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BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2024: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

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

Past Awards in This Category: 2023   2022   2021   2020

This year's nominees are...

IDRIS ELBA as Sam Nelson in Hijack (Apple TV+)











COLIN FARRELL as John Sugar in Sugar (Apple TV+)











NATHAN FIELDER as Asher Siegel in The Curse (Showtime)













DONALD GLOVER as John Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)













TIMOTHY OLYPHANT as Raylan Givens in Justified: City Primeval (FX)











DOMINIC WEST as Prince Charles in The Crown (Netflix)












JEREMY ALLEN WHITE as Carmen Berzatto in The Bear (FX/Hulu)













And the Winner Is...
DONALD GLOVER
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
I was excited for Mr. & Mrs. Smith before it premiered (it was my #1 most anticipated 2024 show on this blog) but even I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. There were a lot of reasons why I loved it so much but the performances by Donald Glover and Maya Erskine are near the top of the list. I've never gotten into Glover's other major TV projects - Community and Atlanta - but I thought he really was exceptional here. His matter of fact delivery and sarcastic lines were coupled with a real and honest portrayal of the marriage equivalent of building a plane that's flying in the air. There are rumors that Glover and Erskine won't return for the officially ordered second season. I really hope that is not the case because I would love to see more.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
This was a strong group of nominees. I never watched the original Justified but it seemed like Timothy Olyphant settled right back into his role as Raylan Givens on Justified: City Primeval (let's not talk about his real daughter playing his daughter though). Returning nominee Jeremy Allen White continued to be the emotional core of The Bear even as other supporting characters got more of a chance to shine in the second season. Idris Elba was perfectly cast to give the sort-of ludicrous Hijack a solid foundation. Sugar was even more ridiculous than Hijack but Colin Farrell gave a very interesting portrayal even amidst the mess. Nathan Fielder took his awkward shtick to a different place on The Curse to usually good results. Finally, another returning nominee Dominic West was a very prominent presence in the final season of The Crown and gave more human dimension to Prince Charles than the real Prince Charles does.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series!
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