Emmys 2009: Pick the drama acting winners

Part two of Zap2it's pick-the-winners poll in the major Emmy nominees looks at the contenders for lead actress and actor in a drama series. One group has what's probably a clear favorite, while the other is pretty much a tossup.

Unfortunately, the nominees' respective networks are much more stingy with clips from recent seasons, so unlike Monday's comedy post, there will be no links to clips from each actor's submitted episode. OK? OK.

Lead actress in a drama series

Glenn Close, "Damages": Close won last year and has to be considered the favorite again this time around. Her episode is the second-season finale, "Trust Me," which features heavy doses of both the calculating and vulnerable sides of Patty Hewes.

Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters": She's another past winner but seems less likely to repeat. She submitted "A Father Dreams," which is a lighter episode for her character, Nora Walker, and has her mostly fretting about once again meeting a man she flirted with 30 years ago.

Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU": Even though she's won before, Hargitay probably doesn't get enough credit for the excellent work she does on the plot-heavy "SVU." I'm not saying she'll win again this year (for the episode "PTSD"), but I just wanted that on record.

Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace": The episode Hunter used, "Have a Seat Earl," features her doing Grace Hanadarko at her most unhinged, and it's a lot of fun to watch. But it also aired more than a year ago, so it's not exactly fresh in people's minds.

Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men": She did beautiful, understated work in the season two finale, "Meditations in an Emergency" -- but as the sole first-time nominee in a field of better-known actresses, she's probably a long shot.

Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer": Sedgwick carries her series in a way that none of her fellow nominees, save perhaps Hunter, does. But "Cherry Bomb" might not be the episode that gets her her first win in four nominations.



Lead actor in a drama series

Simon Baker, "The Mentalist": Put an actor without his charm in the lead role, and "The Mentalist" is just another crime show, not last season's biggest new series. In a field this deep, though, that's probably not enough to break through (he submitted the pilot episode).

Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment": The subject matter of "In Treatment" isn't easy to take, and the show has flown mostly under the radar in its two seasons. But Byrne's performance (he submitted "Gina: Week 4") is just an incredible thing to behold. He's hugely deserving.

Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad": Cranston was an out-of-nowhere winner last year, but he might be the favorite this time around. His episode, "Phoenix," was a killer and gave him lots of different beats to play.

Michael C. Hall, "Dexter": Hall submitted "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which is about Dexter's struggles with his impending fatherhood and breaking his serial-killer code to go after a pedophile who threatens his stepdaughter. In context it's a big episode for the show and Hall; on its own, I'm less sure about its impact.

Jon Hamm, "Mad Men": "The Mountain King" was probably Hamm's best episode last season, one in which he got to drop the facade of being Don Draper and get comfortable in his own Dick Whitman skin. But as will Hall's submission, I don't know if it works as well without preceding episodes as a comparison.

Hugh Laurie, "House": Fans were retroactively pissed off when the House-Cuddy hookup in "Under My Skin" turned out not to be real. But Laurie unquestionably turned in one of his stronger performances of the season with the episode.



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Related:

Zap2it's Emmy coverage
Emmys 2009: Who do you like for comedy actor and actress?
Tina Fey, Justin Timberlake win Emmys for 'SNL'
2009 Emmy nominees