Emmy spotlight on Harriet Walter (‘This is Going to Hurt’): An ice-cold mother who melts

“This is Going to Hurt” had a good night at the BAFTAs last weekend, with leading man Ben Whishaw claiming his third BAFTA win with a victory for Best Actor for the Hulu medical drama. Based on Adam Kay‘s memoir of the same name, the series follows his early years as a doctor working in an NHS hospital in mid-noughties England. Whishaw, who is in the mix for an Emmy bid for Best TV Movie/Mini-Series Actor, isn’t the only star hoping for awards success with this critical darling. Harriet Walter could well be in the hunt for an Emmy nomination for “This is Going to Hurt” alongside her bid for guesting in “Succession.”

Dame Harriet Walter (yep, Dame, thank you very much) portrays Kay’s mother, Veronique, in “This is Going to Hurt” and she is absolutely everything you’d want her to be. She is steely, cold, cutting, and as barbed-tongued as Maggie Smith in “Downton Abbey” or Diana Rigg in “Game of Thrones.” Her scenes with Kay are snide little mini-battles within themselves, with Walter doing the majority of the tongue-lashing. It’s so much fun to watch a character like Walter’s, and the Olivier Award-winning actress eats this role up.

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That’s not to say she’s one-note, however. Towards the end of the series, Walter has some touching scenes with Whishaw where her character’s stony exterior drops a little — not much, but enough to show there’s some warmth, humanity, and vulnerability there. It’s an important moment for both mother and son, and critics have noted how crucial Walter is to the show.

Joy Press (Vanity Fair) observed: “The latter [mother] is played by the great Harriet Walter, who sharpened her caustic mothering skills on Succession. When Adam finally comes out, she snipes, ‘I’ve watched you pull your pants down at far too many children’s birthday parties to be fazed by one of your outbursts.'”

Gabriel Tate (iNews) commended the show on its roster of “formidable female stars,” writing: “Harriet Walter essays another imperious, emotionally remote matriarch as Adam’s mother, Veronique.”

And Daniel Fienberg (The Hollywood Reporter) also impressed how important it was for the series to “do right by its regular female characters,” and applauded the fact that it did, singling out Walter as one of them: “Alex Jennings and Walter expertly elevate their elitist straw men.”

It is no surprise that Walter has received rave reviews for her work as a complicated mother in a TV series — this has become something of a recent trend for her. She played similar characters in both “Ted Lasso” and “Succession” and earned Emmy nominations for both performances. For the former, she was nominated for Comedy Guest Actress last year (Laurie Metcalf won for “Hacks”) while, for the latter, she was nominated for Drama Guest Actress last year (losing to Lee Yo-mi in “Squid Game”) and in 2020 (when “Succession” costar Cherry Jones won).

It’s clear, then, that the Emmys love Walter. Three nominations in three years is no mean feat — and you can expect her name to appear on the ballot this year, too. She is currently predicted to reap another Drama Guest Actress bid for “Succession” (she’s actually in top spot) alongside Jones (“Succession”), Melanie Lynskey (“The Last of Us”), Anna Torv (“The Last of Us”), Fiona Shaw (“Andor”), and Hope Davis (“Succession”). But this surge of love for Walter could result in her picking up a second nomination in the same year — for TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actress.

Currently, she sits outside of our predicted six nominees in this category: Maria Bello (“Beef”), Jones (“Five Days at Memorial”), Olivia Colman (“Great Expectations”), Lena Headey (“White House Plumbers”), Claire Danes (“Fleishman Is in Trouble”), and, in pole position, Niecy Nash-Betts (“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”).

However, Walter picked up two nominations for two different shows in two different categories last year, so the precedence is there for her to do it again. And why shouldn’t it happen? She’s a well-respected thespian who won an Olivier Award in 1988 (for Best Actress in a Revival for “A Question of Geography”/”Twelfth Night”/”Three Sisters”). The actors’ branch of the TV academy might not be able to resist rewarding a performer of this caliber, as has been proven by her recent Emmys record.

“Succession” is also a hugely popular show — it’s so beloved by the Emmys (13 wins so far!) that Walter’s involvement in it could actually help her other work, too. She’s all but certain to reap a bid for “Succession” but voters may see her name for “This is Going to Hurt” and think “Oh, I loved her in ‘Succession,’ I’ll nominate her here, too.'” The Emmys have shown they are willing to double-nominate people they respect as they did with Walter last year.

Similarly, Jean Smart won Best Comedy Actress for “Hacks” in 2021 while she was nominated for TV Movie/Mini-Series Supporting Actress for “Mare of Easttown” in the same year (she lost to costar Julianne Nicholson). And in 2019, Shaw received dual bids for “Killing Eve” (Drama Supporting Actress, losing to Julia Garner for “Ozark”) and “Fleabag” (Comedy Guest Actress, losing to Jane Lynch for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”).

Plus, Walter’s role as an acerbic, biting older woman is right up Emmy voters’ street. I mentioned Smith and Rigg before — they are good comparisons here. They are both Dames who played cutting, sharp-tongued women in hit shows — and the Emmys rewarded them for it. Smith won three Emmys for playing Violet Crawley in “Downton” (in 2011 for TV Movie/Mini-Series Supporting Actress and in 2012 and 2016 for Drama Supporting Actress) while she was nominated twice more (in 2013 and 2014). Meanwhile, Rigg was nominated four times for guest starring as Olenna Tyrell in “Thrones” (2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018). Walter’s piercing role in “This is Going to Hurt” fits in with these characters.

So while Walter may currently be outside of our predicted nominees for “This is Going to Hurt,” her status, awards history, and the track record of the Emmys, prove that voters could well go in for a double dose of the Dame. Stay tuned.

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