BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Today's award is Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series!

Check out past results from 2020 and 2021!

This year's nominees are...

JASON BATEMAN as Marty Byrde in Ozark (Netflix)

STERLING K. BROWN as Randall Pearson in This is Us (NBC)

BRIAN COX as Logan Roy in Succession (HBO)

JOHN C. REILLY as Jerry Buss in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (HBO)

ALBERT RUTECKI as Harrison Dietrich in As We See It (Amazon)

ADAM SCOTT as Mark Scout in Severance (Apple TV+)

JEREMY STRONG as Kendall Roy in Succession (HBO)

And the Winner Is...

ADAM SCOTT

Severance (Apple TV+)

Adam Scott left the world of comedy for something a little more serious (though there is still comedy) with his fascinating portrayal of Mark in Severance. Mark started the series as a loyal foot soldier, living his two separate lives. He was harmless in the real world and a real worker bee in the severed office. Over the course of the series, we experienced the growing conspiracies and confusion along with Mark and through Mark's eyes. He wasn't a typical protagonist because he wasn't always easy to root for but he also wasn't an antihero in the Tony Soprano/Walter White mode. That's what made Adam Scott's performance so interesting. His ability to play two very different versions of the same character was impressive and yet we could also see threads connecting the two personas. Adam Scott proved to have much more range than I thought he did.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

The biggest threat to Adam Scott was John C. Reilly in a very different role. He was all in on being the larger than life Jerry Buss in Winning Time and had a great rapport with the audience he talked directly to often. Albert Rutecki was equal parts charming and inspirational on As We See It. It was hard to only give a nomination to him when the entire ensemble was strong, but he was the best part of the show. The rest were returning nominees either from last year or two years ago. Or both in the case of Sterling K. Brown, who turned in a solid final season as Randall Pearson on This is Us, especially towards the end. Speaking of final seasons, I've always appreciated Jason Bateman's dry delivery in Ozark even though I agree with those who say his range is limited on the show. Finally, the Succession guys - Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong - delivered great seasons and Strong in particular had some really interesting moments.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series!

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