May 31, 2006. Please read carefully the Definitions and Guidelines before putting a candidate up for nomination.

Definitions

drama

Any live-action (non-animated), scripted (non-documentary, talk or news) episodic (airing on a recurring basis), non-limited series categorized as a Drama on the TV IV. In the case of shows which are categorized as both Comedy and Drama (and only in those cases), the show will be categorized on the basis of runtime: Less than 40 minutes should be considered a Comedy, 40 minutes or more should be considered a Drama.

actor

A human male performer in a scripted series, including voice actors and male actors portraying female characters.

lead actor

An actor who is First Billed in an episodic series at any point during the eligibility year.

Guidelines

Please feel free to propose as many or as few candidates as you like in each category. If you change your mind or wish to retract a candidate, don't worry about editing the page, as it could cause some confusion down the road. (If you propose one unworthy enough, it will most likely not make it past the nominating process, anyway.) Feel free to discuss yours or others' proposals as much or as little as you choose. Tell us why you feel a candidate should be considered, or why someone else's candidate is a horrible choice and should not be considered. (Just remember to follow standard TV IV discussion rules regarding civility.)

Please mark all proposed candidates in bold, and link the show titles, even if the linked articles are empty or stubs. Try to avoid using bold elsewhere in the discussion. (To mark a candidate in bold, surround the name with two sets of three apostrophes, and use double brackets for linking, '''[[like this]]'''.) We must have a series for which each actor is being nominated, so be sure to include one. (For instance, to propose Nathan Fillion for Firefly, write: "Nathan Fillion, Firefly".)

Candidates Discussion

My first candidates in this category:

• Andre Braugher, Thief: The series could have been better, I thought, but Braugher proves he is still as compelling and layered an actor as he was on Homicide: Life on the Street.
• James Gandolfini, The Sopranos: The series is getting long in the tooth, but Gandolfini's performance is not. In this season, he has managed to play two characters—Tony Soprano and the "otherworld" Tony Soprano—and his performance in the latter makes it all the more satisfying when our Tony comes back to kick some ass.
• Hugh Laurie, House, M.D.: I doubt I could say much about him that hasn't already said. Let's leave it at, "I agree with the Emmys, the Golden Globes and just about every other great acting aficionado on the planet on this one."
• Denis Leary, Rescue Me: In season two, Tommy Gavin was put through the ringer. No longer the always-angry stand up comic, Leary as Gavin allowed himself to be vulnerable, sedate, innocent and, when necessary, absolutely terrifying, and Leary pulled all of them off absolutely convincingly.
• Kiefer Sutherland, 24: Another actor whose hero was put through the whole gamut this season. Jack Bauer is known for being driven to the edge, but rarely has he come so close to the breaking point as he did this season. Yet, as he always has at his best, Jack also had his tender side. There are few characters it is impossible to imagine being played by anyone else, but Jack Bauer is one of them.

That's enough to start 'er off, I think. JCaesar 22:16, 1 June 2006 (EDT)

• Michael Chiklis, The Shield: The best performance in the deepest role on TV. Had extra depth this year with a new foil to play against in Forest Whitaker.--Boco_T 01:50, 4 June 2006 (EDT)
• Tony Shalhoub, Monk: Obsessive. Compulsive. Detective. Even as the cases get more and more ridiculous and stale on the show, I find myself coming back to it because the character interaction between Monk and every other character is consistently brilliant.--Boco_T 02:37, 4 June 2006 (EDT)

• Edward James Olmos. Battlestar Galactica: A miltary commander who rolls the hard six and makes the tough decisions. Yet, he is still able to make you feel the pain of losing your civilization and how tough it is to keep going after such an event. Someone who never gives up even in overwhelming odds. Someone who makes you feel the helpnessness of sending pilots into harms way while being stuck in the CIC. Certainly a bad-ass on par with Jack Bauer and Tony Soprano--Ryvius 02:56, 4 June 2006 (EDT)
• Hank Azaria, Huff: Watching Hank work his nuerotic magic on Huff it's almost impossible to realize this is the same guy who voices half of Springfield on The Simpsons. He makes you question just how sane Huff really is or whether he's descending into madness just like his brother. He's only had nine episodes so far to shine so he hasn't quite had the opportunity the first season finale offered in terms of confrontation but the fall out from last season's ender has given him plenty to work with. You can could really feel his frustration as he tried to reconcile with his brother, mother, father and best friend while his marriage and relationship with his son fall apart.
• Christopher Eccleston, Doctor Who: The Sci Fi Channel finally aired the reimagined Doctor Who this spring allowing a new generation of Americans to be introduced to The Doctor. Eccleston was a perfect choice for the Ninth Doctor he manages to make The Doctor while obviously alien seem extremely human in his emotions. You can really believe this is someone who just had his entire race erased from history and that what he's doing on the show is his way to cope. He had some rather large and old shoes to fill but he had no trouble at all. While his tenure as the Doctor was short it contained some very memorable moments such as when he got overly excited because he saved everyone in 27x10 - The Doctor Dances (2) and his confrontation with what he believed was the last of The Dalek race that destroyed his people in 27x06 - Dalek. There were a few other good moments in the two part finale but they didn't air until June so they don't qualify.

--The-jam 12:37, 5 June 2006 (EDT)

• James Spader, Boston Legal: As tired of a cliche as it is, the phrase "Men want to be him, women want to be with him" sums up Alan Shore quite nicely. At first glance, he seems arrogant and brash, and his emotions seem to range from contempt to smarm. However, watch a few episodes, and the viewer realizes that this character, while being all of the above, is not completely disconnected from his emotions, especially when dealing with other people's or his own weaknesses. In his own way, Mr. Spader really convinces us that Mr. Shore is petrified by his night terrors, no matter how much he may dismiss it in front of others. Mr. Spader has also proven a worthy acting adversary for William Shatner, adding subtlety where Mr. Shatner adds overacting.

--Nmfree 03:23, 6 June 2006 (EDT)

• Marc Warren, Hustle: He's been great every year.

--MateoP 16:47, 7 June 2006 (EDT)

• Wentworth Miller, Prison Break: Though many make fun of the glinty stare he often gives, Wentworth Miller performed really well as Michael Scofield in this first year series. He not only managed to act the part of the brainiac well; his ability to act concerned really shined. When part of has plan failed or he started running out of time, he seemed truly worried, and the audienced worried with him. Just the delivery of his line "We're not breaking out of a Jamba Juice, gentlemen" makes him worthy of a nomination.

• Dominic Purcell, Prison Break: The reason I originally started watching Prison Break was Dominic Purcell, who I enjoyed in John Doe. His appearance as Lincoln Burrows in Prison Break really solidifies his acting ability. He plays the troubled Lincoln very well, showing great ability in his scenes where he is in conflict with his on-screen brother, Michael. While he didn't get as much screen time as Wentworth Miller, he had to play a death-row inmate, a large undertaking, and he did it well.

--the42guy 00:32, 8 June 2006 (EDT)

• Mark Harmon, NCIS: Leroy Jethro Gibbs is one of the greatest characters currently on television. And before NCIS, I thought of Mark Harmon as just another "pretty boy". He has changed my mind with his great portrayal of Gibbs. DCEdwards1966 | Talk 23:34, 15 June 2006 (EDT)

Due to his ineligibility for this year's awards, the proposed nomination for Peter Outerbridge, ReGenesis, has been moved to the discussion page for this page. JCaesar 16:25, 8 June 2006 (EDT)