Emmy Category Analysis: Will "Hamilton" Win With Three Nominees?

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Thursday

Aug192021

Thursday, August 19, 2021 at 6:00PM

Team Experience is looking at episode submissions for all the major Emmy categories...

Three "Hamilton" men are nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie - Anthony Ramos, Daveed Diggs and Jonathan Groff.

By Christopher James

Can Daveed Diggs come one step closer to an EGOT? The actor already has a Tony and Grammy for his work and he could very well add an Emmy to that haul… all for the same performance in Hamilton. He’s not the only Hamilton star vying for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie. Even in such a long and lofty category title, considering the filmed performance of Hamilton in this category feels like a bit of a stretch. While this could ding the Emmy chances for Hamilton, voters didn't seem to be bothered by it, as the Limited Series acting categories all suggest.

Diggs’ Emmy is far from assured though. Three of the buzziest miniseries each have a young, breakout actor nominated here. I May Destroy You, The Queen’s Gambit and Mare of Easttown are all huge Emmy players this season, showing up in multiple categories. Coattails for any of these shows could help one of these men beat the trio of Hamilton nominees. Let’s take a look at the nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie (*NOTE SPOILERS AHEAD):

Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Benny Watts in The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
Submission: “Adjournment”
Description (from IMDB): After training with Benny in New York, Beth heads to Paris for her rematch with Borgov. But a wild night sends her into a self-destructive spiral.

It has been a pleasure to watch Thomas Brodie-Sangster grow up into such a strong actor. The charming Love Actually star won hearts in The Queen’s Gambit as Benny, the bad boy of chess with a heart of gold. When he and Beth (Anya Taylor-Joy) move into a small New York apartment, the two flirt over power moves in chess. The glint in his eyes convey a mix of sexual desire and healthy competition that breaks down Beth’s sky high walls. After these adorable first few minutes, we don’t see much more of Benny. He’s on the phone with Beth later in the episode as she’s deep in the middle of a bender. The payoff for his character doesn’t come until the next episode, the finale. While he’s charming, the submission episode is a bit of a letdown.

Most people thought Bill Camp would take the win in the category for his role in The Queen’s Gambit as Mr. Shaibel, Beth’s teacher in the orphanage. This surprise nomination for Thomas Brodie-Sangster means people were watching The Queen’s Gambit through to the end and were clearly taken with his performance. This level of support could make him a dark horse, as The Queen’s Gambit is still a major player in all categories including Outstanding Limited Series.

Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton (Disney+)
Description (from IMDB): The real life of one of America's foremost founding fathers and first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Captured live on Broadway from the Richard Rodgers Theater with the original Broadway cast.

Theater acting and film acting are very different beasts. One requires you to play to the back of the house and be larger than life, while the other can concentrate on every micro reaction. Especially as Marquis, Diggs clearly seems stuck in the former mode. Each gesticulation and line reading is big and telegraphed. However, he never breaks characters. During group scenes like “My Shot,” one’s eye always shoots straight to Marquis because Diggs knows how to command attention. When he takes the spotlight, such as in songs like “What’d I Miss” and “Guns and Ships,” he demonstrates a proficiency at many different music styles. In the second half, Diggs switches it up and embodies the role of Thomas Jefferson. Up to this point, Jefferson has been oft-mentioned and Diggs lives up to the larger than life build-up. The Cabinet Battle scenes are fantastic specifically because Diggs properly plays the heel to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Alexander Hamilton. Between the two roles, Diggs gives an incredibly fun performance filled with tremendous range.

Daveed Diggs is the only nominee in this category who has a precursor track record. He was a nominee for a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series. He also won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for this role. This puts him out in front of the three Hamilton men in this category. Between Blindspotting and TNT’s Snowpiercer, Diggs has been a rising star in Hollywood. If voters want to give Hamilton an award somewhere, Diggs would be the logical choice. He would be following in the footsteps of the following people who won both a Tony and Emmy for the same role: Jeffrey Wright (Angels in America), Jessica Tandy (Foxfire), Ed Flanders (A Moon for the Misbegotten), Mary Martin (Peter Pan) and Robert Morse (Tru).

Paapa Essiedu as Kwame in I May Destroy You (HBO)
Submission: “That Was Fun”
Description (from IMDB): 2 months after the incident, Arabella meets with a therapist, Carrie. Her agents assign another client, Zain, to help her with the first draft of her book. Kwame introduces his new love interest, Damon, to a stranger he met online.

I May Destroy You generated passionate discussion due to its nuanced, and often horrifying, depictions of rape, consent and the power dynamics of sexual situations. Paapa Essiedu’s episode submission illustrates how the show’s thesis applies to the gay male community. For much of the episode, Kwame comes off cute and flirty as he woos a new lover who is less comfortable with his status as a gay man. Essiedu frames Kwame’s queerness as confidence. He’s the one in control of the situation with Damon. This is what makes the final act so devastating. This effervescent confidence is robbed from Kwame in the sexual situation with the hookup who lets him and Damon into his apartment. When they arrive, Kwame’s sexual desire takes over as he has sex with this stranger in front of Damon, causing Damon to leave. After sex, Kwame attempts to leave the apartment, only for the stranger to block him from leaving and rape him. The Kwame we see leave the apartment is just a shell of the man who entered. Essiedu skillfully plots Kwame’s journey from being titillated to horrified. I May Destroy You asks us to question where the line between an acceptable and unacceptable sexual situation lies, and Essiedu effectively pinpoints where this moment is for Kwame.

In terms of submissions, Paapa Essiedu’s episode stands out among the bunch. Kwame’s rape scene sticks with the viewer long after the episode ends. Both I May Destroy You fans and voters watching the show for the first time may find Essiedu’s performance the strongest of the bunch. However, it’s possible the graphic nature of the episode could turn away some voters in the TV Academy. Essiedu is also the least famous of the nominees, so there won’t be a name recognition boost. Still, the quality of the performance makes him a strong dark horse winner, particularly if more voters watch I May Destroy You (or at least the episode submissions).

Jonathan Groff as King George in Hamilton (Disney+)

One advantage of film is that it can focus on an actor through close-up. Groff’s personification of King George is purposefully cartoonish. His solo numbers, such as “You’ll Be Back,” almost exclusively force Groff to act without moving. The camera movements in the filmed version of the stage musical make his songs feel dynamic. It also gives us a moment to admire the dastardly cartoonish faces that Groff makes throughout. In this sprawling musical, Groff is a fun dash of comedy and lightness. This helps him stand out in the epic. Still, it would be a stretch to call him the best performance in the piece. He’s a highlight for sure, but he alone isn’t the performance to salute.

Between the three Hamilton nominees, Groff has the lowest amount of screen-time. Additionally, both Diggs and Ramos are double cast, so the perceived degree of difficulty is greater. Groff steals moments, but would be an odd choice to single out with a win for Hamilton. Votes for Groff will only jeopardize Diggs’ chances for a win here.

Evan Peters as Detective Colin Zabel in Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Submission: “Enter Number Two”
Description (from IMDB): As Mare and Colin parse new physical evidence, phone records lead to an unlikely suspect. After lashing out at Helen about a possible custody fight over Drew, Mare receives some unprompted advice from Richard on how to move forward with Carrie. Later, Kenny and Mare face the consequences of their misguided attempts to protect their families.

Evan Peters was one of the standouts of Mare of Easttown thanks to his strong accent work and compassionate portrayal of the hotshot city investigator, Colin Zabel. It’s funny to watch the war between Zabel’s professionalism and bravado break down. When at the site where a girl’s finger was found, Mare presses him to get dogs to search the area, undermining his authority. He relents and calls in the dogs, eventually sighing and saying “just fucking get the dogs” to his team. Colin plays by the books, but one can see Mare’s way of doing things subtly changing his processes. The key scene for Zabel occurs late in the episode when he opens up to Mare while very drunk at the bar. For so much of the show, he had been hailed for solving a particularly tough case elsewhere in the state. However, the pressures of the job and the horrifying details of the case continue to eat away at him. It’s not just a pity party though. His feelings for Mare slowly seep out of him like alcohol sweating from his pores. His love for Mare stems from mutual respect. They both understand the pressures of the job.

The internet was set ablaze after episode five of Mare of Easttown, when Colin was shockingly killed by a local kidnapper. That episode also found Colin finally professing his feelings for Mare. It would’ve made an incredible submission that would’ve likely guaranteed a win for Evan Peters. Submissions matter less under this voting system where the entire TV Academy can vote on all categories. Fans of Mare of Easttown will likely fondly remember the entirety of Peters’ performance and vote for him. Still, this submission choice leaves room for Daveed Diggs or even Paapa Essiedu to win.

Anthony Ramos as John Laurens / Philip Hamilton in Hamilton (Disney+)

While Diggs and Groff are helped by the new medium, Ramos is served the least. As Hamilton’s confidant John Laurens, Ramos has ebullient energy, but is often outdone in that department by Diggs’ Lafayette. He gets more of his own storyline towards the end of Act One when he takes up a duel which leads to his death. It’s an emotional moment but in a musical filled with powerful moments, it doesn’t really stand out. It doesn't help that the same thing happens in act two. Ramos is introduced shortly before his death and therefore doesn’t make much of an impression as Alexander Hamilton’s son, Philip. Ramos is at the center of the emotional finale when he enters a duel to defend his Father’s honor and dies in the process. While the tears revolve around his death, his stage parents Lin-Manuel Miranda and Phillipa Soo are the ones really wringing out those tears in audiences.

Likely Ramos’ nomination is in part because of his fantastic work in this summer’s In the Heights. Though the film didn’t light the box office on fire, Ramos got great reviews for his starring role as Usnavi, a bodega owner with big dreams. New fans of his work may jump at the chance to reward him. Yet, with other opportunities to reward Hamilton, that will lead to vote splitting.

Predictions