How John Lithgow can make Emmy history with a bid for ‘The Old Man’

FX is back.

Following years of success via its auteur-driven comedies, the network that brought us “Damages,” “Justified” and “The Americans” finally has a new drama series reminiscent of the Emmy-winning shows that once anchored its lineup. “The Old Man,” which premiered last June, follows Dan Chase (Jeff Bridges), a dangerous and mysterious man who years ago fled the CIA for reasons unknown. Forced out of hiding after an assassin tracks him down decades later, he finds himself on the run from John Lithgow’s Harold Harper, a one-time compatriot who is now the FBI’s Assistant Director for Counterintelligence. The result is a thrilling series about two aging men whose relationship spans decades and defies explanation. And it could land at least one of its stars an Emmy nomination more than a year after its debut.

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While Bridges currently sits in fifth place in Gold Derby’s combined odds in Best Drama Actor, Lithgow is holding down the fort in sixth place in Best Drama Supporting Actor. Should the latter manage to snag a bid for his layered performance, he’ll be the first supporting actor from an FX drama to be nominated since Walton Goggins (“Justified”) in 2011. But perhaps more importantly, Lithgow would also become just the third person to be nominated in the category for three different shows.

The first two men to accomplish this impressive feat were co-stars (and current Emmy hopefuls) Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito. In addition to scoring noms for their performances on “Breaking Bad” and its spin-off “Better Call Saul,” they were also recognized for their work on “Wiseguy” (Banks) and “The Mandalorian” (Esposito). However, unlike Banks and Esposito, Lithgow’s three nominations would all be for portraying different characters.

SEE ‘The Old Man’s’ John Lithgow: ‘The operatic word in acting is surprise’

Although the prolific actor is a 13-time Emmy nominee and six-time winner, he earned his first nom for drama supporting actor not that long ago, in 2017. Nominated for his portrayal of Winston Churchill opposite Claire Foy’s Queen Elizabeth II in the first season of “The Crown,” Lithgow beat out stiff competition — including Banks — to take home his first Emmy in the category. He was also the first of six actors from the royal drama to win. The others are Foy, Josh O’Connor, Tobias Menzies, Gillian Anderson and Olivia Colman.

A few years after Lithgow’s triumph, in 2021, he was nominated in the category yet again, this time for his turn as attorney E.B. Jonathan in the first season of HBO’s reimagining of “Perry Mason,” which stars Matthew Rhys as the titular lawyer. He eventually lost to Menzies. But while it’s unlikely “The Crown” will play a major role in this year’s supporting actor race, Lithgow will be fighting against another powerful juggernaut for room at the Emmy table. “Succession,” the critically acclaimed HBO series about the power struggles and in-fighting of a prominent New York media family, is eligible for its fourth and final season, and it is primed to dominate the nominations yet again.

Last year’s winner, Matthew Macfadyen, currently leads the field, while co-star Kieran Culkin is right behind him in second place. Other “Succession” contenders include Nicholas Braun (seventh) and Alan Ruck (11th). Elsewhere, F. Murray Abraham of HBO’s “The White Lotus” sits in third place, Esposito follows in fourth for the final season of “Better Call Saul,” and “House of the Dragon” star Matt Smith is in fifth. Jonathan Pryce (“The Crown”), Banks (“Better Call Saul”) and Stellan Skarsgard (“Andor”) slot in behind Braun to round out the top 10.

This is a deep category — arguably one of the few truly competitive races this year — and it’s full of familiar favorites and respected veterans who could easily slide into slots left vacant by the absence of the “Squid Game,” “Severance” and “The Morning Show” actors who filled out the category behind the men from “Succession” last year. And no one — probably not even Banks or Esposito — is likely to appeal more to Emmy voters than Lithgow. While it’s been almost a year since “The Old Man” aired, he has a proven track record at the Emmys that, in combination with his stellar performance, could help secure him a space on the ballot and make history in the process.

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