FYC: Tituss Burgess for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Friday, June 19, 2015 at 12:31PM Team Experience is sharing their dream picks for the Emmys each day at Noon. Here's Margaret...
Tituss Burgess' performance as Titus Andromedon on Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is nothing short of genius. (Before we get any further into this, it should be established that Tituss with two S's is the actor, and Titus with one S is the character. Confusing, yes, but blame Tina Fey and Robert Carlock.)
His vocal control is exquisite, and we see it tested time and again as the writers work up excuses for Titus to belt whenever possible. His grip on his comedy is similarly iron-clad. Every gesture, every line reading, is laser-precise. He never fails to deliver the biggest laugh of whatever scene he's in--he's a dexterous physical comic and quite nimble with Fey & Carlock's twisty punchlines-- but he also lends a distinct pathos to the performance that makes it more than just funny.
And he's tremendously gif-able. Sweet mercy, how gif-able.
Though often ridiculous, Burgess makes damn well sure we know that Titus is the one telling the joke. Even the most absurd lines fly out of his mouth with self-awareness and complete conviction. (In lieu of apologizing for putting his foot in his mouth, he shrugs: "I am as God made me.") One of the things that makes Kimmy Schmidt so special is its improbable sense of melancholy. Hints about Titus' past point to frustration and pain, and that's present in his performance even as he lives confidently and without contrition.
But most of all, he's just purely and entirely funny. He makes me laugh more than any other TV character, certainly today, maybe ever. To deny him would be like denying Jane Krakowski's Jenna Maroney, which... well... please don't make that mistake again, Emmys.
Previously: Ann Dowd talks The Leftovers and Nathaniel fusses over the Emmy ballot
Reader Comments (12)
While I love the character, there's a part of me that still totally thinks that Titus, the character, could totally be played by a better actor. Sometimes Tituss, the actor, just doesn't sell some of the lines.
*shrug*
I'm totally down with *someone* in this cast getting a nom though.
Caviar, Myanmar, mid-size car!
I endorse this pick! A tie with Jaime Camil would be divine.
Ugh. Bringing up Jane Krakowski and the fact that she doesn't have at least one Emmy for 30 Rock just makes my blood boil. One of the biggest awards injustices ever. Jenna Maroney is immortal! And she's great on this show as well and would be totally worthy of a nomination.
And I'm also totally down for a Tituss Burgess nominaiton.
Derreck - I agree that every once in a while, a line wouldn't click. But overall, I think he does things that other actors wouldn't do while making it look easy and is overall fantastic. Razor-sharp timing, wide range of delivery, grounding the humor in something deeper than the surface, etc. I really, really hope he's nominated.
Burgess deserves the nomination for "Pinot Noir" ALONE. And the funeral scene. And "Firework". He's incredible. Tough to choose between him and Jaime Camil from Jane the Virgin for the win, though. I think we just need to see Titus Andromedon and Rogelio de la Vega in a scene together.
MAKE THAT HAPPEN, WORLD!
"I bet I can still fit into my tuxedo from my wedding dong ding dong bells are fun to listen to!"
He betta win.
Favorite line of his (and the series, AND the year): "I went to public school in Mississippi. They told us dinosaurs went extinct because an asteroid turned them GAY!"
Preach!
"What white nonsense is this?!"
"Tough to choose between him and Jaime Camil from Jane the Virgin for the win, though. I think we just need to see Titus Andromedon and Rogelio de la Vega in a scene together."
This. +100
The humor on that show can be really broad, but he absolutely nails it. My favorite is when he somehow turns into an old man. "Why do I have Werther's Originals in my coat pocket? Where did these come from?!"
it's not really a great performance it's just him saying a lot of random and sometimes funny one liners.