In the latest edition of Variety‘s Awards Circuit, presented by HBO, TV editor Michael Schneider and TV features editor Emily Longeretta explain the tight races in the male actor categories for the upcoming Screen Actors Guild awards.
In the drama series category, Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”), Jonathan Banks (“Better Call Saul”), Jeff Bridges (“The Old Man”), Jason Bateman (“Ozark”) and Adam Scott (“Severance”) will duke it out. Banks was a surprise in the category, as he’s a supporting actor facing off against series leads, including his co-star Odenkirk. (But with no supporting categories, all actors are submitted in the same field.) Schneider worries the two could cancel each other out. For Banks, Odenkirk and Bateman, voters could be swayed by their respective series concluding or conversely go for a newer series like Scott in “Severance.”
For comedy, there is an “embarrassment of riches,” says Longeretta, with potential front runner Jeremy Allen White from “The Bear.” In addition to White, Anthony Carrigan (“Barry”), Bill Hader (“Barry”), Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”) and Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”) complete the lineup. “Because there is no supporting category at the SAG awards, every once in a while some folks who usually compete in supporting are up to the regular, but they’re up against the leads,” Schneider says. As with Short and Martin, Hader and Carrigan could cancel each other out, Longeretta says. This could open the door for White in “The Bear,” who recently won the Golden Globe and the Critics Choice honors.
In what has shaped up to be the “serial killer category” (TV movie or limited series), Evan Peters leads for his work “Dahmer,” competing against Taron Egerton (“Black Bird”), Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird”), Sam Elliott (“1883”) and Steve Carrell (“The Patient”). Carell was the surprise in the category, given that “The Patient” was not as widely seen, Schneider says.
The SAG Awards will take place Feb. 26 at the Los Angeles at the Fairmont Century Plaza and will air live on Netflix’s YouTube channel. Check out the full video above.
