I know people complained about this when the nominations came out, but for some reason, it just irked the hell out of me when Jon Cryer won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy.Not that I don't think Cryer deserved an Emmy. No, he does a great job as the uptight Alan Harper on Two and a Half Men. And, after all the failed shows and pilots, the man once known as Duckie deserves recognition for the fine actor his is... just not as a supporting actor.
I have no idea why the ATAS allows actors to submit themselves in supporting categories when they're clearly lead actors. But you and I and the wall behind me all know that Cryer is a co-lead on Men along with Charlie Sheen, who was nominated in the lead category. But he figured submitting into the supporting category gave him a better chance to win, and he was right.
But look at the rest of the nominees: Rainn Wilson, Neil Patrick Harris, Jack McBrayer, Kevin Dillon, and Tracy Morgan. All of them can make a more compelling case that they're in a supporting role than Cryer can. And all of them are the definition of a superior supporting player, making a huge impact with little screen time. Even Wilson and NPH, who are more a part of an ensemble than true supporting players, get less screen time than Cryer does. But by submitting himself as a supporting actor, Cryer basically didn't give any of his fellow nominees a chance.
NPH and his writers did a good job of playing off the fact that he lost by having the host mock-bitterly ask Cryer questions like "What did it feel like to win?" as Cryer did the winner's backstage press conference. But if they really had some guts, they would have asked him, "How is Charlie Sheen a lead actor but you're not?"
Oh, and a quick note to Jon: Lose the striped sweater-vest. It made you look like a middle-aged Harry Potter.
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-21-2009 @ 10:53AM
HD said...
I could rant for 10 minutes on how wrong it is that Cryer won - but life is short. I'm not pleased to say the least, but perhaps Cryers win is the yang to the yin of Kristin Chenoweth winning for the beautiful and greatly missed "Pushing Daisies".
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 11:00AM
Ryan said...
This is exactly what I was telling myself last night. If the awesomeness of Chenoweth winning was too great that the universe somehow had to balance it with an NPH shock loss, then I'll ultimately be okay since NPH will have other chances.
But I'm sure the universe saw how upset I still was and ended up giving Michael Emerson the win later that night. As was most of last night's ceremony, the good ended up outweighing the bad.
9-21-2009 @ 11:32AM
Scott said...
All this time I thought Alan's wardrobe on "2 1/2 Men" was purposely picked by the wardrobe people to be the nerdiest, most tasteless outfits. Now I'm beginning to think that Cryer just wears what he has at home.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 1:17PM
fgsweetdog said...
I agree. And what's with those pajama "sets" he wears? First of all, who wears pajamas anymore anyway? And a t-shirt underneath it all. Is it really that cold in Malibu at night?
9-21-2009 @ 11:44AM
Elf said...
Your rant is not cynical, it is perfectly justified.
Although the way that the emmy voting is handled, where a nominee submits one episode of his/her work may be part of the problem. Any actor is capable of having that one brilliant episode, but the series acting awards should be based on the actors' body of work for the entire season. Hell, even if they submitted two or three representative episodes instead of one I think there's be a few different results on some of the categories.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 12:09PM
Marc Bowker said...
Looks like I'm preaching to the choir here, but I actually turned to my wife and said "Why is he a supporting actor and Charlie Sheen is a lead actor?" Regardless, Cryer has paid his dues in Hollywood and it's nice to seem him get some well-deserved recognition.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 1:43PM
the dude said...
well maybe it's just me but - i thought that his speech was made with tongue in cheek to be a touch of humor. i thought it was funny and it kinda played into the interview that neil patrick harris and cryer had later in the show.
and yes - cryer dressed like a schmutz - but was it like sarah silverman wearing a moustache in the audience when she was on camera? dunno - but that also was a visual funny on a awards show that was entertaining in its own way for once.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 1:48PM
Dan said...
Judging by salaries, Jon Cryer is clearly a supporting actor. However, I think he's being ripped off and should be considered a lead.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 2:05PM
Mike said...
Ripped off? Were he technically considered the lead he'd have one less statue today... Something tells me he doesn't feel ripped off...
I think it's really stupid that they can do this... Then again, I always thought it was pretty unfair to the guy who played Newman that Michael Richards and Jason Alexander were considered supporting actors when they clearly weren't.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 9:06PM
Kelly said...
I am so glad I forgot to watch this last night. I think I would have hit the roof when he won.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 11:54PM
raynablaze said...
The sweater vest could be evidence that he really didn't expect to win....
Reply
9-22-2009 @ 12:47AM
raynablaze said...
BTW, I completely agree he didn't belong in that category, I found this thread thru a Bing search for "jon cryer is not a supporting actor."
Reply