The Emmys has officially come and gone! This year, Succession turned out to be the big winners; with Kieran Culkin receiving Best Lead Actor and Sarah Snook and Niecy Nash (for Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story) winning in their respective acting categories as well. Hopefully, the careers of these actors continue to prosper for years to come.
Winning an Emmy is supposed to be the pinnacle of an actor’s career. It’s supposed to open doors for bigger and better roles. Hell, even being nominated is a huge accolade that’s meant to propel someone’s career. Unfortunately, some nominations didn’t get that luxury. Some of the past nominations either completely fell off the radar. Or have been reduced to minor roles in film or television. These five actors suffered a major downfall following their historical Emmy nomination.
Michael C. Hall (Nominated For Outstanding Lead Actor In Six Feet Under and Dexter)
Michael C. Hall has been nominated seven times for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series. The guy has an impressive body of work when it comes to television, but people mainly associate him with Dexter. It’s the series that put him on the map. When Dexter came out, the anti-hero story was still new. Sure, you had shows like The Sopranos, but following the mind and process of an actual serial killer was an intriguing concept.
Michael C. Hall was perfect for the role. He nicely captured the complexity of Dexter Morgan living two lives and believably came across as a nice sociopath. Though Dexter went off the rails following season four (don’t get me started on season eight), his acting ability never wavered. However, Michael C. Hall has never been able to escape the role of Dexter. He’s had a couple of supporting roles including playing President Kennedy in The Crown, but nothing has given him huge recognition like Dexter. With his character finally dead, perhaps the talented actor can find a new role that will get him out of the shadows of Dexter Morgan.
Matthew Fox (Nominated For Outstanding Lead Actor In Lost)
Lost was a weird period in television. The show came out of the gate hot as the premise immediately grabbed the audience’s attention. And for a couple of seasons, the show managed to keep people glued to the television series. Then it got weird and convoluted. Still, the show was something fun and compelling in its first season, so it’s no surprise that Matthew Fox received a nomination for his role as Jack Shephard. Once Lost ended, Fox tried his hand at acting on the big screen but didn’t have much success.
In 2015, he “retired” from acting to focus on family and pursued other interests, and made his comeback in the 2022 mini-series, Last Night. Perhaps it’s not fair to put Fox on the list since he wasn’t active for seven years, but the actor wasn’t getting much buzz once his time ended on Lost. He’s surely a talented actor who can overcome the Lost spotlight, but it’ll be an uphill battle to surpass something that dominated the culture for a brief period.
Denis Leary (Nominated For Outstanding Lead Actor In Rescue Me)
Rescue Me was a powerful look at firefighters post 9/11 and Denis Leary was a gripping protagonist in the series. That actor has been nominated three times in the acting department (a supporting acting nod for HBO’s Recount). Though Leary has tried to recapture the television magic through Sirens and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, he just hasn’t had much success. The talented actor will certainly try again as he was just hired for a Netflix comedy, No Good Deed, where he’ll play an ex-con named Mikey whose debts have driven him to desperate measures.
Kit Harington (Nominated For Outstanding Supporting and Lead Actor In Game of Thrones)
The Game of Thrones curse feels too real. Game of Thrones remains one of the hottest shows to grace television. The final season aside, all the stars seemingly had a bright future after Game of Thrones. It wasn’t just that this exciting Fantasy/sci-fi show was well written, but every actor seemed to perfectly embody their book counterparts. Kit Harington was notable for being your classic action hero, and the series did some cool things to subvert those expectations. However, Harington was a likable presence that audiences genuinely cared for.
Sadly, that hasn’t been able to translate outside of the series. Harington tried his hand at the big screen, the most notable being Eternals, but that career path hasn’t worked out. The actor gets a steady bill of work, but nothing has come close to matching the fame and success that came from Game of Thrones.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Nominated For Outstanding Supporting Actor In Game of Thrones)
Everything I said about Harington can apply to the former Jamie Lannister. However, Nikolaj’s story arc throughout the series was more compelling. He went from an unlikable douchebag who pushed a child out of a window to an anti-hero who redeemed himself by the end of season seven. Only to undo all of the character development and go back to Cersei for no good reason. Nevertheless, Nikolaj has mainly starred in streaming and on-demand films despite his popularity in Game of Thrones. His most high-profile thing since GOT was The Flash as the Pizza Guy. Surprisingly, he hasn’t gotten much because he has the look and charisma to lead a show or film.
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