BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2021: Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Drama Series

Today's award is Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Drama Series!

Check out the nominees and winner from 2020!

This year's nominees are:

MICHAEL ANGARANO as Young Nick Pearson on This is Us (NBC)

TOM BROOKE as Michael Fagan on The Crown (Netflix)

MCKENNA GRACE as Esther Keyes on The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)

ANNA MARIA HORSFORD as Charlene on Pose (FX)

NORM LEWIS as Vernon Jackson on Pose (FX)

PHYLICIA RASHAD as Carol Clarke on This is Us (NBC)

NABHAAN RIZWAN as Hari Dhar on Industry (HBO)

And the Winner Is...

MCKENNA GRACE

The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)

Mckenna Grace was a very strong addition to the fourth season of The Handmaid's Tale with a chilling role. Early on, it seemed like her character of Esther Keyes could have been a villain. But she soon proved to be an ally to June and all the handmaids while having quite a dark streak of her own. Grace's steely demeanor and willing to cross all sorts of boundaries made her sort of a "mini-June" and the first true kindred spirit to the main character. It seems quite possible that Mckenna Grace could become a series regular next season and I would definitely be on board with that. She has the perfect presence and skills to fit in with the show and keep it from looping back around with June.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

There were a lot of strong guest actors on dramas. Last year's winner Phylicia Rashad turned in another couple strong episodes on This is Us and continues to be one of the most inspired casting choices in recent memory. Another This is Us recurring guest star is Michael Angarano and I have not always been a huge fan of his from the Vietnam arc but I thought he was excellent in the super strong Nicky-centered episode "One Small Step." Tom Brooke was an equal to Olivia Colman in a very memorable episode of The Crown that featured long swaths of scenes between just the two actors. Anna Maria Horsford and Norm Lewis were key characters in the heartbreaking "Take Me to Church" episode of Pose and made a big impact in a short time. Finally, I became less interested in Industry (and didn't even finish the first season) after realizing Nabhaan Rizwan was not a series regular but just a very prominent guest star. He was easily the best part of the first episode.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Writing of a Limited/Anthology Series