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

Candidates to be considered the Best Supporting 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.

supporting actor

An actor who is Billed or Top Billed in an episodic series at any point during the eligibility year except if he or she is also First Billed in that same series at any point during the eligibility year. (Example: Imagine that this season of Star Trek had started off with Captain Kirk as the hero and William Shatner in the First Billed role. Leonard Nimoy was Top Billed as Mr. Spock in those episodes. But in the fourth episode, in a shocking twist, Kirk was killed, and Spock became the hero, and Nimoy was then First Billed. Both Shatner and Nimoy would be eligible for Best Lead Actor in a Drama, but neither of them would be eligible for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama.)

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 Denzel Washington for St. Elsewhere, write: "Denzel Washington, St. Elsewhere".)

Candidates Discussion

Kickin' 'er off, here:

• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Lost: That man can do more with a single expression in his eyes than some actors can do in entire monologues.
• Enrico Colantoni, Veronica Mars: It's one thing to be the VIP of a mediocre team. Many great actors may be the best, most outstanding actor in a mediocre to decent bunch, but it's really special to be the most outstanding actor in a generally excellent bunch. That's what Colantoni is. Aside from being the anchor in a series which is a careful balance of comedy, drama, mystery and action, Colantoni is one of the rare actors who can inhabit a character so thoroughly that you forget he's acting. Admit it, if you met Colantoni in real life, wouldn't you be surprised if he weren't exactly like Keith Mars? His naturalistic style of acting sets him apart from everyone in his class, and while I'll argue for many nominees, Colantoni is one of the ones I'll champion.

Disagree, he wasn't in that many episodes and played a pretty minor role overall. --MateoP 10:33, 8 June 2006 (EDT)

How was he not in many episodes? He's appeared on every single episode of the show (the only other person is obviously the title character) and plays a major role on the show, as his relationship with Veronica is one of the great things about the show and is a basis of what she does. Almost every single episode has him doing PI work along with Veronica doing her own stuff and without him, the show wouldn't be the same, so I totally agree on this nomination. He's the best dad on televison right now and his acting is top notch compared to others like him. If he was minor, all that I said wouldn't be true. --HuskersRule 19:30, 13 June 2006 (EDT)

Not to mention, his bid for sheriff, his relationship with a woman with a mysterious past and his crisis of conscience in defending a man he admired who may have been guilty of a horrible crime were three of the major subplots of this season which, together, run through the majority of its 22 episodes. How it can be claimed that his role in this season was "minor" is beyond me. JCaesar 19:40, 13 June 2006 (EDT)

• Omar Epps, House, M.D.: Hugh Laurie is such a powerful actor that it's hard to steal scenes from him, even rarely, yet Epps as Dr. Foreman managed to do just that this past season. Whether he was taking on the unenviable task of keeping House in check (2x09 - Deception) or struggling as his own body fell apart on him (2x21 - Euphoria (2)), Foreman had some of the most difficult moments this season, and Epps accomplished them all admirably.
• Robert Knepper, Prison Break: Knepper has helped create T-Bag, arguably the most menacing, vicious and yet seductively attractive human monsters in fiction since Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. Can you think of any actor who could put more threat and danger into just the word "pretty"? And yet, when T-Bag tries desperately to become human, as he does in 1x16 - Brother's Keeper, you're torn: On the one hand, you're legitimately pulling for him to be able to be human. On the other hand, he's so much fun as a monster. So when he is betrayed and sent to a place which "let's that ol' beast out," it is both heartbreaking and thrilling, which may just be the mark of a great villain.

Agreed. It was so interesting watching him on the show and I couldn't decide if I wanted him to be more of a better person in the end or continue being the same monster as it was fun watching him be the villain. His voice is what made it more interesting, as anytime he said something, it was just downright creepy (especially whenever he said "pretty") and made me want him killed for who he is and what he does, but then I realize that having him around makes it much more intriging when they eventually escape and get out into the real world again. --HuskersRule 19:30, 13 June 2006 (EDT)

• Terry O'Quinn, Lost: There's just no way I could've had this category here and not floated Locke's name for consideration.

JCaesar 01:22, 2 June 2006 (EDT)

• Jack McGee, Rescue Me: In season two he portrayed the chief who remained the steady leader of the crew while dealing with some intense personal issues at home. His wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and started confusing him with her brother and forgetting he existed while cheating on him. He tried to reconcile with his gay son because he needed the help with his wife. Everything was going well for awhile as her condition improved in the presence of her son. But the son couldn't stay forever and eventually he was forced to leave his wife in a nursing home because he just couldn't handle her anymore. McGee played all these ranges of emotions and frustrations out wonderfully including a truly moving scene where he smashed all of his son's sports awards and picutres in disgust and regret eventually breaking down in tears.

• Ciarán Hinds, Rome: Portraying a well known historical figure convincingly is never easy but when that figure is as formidable as Julius Caesar it is near impossible but Hinds pulls it off spectacularly. He captures Caesar's strength, wisdom and resolve while at the same time showing him as all to human. He convinces us that Caesar cares for his soldiers, friends and family even when circumstances cause him to have to forsake them. He makes Caesar's compassion and mercy for those who stand against him believable and when his trusting nature causes his demise the last haunting silent look he gives Brutus speaks volumes.

--The-jam 16:37, 2 June 2006 (EDT)

• Forest Whitaker, The Shield: One of the most nuanced character performances I've seen in a long time. He plays with Vic Mackey the whole season and after you've seen him build up the character for a while things start to be revealed that take him in a whole new direction.

--Boco_T 01:58, 4 June 2006 (EDT)

Seconding Whitaker. He was absolutely amazing all season long. --NeoRaven

I agree. Watching him descend from an IAD cop with only good intentions down to the level of Mackey in dealing with Antwon Mitchell is what kept this season entertaining. If he hadn't have been there, or if another, lesser, actor had played the part, this season would have been the snoozefest that last season turned out to be. --Nmfree 03:05, 6 June 2006 (EDT)

• Jason Dohring, Veronica Mars: A quote that I think will remind anyone who saw it of why Jason Dohring deserves to be nominated: "I thought our story was epic, you know? You and me...Spanning years, and continents. Lives ruined and blood shed. Epic! [pause] But summer's almost here, and we won't see each other at all. And then you'll leave town, and then... it's over.

--mangler103 21:56, 4 June 2006 (EDT)

I know I've already nominated a bunch in this category, but having just marathoned several episodes of this season of Veronica Mars, I absolutely have to agree with this nomination. (Frankly, all but one of the nominations on this page are stand-outs, as near as I can tell, but since I'm even going to give Rome another chance, this looks to be a highly competitive category.) However, since we're talking about great VM actors, I feel this category would be lacking something if Francis Capra, Veronica Mars weren't at least up for consideration. One of the coolest things about that series is how many detective genres it draws from to create its wholly unique and fresh. Weevil is the Raymond Chandler character: An honest man in a dishonest world, a quirky character from the urban underworld. Yet Capra takes his character beyond both the stereotype of the ethnic thug and the archetype of Chandler's world. He is brilliant at playing Weevil as dangerous, tough and honorable, clearly, but he is so good at those aspects of the character that when it is necessary to reveal Weevil's true wit or his true tenderness—which Capra plays at least equally well—it almost comes as a shock. Yet Capra plays all of these with subtleties and understatement—a smirk, a gleam in his eye, a glance—that speaks volumes without distracting from the action of the scene, which is a rare talent for actors of any age. JCaesar 04:06, 6 June 2006 (EDT)

• Gregory Itzin, 24: Given the show's ridiculous and incessant plot-twists, it can be easy to let the acting in 24 to take a back seat to the over-the-top action; not so in the fifth season. Even when he first appeared last year, Gregory Itzin's slimy portrayal of Charles Logan saw us simultaneously hate the character, and love the actor. This year, we returned to the world of 24 with Logan still president, and still just as hateable. Itzin handled the various twists and turns the writers threw at him with aplomb, no matter how plausible they were, and gave probably the best performance of the whole series' five year run.--Swander 05:24, 5 June 2006 (EDT)

Agreed, he was outstanding as a president who is both evil and noble at the same time. His acting was crucial into letting the audience fall into a false sense of trust in him. --MateoP 10:33, 8 June 2006 (EDT)

I too agree with this nomination. He was very believable in his portrayal of the President and his eventual evilness made me like him more as it was so fun to watch on the show. His acting really did make you think he was a somewhat good person in the beginning, but in the end he was bad and watching that happen was one of the many highlights of a great 24 season. --HuskersRule 19:30, 13 June 2006 (EDT)

• William Shatner, Boston Legal: Personally, I consider him to be as much as a lead star as James Spader; alas, the rules only allow one lead star per show. Shatner is as much of a fit for this character as he was for the crazed passenger in the Twilight Zone 45 years ago._{Denny Crane} (Ha, bet you thought I was going to say something about Star Trek!) Denny Crane is as eccentric of a character as any on television, and I often remark to other people on how I don't think that the writers give Mr. Shatner any lines, he just shows up and acts like he otherwise normally does. _{Denny Crane} He also plays off masterfully against Mr. Spader' Alan Shore, acting as the Ying to Mr. Shore's Yang._{Denny Crane}

--Nmfree 03:41, 6 June 2006 (EDT)

• John Glover, Smallville - He has always been great on this show and had a pretty big role this year and nailed it out of the park every time, as per usual. Even when the script wasn't that good. --MateoP 17:02, 8 June 2006 (EDT)

With time running out, there are a few candidates in some categories I just can't, in good conscience, allow to go completely without consideration:

• Victor Garber, Alias - While the show didn't quite go out with a bang, Garber turned never seemed to let up. Jack Bristow's attempts to play the typical grandfather were among the funniest highlights of the season, his rage and relentlessness when he knew Sydney was in danger and had been betrayed by a high-ranking member of the CIA were shocking, and his final gambit with Sloane was one of TV's best "WTF!" moments this season. JCaesar 22:19, 26 June 2006 (EDT)