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Even for ardent fans of The Good Wife, I suspect that Czuchry's name is not the first they'd consider when pitching an FYC for the show. Matt Czuchry, like his character Cary Agos on the show, has been oft-ignored. But Czuchry’s inimitable ability to serve up emotion through a glance has always made the character work more than it might in lesser handers. put to good use. This season with former series regular, Josh Charles, off the show, Czuchry stepped up as the next important male with an arc which immediately thrust him into the forefront:
Cary Agos goes to jail...
But Czuchry does not just earn this FYC for (finally) having a very strong season arc. The success of his work in season 6 was the way its built on moments since the show's inception. Consider the very first shot of Czuchry on the show. It's so dissonant with the Cary we've come to know, especially this past season. [More after the jump]
From his very first shot within its law offices, Cary has been projected as foil to protagonist Alicia and as her life has developed in spades over the years, so has his. If the show's main goal has been deconstructing the myth of Saint Alicia, in an alternate universe we'd be seeing a similar deconstruction of Golden Boy Cary Agos. That preppy fratboy exterior in the pilot has given way to the industrious, self-effacing young lawyer we've come to appreciate.
Czuchry's prison arc resolved somewhere around the middle of this season (back in January), but even when his role is smaller, Czuchry provides excellent support. From The Good Wife's initial main adult cast -- Margulies, Panjabi, Baranski, Noth, and Charles -- Czuchry is the only actor to never get a major nomination of some kind be it a Globe nod or an Emmy statue. Cary Agos is ill-served by a law-firm that he helped create, and it's his unfortunate lot is always to be pushed to the sidelines. Making that watchable is a task, but Czuchry has excelled at it.
Cary Agos will never be an Atticus Finch type of lawyer, with endless baity clips of great speeches to sell him to voters. His best acting moments are more internal. When I think of any random moment of the show’s sixth season just Czuchry reacting to something impresses. He's an excellent reactor and that's often the nature of acting on the edges. What can you tell us when you're not the focus? I worry that this season of The Good Wife, which has been progressively remembered for all the wrong reasons, will put his chances of success in jeopardy. I hope not.
In a widely contested category of princes, and murderers, and many loud and effusive players Czuchry’s quieter but just as effective turn is worthy of remembrance.
Previously on our Emmy series
The Americans, Drama
Jane the Virgin, Comedy
Lisa Kudrow, Actress Comedy
Jon Hamm, Actor Drama
and
Cara Seymour on creating "Sister Harriet" on The Knick
20+ Contenders in Supporting Actress in a Drama Series