‘The New Look’ could bag Ben Mendelsohn an Emmy bookend

Jacob Sarkisian
·4 min read
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Ben Mendelsohn leads the line in Apple TV’s new historical drama “The New Look,” which features the Australian actor as fashion designer Christian Dior. The series depicts Dior’s attempt to create a new fashion line in post-WWII Paris, with Juliette Binoche portraying his antagonistic, rival fashion designer Coco Chanel.

The series has been celebrated for its lush below-the-line work while the actors featured in the show have all been lauded for top-tier performances, particularly Mendelsohn.

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Helen Hawkins (The Arts Desk) proclaimed that Mendelsohn “gives a winning, tender performance that ends up giving the piece an emotional core, with Chanel’s tribulations almost a darkly comic distraction.”

Josh Sharpe (Paste Magazine) observed: “As Dior, Mendelsohn is nothing short of incredible here. A long-time supporting character actor (which Star Wars and Marvel fans can attest to), it is thrilling to see him lead a show. Like an accessory to one of his beautiful outfits, he wears his emotions on his sleeve, and this series’ enamored audience gets the privilege to witness and partake in his complex feelings about the war, his work, and his family. With the smallest of facial expressions, Mendelsohn makes us fall in love with Dior. When he cries, we cry. When he laughs, we laugh. He has complete command over our feelings and he leads with elegance.”

Maggie Levitt (Collider) opined: “Mendelsohn is exceptional as Christian Dior, hitting all the right notes as the acclaimed fashion designer navigating a harrowing and cutthroat era. There is a degree of duplicity he has to play with, using his connections in the fashion industry to find his sister once disaster strikes, and Mendelsohn plays through those emotions with ease. Despite the 28-year age difference between Mendelsohn and Maisie Williams (versus the 12-year age difference between the real siblings), they are convincing in their portrayal of the Dior family.”

As a result, Mendelsohn finds himself in our lineup of predicted nominees for Best Drama Actor alongside Gary Oldman (“Slow Horses”), Dominic West (“The Crown”), Colin Farrell (“Sugar”), Donald Glover (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”), and Tom Hiddleston (“Loki”).

Mendelsohn ranks in sixth place, just ahead of fellow competitors Nathan Fielder (“The Curse”), Morgan Spector (“The Gilded Age”), Idris Elba (“Hijack”), Walton Goggins (“Fallout”), and Timothy Olyphant (“Justified: City Primeval”). And for good reason, too. Mendelsohn is already an Emmy favorite thanks to his sublime time on “Bloodline.”

Mendelsohn was nominated for Best Drama Supporting Actor for “Bloodline” in both 2015 and 2016, winning the latter race. He picked up a third Emmy bid for the same show in 2017 — this time for Best Drama Guest Actor.

Plus, Mendelsohn and Binoche make a terrific on-screen duo and their characters’ complex relationship is the meat of the drama. Binoche has a great chance at being nominated for Best Drama Actress, which will help Mendelsohn’s chances of a nomination here, too, as Emmy voters like nominating pairs of leading actors and actresses, such as Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, (“The Last of Us”), Jason Bateman and Laura Linney (“Ozark”), Matt Smith and Claire Foy (“The Crown”), and Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright (“House of Cards”).

However, even if this doesn’t play out, Mendelsohn could still be nominated because his performance is just that lauded. Several actors in this category have earned their show’s only above-the-line nomination, such as Jeff Bridges (“The Old Man” in 2024), Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan” in 2015), Jeff Daniels (“The Newsroom” in 2015), Michael C. Hall (“Dexter” in 2012), and Hugh Laurie (“House” in 2010 and 2011). Mendelsohn could slot alongside these names in this pattern if voters don’t take to the rest of the show as much as we think they will take to Mendelsohn himself.

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