Emmy favorite Bradley Whitford (‘The Handmaid’s Tale’) is coming for trophy #4
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TV academy favorite Bradley Whitford could be in for another return to the Emmys as the veteran actor hunts down his ninth total Emmy bid and his fourth overall for “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
This acclaimed series, which has won a whopping 15 Emmys so far, depicts a dystopian future wherein a second American Civil War led to the creation of Gilead — a totalitarian society where women are forced to be handmaids, which is essentially child-bearing slavery. Season five took the bleak drama into new depths as Elisabeth Moss‘ June faces the consequences of murdering Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) in the season four finale. Meanwhile, Yvonne Strahovski‘s Serena faces her own problems in Canada as Gilead begins to grow and Commander Lawrence tries to reform Gilead.
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Lawrence is played by the inimitable Whitford, who shines in all seven of the episodes he appears in throughout this season. As Lawrence, Whitford is a shrew operator and a canny figure in the hierarchy of Gilead, utilizing intelligence, sympathy, softness, and power-hunger all at once. He has a magnetic presence onscreen and makes all of his dialogue crackle and sparkle, the same way he did with Aaron Sorkin‘s words back in his “The West Wing” days. Whitford also brings a much-needed levity to the role amidst all the bleakness as well as a rightful authority and sense of leadership. Critics agree that he is a standout in this fifth season.
John Doyle (The Globe and Mail) explained that this season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” does “feel different” to previous incarnations, and Whitford is a positive part of that. He wrote: “The first clue is in the opening episode. When Serena returns to Gilead, the guy who seems to be in charge, the mischievous Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford, who energizes every scene he’s in) wisecracks about seeing the Leafs in Toronto. Serena says she has no interest in hockey.”
Daniel D’Addario (Variety) observed that Whitford stands out amongst the cast and rises above even some of the writing’s weaknesses: “Bradley Whitford’s Commander Lawrence, emerging as the final boss of Gilead, reigns over all with a performance of admirable complication (even if, deep in the season, the writers can’t resist the temptation to let him explain a bit too much about his thinking and schemes in a Bond-villain style).”
Valerie Ettenhoffer (Slash Film) wrote: “It takes a special kind of talent to wring laughs out of a world as bleak as that of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’ Yet somehow, Whitford does just that as Commander Lawrence, an idiosyncratic economist who seems to have been directly involved in the formation of the show’s hellish post-America country, Gilead.”
Currently, however, Whitford sits just outside of our predicted eight nominees for Best Drama Supporting Actor, the category he will hope to compete in this year. At the moment, we predict these guys will be nominated: John Lithgow (“The Old Man”), Alexander Skarsgård (“Succession”), Nicholaus 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”).
But it would take a fool to rule out this beloved Emmy veteran from the running just yet. Whitford is loved by Emmy voters, having amassed eight nominations across his illustrious career. He earned three consecutive Best Drama Supporting Actor bids from 2001 to 2003, winning on his first attempt. He then reaped two consecutive Comedy Guest Actor bids for “Transparent” in 2015 and 2016, again winning on his first bid. Finally, he was nominated three times in a row for “The Handmaid’s Tale” — winning on his first go for Best Drama Guest Actor in 2019 and then earning two Drama Supporting Actor bids the years following.
Emmy voters adore this performer. His history also shows that once Emmy voters like him in a particular role, they really like him. And this is one of those roles. They actually liked him so much, that they were willing to nominate him in both Guest Actor and Supporting Actor, which shows the depth of their love. And those nominations came in 2019, 2020, and 2021. That is recent love, which shows he is still very much on their radar.
And it’s no surprise: he’s a veteran, and Emmy voters love nominating veterans, particularly in supporting categories. Last year, they nominated John Turturro and Christopher Walken for Drama Supporting Actor for “Severance,” while the year prior, they nominated Lithgow in the same category for “Perry Mason.” Then, in Comedy Supporting Actor, Henry Winkler (“Barry”) and Tony Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) were nominated last year, while Shalhoub earned the same bid in 2018, 2019, and 2020 (winning in 2019). And Paul Reiser (in 2021) and Alan Arkin (in 2019 and 2020) both received bids in this category for “The Kominsky Method”). Whitford would be the latest veteran to earn the repeated support of Emmy voters.
But Whitford doesn’t just have general support, he has focused support. Look at his Emmys history — five out of his eight nominations have come in the Best Drama Supporting Actor category. Emmy voters love Whitford in this category. This is his category, where he has found most of his success. That may well continue here. What also helps Whitford is the fact that he isn’t just an actor on “The Handmaid’s Tale” this season. He’s also a director. He helmed episode nine — the penultimate episode — titled “Allegiance,” and he did a stellar job, too (note: this is only the second time in his career that Whitford has directed. He previously helmed episode 22 — “What Kind of Day Has it Been” — of season one of “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”).
Emmy voters love it when an actor jumps behind the screen to direct. Usually, it finds them some Emmy success for their work in front of the camera. Bill Hader directed and starred in “Barry” — he ended up with three Best Comedy Director nominations and three Best Comedy Actor nominations (and two wins). For “Atlanta,” Donald Glover was nominated twice for Best Comedy Director (winning one) and also received three Best Comedy Actor bids (also winning once). And Carl Weathers was nominated for Best Drama Supporting Actor in 2021 for “The Mandalorian.” The episode he was nominated for — “Chapter 12: The Siege” — was the one he directed. Whitford would be the latest actor-turned-director to feel the Emmys benefit of working behind the camera.
And, finally, let’s take a look at Whitford’s competitors in this category. Four of them are for “Succession.” Are Emmy voters really going to nominate four actors from the same show in this category? That hasn’t happened since 2002 when “The West Wing” received four nominations for Dulé Hill,Richard Schiff, John Spencer, and, guess who, Whitford (Spencer won). It’s unlikely, then, that four actors will get in this year. It’s very rare that this happens. If one of those “Succession” actors were to drop out, Whitford could be the man to fill in that gap. He’s got the Emmys credentials, the awards history, the veteran status, and the proven love for this role. Watch out for Whitford.
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