BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series

Today's award is Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series!

Check out past results from 2020 and 2021!

This year's nominees are...

WILL FERRELL as Marty Markowitz in The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV+)

WILLIAM JACKSON HARPER as Marcus Watkins in Love Life (HBO Max)

SAMUEL L. JACKSON as Ptolemy Grey in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV+)

MICHAEL KEATON as Dr. Samuel Finnix in Dopesick (Hulu)

SEAN PENN as John Mitchell in Gaslit (Starz)

PAUL RUDD as Ike in The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV+)

SEBASTIAN STAN as Tommy Lee in Pam & Tommy (Hulu)

And the Winner Is...

MICHAEL KEATON

Dopesick (Hulu)

I was mixed on Dopesick as a whole as evidenced by it only getting two nominations from me. Now granted those two nominations were for Series and Lead Actor, but it was still a mixed bag as a show in my opinion. The absolute best part of it though was Michael Keaton. The legendary actor brought gravitas to the role of Samuel Finnix, a small town doctor who goes from being a pillar of the community to someone spiraling along with the community through the opioid crisis. Keaton was the perfect choice for this role because it was so easy to see Keaton as the character at the beginning of the series and hard to watch as things started to go badly. Keaton's charm made him a sympathetic character even when he maybe shouldn't have been.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

There are a couple film legends in addition to Keaton on this list. Samuel L. Jackson was really interesting in the otherwise uneven The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. Sean Penn underwent a major physical transformation to play John Mitchell in Gaslit and though he was somewhat overshadowed by his co-star, Julia Roberts, he still gave a really strong performance. Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd made The Shrink Next Door what it was and played two different characters over many decades that were really interesting to watch. They also had an undeniable chemistry with each other on a show that seems like it got lost in the crowd but was actually quite good. I was one of the few who actually liked the first season of Love Life more than the second, but William Jackson Harper was a very capable lead to fill Anna Kendrick's shoes. Finally, Sebastian Stan fully committed to the Tommy Lee persona and character in a performance where you could tell he was really into the role.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series!

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