My (faux) Emmy Ballot: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Now that's an Emmy worthy handshake.

The Emmy nominations were just announced last Thursday (see the list of nominees here) I thought I’d give my thoughts on who/what should have been nominated in the major categories. Last week I detailed my list of Outstanding Supporting Actresses in a Comedy, & today we move on to their male counterparts.

No category gave me more trouble to narrow down to six nominees, as you’ll be able to tell from my honorable mentions list, than Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy (For a look at a professional critic’s opinion click here, & for my picks last year go here). There are just so many great comedic actors & roles in television that you could pick at least a dozen different actors & be able to make a fine case that they should earn a nomination, however Emmy voters are restricted to six votes so I am as well. Without further ado here are my six picks (click on their names to see one of their highlights from this season)…

·      Donald Glover (Troy Barnes, “Community”)-I’ve loved Donald Glover since he was bro raping & pooping his pants in “Derrick Comedy” web videos & he was one of the main reasons I was drawn to “Community” in the first place. In its first season he, & the show, did not disappoint but last season he, & the show, were simply phenomenal. Whether he was leading the study group through a KFC space simulation, saving the campus from zombies, jumping on a magical trampoline, building the greatest blanket fort man has ever seen, or crying uncontrollably Glover was a master at making me laugh. However it was his work his more dramatic work in “Mixology Certification,” the episode in which Troy turns 21 (it wasn’t a coincidence I was wearing my Greendale Human Beings shirt on my 21^st five months later), that proved beyond doubt he is one of a select few at the pinnacle of comedic acting. Too bad Emmy voters didn’t notice.

·      Ed O’Neill (Jay Pritchett, “Modern Family”)-Most observers would probably say O’Neill’s Jay is only the third, or fourth if you count the kids, funniest guy on the show & I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re wrong. So why’s he the only MF member on this list? Because he has the best one-liners on the show, lines the sitcom vet delivers impeccably, & more than anyone else on the show he sells that his character is a real person. He has to pull off being both an older man’s man & someone who genuinely loves his gay son, & his partner, as well his much younger Columbian wife & her son, no easy task. Last year O’Neill was, surprisingly, the only adult male cast member not to get a nomination in this category, luckily for him Emmy voters decided to nominate all the “Modern Family” guys this year.

·      Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson, “Parks and Recreation”)-Ron “Effing” Swanson, as played by Nick Offerman, is the heir to the great comedic sidekicks of the past George Costanza, Gob Bluth, & Dwight Shrute (I know he still exists but his best days have passed). He has his own pyramid of greatness, despite being the head of a government department he’s a devoted Libertarian, & no one loves meat or women named Tammy more than he does. That’s great character material for any actor to play but Offerman elevates it to even greater heights. With the help of his amazing mustache he’s able to fully embody Ron’s gruff manliness & dislike of almost all human interaction, & on the rare occasion where Ron is shown to care about someone or be vulnerable (like when he thinks Leslie’s throwing him a surprise birthday party) he does so with such nuance as to make the switch entire believable. Alas for the second straight year the best comedic performance on television did not get a nomination.

·      Chris Pratt (Andy Dwyer, “Parks and Recreation”)-Pratt & the “Parks” writers continued to deepen the character of Andy Dwyer this last year. He’s still a loveable goofball, Pratt deserves all the credit in the world for the loveable part as a character this dense could easily become an annoying caricature, but his relationship with April allowed Pratt to demonstrate how deeply devoted Andy can be. Plus I had to nominate a guy whose character got married in a Reggie Wayne jersey. Alas while “Parks” got love in some other categories this was not one of them.

·      Danny Pudi (Abed Nadir, “Community”)-Pudi’s Abed was the breakout character of the 2009-10 TV season, at least for those of us who watched “Community.” This season Pudi’s movie/obsessed, may have Aspergers character wasn’t given quite as much to do but when he was his brilliance always shone through. This was particularly true when he played a meta Jesus in “Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples” & when he had to completely discard his character’s traits in favor of a more normal person in “Critical Film Studies.” As Emmy voters are seemingly unaware of “Community’s” existence they failed to nominate Pudi, but he did get to make out with Alison Brie in the finale so he’s still a winner.

·      Adam Scott (Ben, “Parks and Recreation”)-Scott is probably best known as Will Ferrell’s douche bag brother in “Step Brother” however for me he’s always been Henry Pollard since the first episode of the criminally under seen “Party Down” (currently streaming on Netflix, go watch it) aired. When PD got cancelled the silver lining was that Scott signed on for “Parks” & he has not disappointed. Scott’s dry wit has been a perfect fit & he did a great job letting, the normally controlled, Ben’s insecurity at having once been a failed teenage mayor seep through until he becomes entirely unstable in “Media Blitz.” He also had my favorite line all season at the end of the episode “Camping.” Regrettably the Emmy’s, & most viewers, continue to ignore Scott’s incredible work & the shows he does it on.

Honorable Mention: On any other show Aziz Ansari might be the highlight but he’s on “Parks & Rec;” Ty Burrell was my last omission as the funniest member of the “Modern Family” ensemble & Jesse Tyler Ferguson did great work as well; more often than not “Glee” was pretty bad this year but Chris Colfer performance never was, even if his character did become too saintly; Charlie Day’s manic performance and Glen Howerton’s douchie conniving always make me laugh on “It’s Always Sunny;” even if “How I Met Your Mother” wasn’t at its best this year Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel were as their characters dealt with difficult issues stemming from their fathers; Dulé Hill was once again one of TV’s best sidekicks on “Psych;” as always John Krasinski did fine work on “The Office” especially in Michael’s farewell episode & in the search for a new boss.

The Actual Nominees: Obviously I agree with Ed O’Neill’s inclusion, as for the rest of the “Modern Family” gang I don’t fault voters for nominating Burrell or Ferguson however I do take note with Eric Stonestreet (last year’s, largely deserved, winner in the category) getting another nomination. Too often this year Stonestreet’s Cam seemingly only had one defining characteristic, that he was gay. To a fair degree this was the writers’ fault but Stonestreet failed to elevate his performance above cliché, as he had done last year. Chris Colfer pulled in another nomination, now I’d prefer my nominees in this category actually be funny but the category is “best performance” not funniest & Colfer’s dramatic work is among the best. Jon Cryer somehow bribed voters into another nomination for his work on “Two and a Half Laughs er… Men.” Maybe I’ll actually learn to understand that nomination while watching the show on an endless loop in hell.