Emmy Submission Mission- Supporting Actor in Drama

The 2011 Emmy Awards will be hosted by Jane Lynch September 18. In the weeks leading up to the event, TV Fanatic staff writer Dan Forcella will watch every episode submitted by various actors in various categories and present to you his analysis on each contender.

It's the TV Fanatic Emmy Submission Mission, readers, and it has finished with the comedy categories: Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress. On Tuesday we talked about Supporting Actress in a Drama, so today we move on to Outstanding Actor in a Drama:

John Slattery of Mad Men

After realizing that four out of last year’s six nominees in this category were not going to be eligible for 2011, it was clear that Supporting Actor in a Drama was going to be wide open. Upon hearing the names of the nominated actors, and now having watched each of their submitted episodes, it has become even more difficult to decipher who is going to take home the trophy.

Three nominees stand out as having very similar performances. John Slattery of Mad Men, Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones, and Walton Goggins of Justified each spend much of their respective episodes in reserved roles only to finish with extremely flashy and emotional scenes that will leave voters with a good taste in their mouths.

In Slattery’s submission, “Hands and Knees,” his Roger Sterling stays calm throughout most of the hour as the character soaks in the fact that his mistress is pregnant and that he’s lost his agency’s biggest client. All of that built up emotion comes to afoot when he blows up in a fit of anger, and even lets out a rare AMC bleeped out f-bomb before bursting out into nervous laughter over everything falling apart.

“Baelor” is almost unanimously renowned as the best episode of Game of Thrones’ first season. Whether or not it was the best choice for Peter Dinklage is up for debate, seeing as though he didn’t make an appearance until the 23rd minute of action. Like Slattery, his Tyrion Lannister didn’t go through much for the first two thirds of the episode, but finished with a bang. He tells an emotional tale about the love of his life, who turned out to be a prostitute hired by his brother and father, and concludes with a heroic speech before his men head out for war.

To read the rest of my Emmy Submission Mission for Supporting Actor in a Drama, head over to TV Fanatic.