There’s traditionally been a perception that Hollywood “stardom” and A-list status is best left with those in the film industry, irrespective of how talented a television actor may be.
There’s traditionally been a perception that Hollywood “stardom” and A-list status is best left with those in the film industry, irrespective of how talented a television actor may be.
It’s a view that’s becoming increasingly outdated as plenty of film actors now appear in television miniseries or movies. An Emmy sitting on your mantelpiece isn’t quite as prestigious as an Oscar, but the nominees for this year’s Emmy Award TV movie/miniseries categories could look just as impressive as the Oscar categories.
The Primetime Emmy Awards 2012 aren’t until September, but thanks to some impressive contenders the hype has already begun. You can see 2 of the possible lead actress nominees strut their stuff on Rialto this month – Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman.
Julianne Moore, who stars in The Kids Are All Right screening on Rialto on Saturday (17th March at 8.30pm), tops the list of potential nominees for best lead actress TV Movie/Miniseries for her role as Sarah Palin in Game Changer. A while back I gave you a link to a trailer of Game Changer so you could see just how well Moore transformed herself into the Alaskan politician (thanks to two hours of makeup everyday), and last week Game Changer screened on HBO in the States.
Other than some episodes of 30 Rock and voicing a character in A Child's Garden of Poetry it’s been over 20 years since Moore worked in television. If the positive reviews for Game Changer are anything to go by, this rare appearance might just be an award winner.
In 2011, Nicole Kidman was nominated for an Oscar (best performance by an actress in a leading role) for her work in the drama Rabbit Hole (screening on Rialto as part of our Oscar’s Collection next Saturday 24th March, 8.30pm). Kidman also tops the list of this year’s potential Emmy nominees thanks to her performance as Martha Gellhorn in Hemingway & Gellhorn, due to screen this May. This drama tells the love story of Ernest Hemingway (Clive Owen) and WWII correspondent Martha Gellhorn, Hemingway's inspiration for For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Both ladies have some stiff competition. Emily Watson (Appropriate Adult), Gillian Anderson (Great Expectations), Rachel Weisz (Page Eight) and Emma Thompson (The Song of Lunch) have also put in impressive performances on the small screen recently.
And that’s just the lead girls. If the hype is right Sarah Paulson, Woody Harrelson and Ed Harris for roles in Game Change, and Clive Owen and David Straitharn for Hemingway & Gellhorn are likely nominees in the best supporting actress and the male categories.
What we can take from all this is that while television doesn’t quite have the glamour of the silver screen some pretty respectable television drama can be found among the house porn and reality shows.