Carl Weathers could direct himself to an Emmy nomination for ‘The Mandalorian’
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“The Mandalorian” season three has been and gone quicker than you can say Grogu. The series will be looking to return to the Emmys this year after its first two seasons proved mighty popular with voters, landing an incredible 14 Emmy wins altogether as well as two Best Drama Series bids.
The show follows Pedro Pascal as the titular Mando, who searches for his place in the galaxy alongside his adoptive son Grogu, AKA Baby Yoda. Season three of the show widened the galaxy a little bit as Mando became involved in the Mandalorian uprising alongside Katee Sackhoff‘s Bo-Katan, who looked to reclaim her seat of power on the fallen planet of Mandalore, home of the Mandalorians.
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Returning to the series was the ever-reliable Carl Weathers, who plays Mando’s ally Greef Karga. In this season, Greef has become a magistrate of Nevarro and rules with authority, clarity, and respect. In this position of power, Weathers gives Greef a stern, fatherly presence, and imbues the character with no-nonsense strength. He’s one of the highlights of the season not just on screen but also off screen, too. Weathers directed the fourth episode of this season — “Chapter 20: The Foundling” — after he previously directed episode four of season two (“Chapter 12: The Siege”). And critics have applauded his work on and off-screen.
Bryan Young (Slash Film) explained: Naturally, it’s fun to watch Carl Weathers chew scenery as Greef Karga, in only the best ways. It’s perfect for ‘Star Wars’ and his new storyline reminds me a lot of Lando Calrissian trying to go straight in ‘The Empire Strikes Back.'”
Cory Woodroof (For the Win [USA Today]) wrote: “‘Star Wars” Carl Weathers is still doing ‘Star Wars’ Carl Weathers things.”
Dais Johnston (Inverse) proclaimed: “Carl Weathers is the unsung hero of ‘The Mandalorian.’ He’s reprising his role of Greef Karga in Season 3, but he’s also helped bring the ‘Star Wars’ story to life by stepping behind the camera.”
Currently, he’s outside of our eight predicted nominees for Best Drama Supporting Actor: Jonathan Pryce (“The Crown”), John Lithgow (“The Old Man”), Nicholas Braun (“Succession”), Matt Smith (“House of the Dragon”), Alan Ruck (“Succession”), F. Murray Abraham (“The White Lotus”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Better Call Saul”), and Matthew Macfadyen (“Succession”). However, that aforementioned status as a director is one of several reasons why Weathers could still sneak into this line-up. Emmy voters respect actors who can take a step behind the camera and helm one or more episodes themselves. It helps their acting Emmy chances.
Crucially, Weathers proved this himself when he directed an episode of “The Mandalorian” season two and then went on to be nominated for Best Drama Guest Actor for that same season (in 2021). He lost to Courtney B. Vance for “Lovecraft Country.” There are plenty of other examples of this happening, too. Milo Ventimiglia directed an episode of season four of “This Is Us,” which aired in 2019. That same year, he was nominated for Best Drama Actor for the same show, losing to Billy Porter for “Pose.” And Jason Bateman reaped bids for both acting in and directing his drama show “Ozark” in 2018, 2019, and 2022. He won Best Drama Director in 2019. He lost those three Best Drama Actor bids to Matthew Rhys (“The Americans,”), Porter (“Pose”), and Lee Jung-jae (“Squid Game”). He also earned another acting bid in 2020, losing to Jeremy Strong (“Succession”).
But Weathers has already shown that the mixture of directing and acting can pay off for him. The test here is if he can make the step up from guest actor to supporting actor, but there is precedence for this happening, too. His co-star, Esposito, was nominated for Best Drama Guest Actor for “The Mandalorian” in 2020 (losing to Ron Cephas Jones for “This Is Us”) and then reaped a bid for Best Drama Supporting Actor in 2021 (missing out to Tobias Menzies for “The Crown”). Similarly, Bradley Whitford won Drama Guest Actor in 2019 for “The Handmaid’s Tale” and, a year later, was nominated for Drama Supporting Actor (he lost to Billy Crudup for “The Morning Show”).
But, crucially, if Esposito can do it for “The Mandalorian,” so can Weathers. Weathers is a respected actor who has been working in Hollywood for decades, with notable roles in seminal projects such as “Rocky” and “Predator.” This is a man who people will want to take a moment to appreciate and give him a career nomination as a cumulative thanks for his many years of work. And because he’s only ever had one Emmy nomination, he still feels somewhat overdue. Voters may look at that and want to change that with a second Emmy bid here for this veteran actor.
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