Emmys 2016 - Why Keri Russell should win Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 4:30PM Here’s Lynn Lee, with a closer look at the newcomer and underdog of the six Emmy nominees for Best Lead Actress in a drama:
When I first started watching The Americans, I was blown away by one actor, and one actor alone: Matthew Rhys, as the male half of a pair of KGB operatives hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Reagan-era Washington, D.C. Oh, the rest of the cast was strong, too, but Rhys—whom I’d never previously seen in anything—left everyone else in the dust, including Keri Russell as his partner in espionage. She was good, I thought, but not quite at the level of her co-star.
Flash forward three seasons, and Russell’s more than made up that gap. Not only does she now easily hold her own opposite Rhys, there are times when she surpasses him...
A lot of credit goes to the writing of her character, Elizabeth, who poses a fascinating study in contradictions. A lifelong true believer in Soviet ideology, she remains immune to the charms of capitalism and ’80s American culture despite being embedded for two decades in the thick of it, yet demonstrates growing vulnerability in her attachment to her fake husband and their real children, as well as the attrition of the absolutely grinding, frequently brutal nature of Philip and Elizabeth’s spy work. But those tensions wouldn’t work so well without Russell’s tightly coiled yet expressive performance. She doesn’t show the emotional wear and tear as openly as Rhys’ Philip—one of the show’s most interesting choices is to make Elizabeth the more stoic and zealously patriotic of the two—but it’s there, and shows itself in subtle shadings (and the rare but fearsome explosion of outrage) that color her otherwise steely demeanor.
Nowhere has Russell’s evolution been more evident than in the most recent season, for which both she and Rhys, along with The Americans itself, finally earned long-overdue Emmy nominations. Season 4’s narrative arc tested Elizabeth’s loyalties to the limits and the cracks are starting to show. We see them in her efforts to maintain a wary balance in how much to tell daughter Paige (Holly Taylor)—who’s copped to the fact that her parents are Russian spies but doesn’t know the full extent of their, ahem, special set of skills—and in her strained, oddly poignant interactions with Philip’s “other” wife, Martha (a fantastic Alison Wright, also deserving of an Emmy), the FBI secretary turned unwitting KGB mole who’s finally and most reluctantly become witting.
But the key moment is when Elizabeth realizes that a friendship she cultivated for the sole purpose of getting access to high-value information has become high-value to her emotionally, and that she doesn’t want to take the next necessary step, which would mean destroying the friend’s life. When the Jennings’ KGB handler and longtime mentor, Gabriel (Frank Langella), asks her if she wants him to try to find an alternative way to get the desired information, she quietly admits she does. Russell plays that moment just right by underplaying it. The droop of her shoulders, the lowering of her voice, even the averted eyes, demonstrate the depth of her internal conflict: she knows how high the stakes are, she probably knows this might be Gabriel’s way of testing her rather than a genuine offer, yet she can’t help it. For once, she’s placing the personal ahead of the political. It’s a bombshell, yet it plays as a whisper. That’s the power of Russell’s acting, which has become the secret weapon of the show. As the least flashy and obviously virtuosic of the six Emmy nominees, she’s unlikely to win – but she deserves to.
More on the Emmy Awards. The show airs this Sunday night at 7 PM EST
Reader Comments (9)
YES. Just... yes.
god yes. That series has delivered high quality story-telling and acting since episode 1.
She is truly great in this show; more than deserving of a win.
Keri is fantastic on "The Americans," but as long as Tatiana Maslany is nominated, I really can't get behind any other actress winning. The acting gymnastics she performs has kept "Orphan Black" a compelling watch long after the show's mythology has gotten too Byzantine for its own good. Even after I've told countless friends and colleges that Maslany plays multiple individual characters, I still forget it's the same actress portraying characters like Helena or Crystal while I'm watching the series.
Such great acting craftsmanship. Her character each season becomes more fascinating,
and how she interplays the tension between her humanity against her idealistic political ideology.
I am so happy she chose "The Magic of David Copperfield V as her submission episode! She was fucking extraordinary in that one and she was pretty damn fantastic the entire season.
Kerri Russell is glorious in The Americans. So complex and conflicted and intense. I'm glad she finally got a much deserved nomination.
But I also love Tatiana Maslany. I'm always puzzled that the cast credits are so short when there are so many characters in the show. I have to remind myself each time that it's because Maslany is playing them all. Each one of those characters could win an Emmy by themselves.
You picked the exact moment I also realized what a phenomenal actress she was. Even hoping Elizabeth would say yes, I was still shocked when she did, and the reading was brilliant--a literally unforgettable moment in television.
Rooting for Maslany but since I've alrwady almost given up on her winning I would be happy with Russell too. Or any of them really besides Danes (who is good but we've already been there)
Expecting another Viola win though!