Why you shouldn’t sleep on ‘Dahmer’ standout Rodney Burford Jr. at the Emmys
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Evan Peters, Niecy Nash-Betts and Richard Jenkins are all likely to land Emmy nominations for their performances on Netflix’s “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” But if members of the TV academy go all in on the first iteration of the “Monster” anthology series from co-creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, you shouldn’t be surprised if Rodney Burford Jr., the lead of the show’s most acclaimed episode, also winds up with a bid.
As Tony Hughes, one of the 17 men murdered by infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Burford appears in three of the show’s 10 installments, including the standout sixth outing, “Silenced.” Directed by two-time Emmy winner Paris Barclay, and written by David McMillan and Janet Mock, this episode centers on Hughes, a deaf and gay Black man with big ambitions whose life comes to a tragic halt after he encounters and is killed by Dahmer in 1991.
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According to Netflix’s official FYC page, “Silenced” is one of two episodes the streamer submitted in directing and its sole entry in writing for “Dahmer.” And understandably so. Though the controversial true crime drama did not receive the most, uh, glowing reviews — it has a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 57 percent and a Metacritic score of 46 — the Hughes-centric installment was frequently cited as a series highlight. Critics particularly took to Burford’s performance in the episode, with Amanda Whiting of The Independent, for instance, praising the actor for imbuing his portrayal of Hughes with “heartbreaking warmth.” Sean T. Collins of Decider also makes note of this warmth, writing, “[Burford] gives Tony’s rapport with the people he cares about so much warmth it seems to radiate out of the screen — with his buddies, his mom, his sisters…and with Jeffrey Dahmer.”
But will this critical acclaim translate into an Emmy nomination? As of this writing, Burford is outside the top seven, in 12th place, in our limited series/TV movie supporting actor odds. But that’s not surprising. The “Deaf U” alum is a relative unknown competing with a small part on a show that already has a strong contender in the category in Jenkins (No. 2). What people should remember, though, is that the restricted ballot — which is being reintroduced this year for the first time since 2016 — is specifically designed to help lesser-known actors like Burford break through on passion. And while his screen time is sparse, not only does his character leave an indelible mark on the show after “Silenced,” but his performance also leaves a lasting impression on viewers.
If your concern is that Burford could split votes with his castmates — per Netflix’s site, Colby French, Michael Beach and Shaun J. Brown are submitted along with him and Jenkins — now that voters can no longer check off as many names as they please on their ballots, you need not necessarily worry either. While, in theory, the restricted ballot should make it more difficult for shows to field multiple nominees in one category, we’ve already seen that this isn’t always the case. The last time this voting system was in place, in 2016, there were — wait for it — a whopping 14 instances in which two or more actors from the same series were shortlisted alongside one another.
What we’ve seen over the course of the last few years is that, as voters seemingly watch fewer and fewer shows, they tend to just default to titles they’ve actually viewed and vote for them down the ballot. And those voting habits are unlikely to change this year with Mass TV in full swing. So given that the majority of TV academy members have probably seen “Dahmer” — which was released early in the cycle, on Sept. 21, and a monster (sorry) hit for Netflix — and it’s the odds-on fave for series, actor (Peters) and supporting actress (Nash-Betts), you shouldn’t be caught off guard if it overperforms and sweeps up a surprise bid for one of its standout players.
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