We’re starting off the finals of the Watchers on the Wall Awards today with two big categories, celebrating the stars of Game of Thrones. We’re here to choose Best Actor and Best Actress of Season 6, and no matter who wins, there are no poor choices.
It was a powerful year for the show’s women with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) bouncing back and acquiring more power, Margaery (Natalie Dormer) fighting a stealthy battle to free herself, Cersei (Lena Headey) surviving losses to take the Iron Throne for her own, Sansa (Sophie Turner) handling the delicate balance of war and family, and Arya (Maisie Williams) taking back her own identity.
It was a huge year for the men as well, with Jon Snow (Kit Harington)’s resurrection and ascension to the leadership of the North, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) taking Riverrun and losing two children, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) finding his feet again as a Hand in his own name, Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) returning with a staggering power, and wicked Ramsay (Iwan Rheon), tearing things up wherever he goes.
They were challenged in season 6, and they delivered, and now it’s time to choose.
Final round rules: In the finals, unlike the preliminaries, fans have one vote to cast in each category. At the end of 72 hours (Sunday 9/11/16 at 5PM EDT), the performer in each category with the most votes will be the winner! The results of the poll will be revealed during the live Watchers on the Wall Awards ceremony, which will take place in early October. Specific date to be announced in the near future!
THE KIT IN THE NORTH!
And Lena Headey.
Lena & Kit for me.
Best Actress: Lena without a single doubt.
Best actor: torn between Kit and Iwan. Went with Iwan.
Isaac and Peter didn’t have that much to act this season.
Lena hands down.
Wavered between Kit and Iwan only briefly and went with Kit.
This may sound like heresy, but I chose Maisie over Lena. Lena’s a wonderful actress and a terrific Cersei, but I found her a bit too one-note this season – too ‘contained’ even at her craziest and most vicious. Maisie was given more opportunities to show her emotional range, and did it very well indeed, in my view.
Natalie and Iwan. As much as I love Maisie, Natalie was amazing. 🙂
I haven’t been posting since S6 ended. Trying to avoid spoilers (since I felt it did affect my enjoyment of S5 and S6 a bit, and I wanted to go into S7 with a complete blank state).
But for this voting … It’s Lena (with Maisie a close second) and Kit all the way.
The dude that plays Davos should have been on this poll for the actors. That guy was better than any of these other guys this year and those guys were pretty good. I would have gotten rid of Dinklage from the list this year. His weakest year in terms of writing and acting in my opinion.
Kit Harington easily gets my vote for Lead Actor. That is partly because his competitors either didn’t have enough material to really compete (Hempstead-Wright and Rheon) or their material didn’t have enough character moments (Dinklage and NCW had some great moments, but didn’t have a very clear character arcs throughout the season).
But Harington was also just really, really good this year, despite having one of the most difficult roles on the show. Jon Snow doesn’t share his feelings often, so Harington has to take every opportunity to portray those emotions in his expressions and gestures. His last look at Olly, his reunion with Sansa, his failure to save Rickon, and his facing off the Bolton cavalry are just a handful of the moments this year where he gave an impressive and often silent performance. Given the challenges he had this year, and how incredible his performance was anyway, Kit Harington gets my enthusiastic support.
The King in the North and Sansa for me!!!??
The King in the Norph!! And Lena take my votes .. Kit’s facial expressions were amazing this season .. he’s really grown as an actor. He can convey his feelings without uttering a word .. and Lena was marvelous ..
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister & Kit Harington as Jon Snow. That was pretty easy! Great season for them both.
Maisie Williams and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Maisie Williams! 😀
DaKingInDaNorf & The Mad Queen for me
The King in the North and the Queen in the South for me, though others also were good as hell.
Lead Actress is harder for me to pick.
Maisie Williams is always excellent, but I found Arya’s material this season (and last) a bit frustrating. The biggest problem I had throughout the Braavos storyline was understanding her motivations – becoming “No One” seemed to completely contradict her fundamental reason for going there in the first place, avenging her family. It was never clear to me when or why she became fully committed to shedding her identity, although Maisie portrayed the transformation back to Arya Stark very well this year. Emilia Clarke was also very good, transitioning from the victim who is all talk but no bite to her old, badass self very well. But she was largely absent from the show between episodes 5 and 9, and didn’t have as many emotionally compelling scenes as others (although her goodbye to Jorah is a standout).
Natalie Dormer is one of my favorite actresses on the show. Putting on a convincing façade in front of other characters, while occasionally betraying her true feelings to the audience, is a very difficult task and she always did that well. It was perhaps more challenging this year than any other. I flirted with the idea of voting for her here but at only five episodes, her performance just didn’t have the breadth as some of the others.
For me it came down to Lena Heady and Sophie Turner. I imagine Heady will win, and she would be a deserving winner. I loved her performances in the first episode (reacting to Myrcella’s death) and of course the final episode, when she gets her revenge. I don’t think there were many Emmy-reel moments outside those two episodes, however. Heady is always good but her character was somewhat dormant in the middle of the season.
Sophie Turner, meanwhile, not only had similarly strong revenge-material (both Heady and Turner’s best moments might be the smiles they have as their enemies die), but she had fantastic scenes throughout the season. Her goodbye to Theon, reunion with Jon, her confrontation with Littlefinger, and her argument with Jon were all standout moments this year. Both Turner and Heady would be deserving winners, but I think Sansa’s storyline had more of those award-worthy moments throughout the season, so I’m giving my vote to Sophie Turner.
Best Actress: Lena Headey
Sophie had a wide range of scenes, and I loved those between her and Kit especially; they have a great chemistry and pull of the sibling antagonisms of Sansa and Jon so well. I also enjoyed the scene in 605 in Mole’s Town with Littlefinger – Sophie really nailed it. Natalie had an excellent and oftentimes complex season, ultimately playing both the role of Margaery and the role of the mask Margaery wore to try and free herself and Loras from their incarceration. I will really miss her next season, and the show will too – the scenes between Margaery and Olenna were always so layered and well-acted.
Emilia was fabulous, and it was fascinating to explore (in the early part of the season) what Daenerys’s life could have been like following Drogo’s death. The scene in which Daenerys commands Jorah to find a cure for himself was heartbreaking; Jorah may have betrayed her, but in a way he is the one that has been loyal to her the longest. And the final scenes in 610 when she names Tyrion her Hand and the armada sets sail just gave me goosebumps. I love Emilia and Peter on screen together.
Although all of these actresses were great this season, for me it came to a close decision between Lena and Maisie. Arya is my favorite character, and Maisie just is her. One of the reasons I came so close to picking Maisie is that I feel while her material wasn’t as strong as the other nominees, she acted the hell out of it and made something that was a bit of a stretch realism-wise compelling viewing. She didn’t have a bad scene acting-wise all season, and it was soooooooooo hard for me to choose between her and Lena.
Ultimately, I chose Lena. Like Maisie, she was at the top of her game all season. From the very first episode, I feel we were programmed to hate Cersei. Since then, Lena has forced us into flashes of sympathy for her – such as her pleas to Tywin not to force her into another loveless marriage and her walk of shame. In season six, I felt a lot of pity for Cersei. It is clear when we first see her in season six that she is still ashamed and uncomfortable following her public humiliation, and it is heartbreaking to see the realization on her face that she has lost Myrcella. Even in 610, when I spent most of the episode hating Cersei and believing that she was responsible for Tommen’s suicide, there was still that hint of pity in me for a woman who has lost her last child. And that is completely down to Lena acting the hell out of this part.
Best Actor: Kit Harington
Again, I genuinely feel that all five of the nominees had great seasons. Isaac had to come back after a season-long gap and both bring Bran back in a way that we remembered him and move him forward given that we hadn’t seen him for a while. He also had to play a much more mature Bran than he ever had before – and one with increased supernatural abilities that he cannot control, and which can do great damage. The scene in the Winterfell courtyard in 605 in which Bran realizes that he is responsible for Hodor being Hodor is as heartbreaking as the rest of that final sequence. And in the Tower of Joy part 2, you can easily pick up on the moments that Bran realizes a) why Ned never spoke of Lyanna and b) who her child became.
As was the case with Natalie, I think the show will really miss Iwan next season. He was a fabulous actor playing a sadistic monster, and ultimately the character got what he deserved, but his acting ability is a loss. He played the part so well that for a fraction of a second, in 601 when Ramsay sat by Myranda’s body (before he commanded the maester to feed her to the hounds) I actually felt sorry for him and his loss. I don’t think Ramsay ever felt love, but the closest thing to it was what he and Myranda had, and Iwan conveyed that brilliantly.
Nikolaj and Peter both had great seasons as always – watching Jaime being stripped of his identity in a season in which so many other characters were reclaiming theirs really made that scene stand out. It was a kick to the gut watching that scene and the earlier one in the Sept of Baelor beside Myrcella’s body, in which Jaime tries to parent Tommen. But Nikolaj’s best scenes were at Riverrun and I could watch him and Gwendoline Christie act opposite each other all day; they have amazing chemistry, and embody their roles so well. The scenes with the Blackfish and Edmure were also stunning. 608 gets slated by some, but Nikolaj completely owned that episode. Peter may not have had as much to do in this season as he has previously, but he acted the hell out of what he was given – particularly the dragon scene in 602 and his appointment as Hand in 610; finally Tyrion was given the respect and dignity that he both craved and deserved. In between, I think he did an amazing job of conveying Tyrion’s loneliness and isolation in Meereen.
In spite of the amazing performances I have already mentioned, I didn’t find it as difficult to select a winner for Best Actor as I did for Best Actress. So much of season six was Jon Snow’s story, and it is testament to Kit’s acting that the show pulled off that focus on him. If you make a character a huge part of an ensemble season, then you need the actor playing that part to give a stunning performance, and Kit totally did that. The changes in Jon were subtle, but he played them so well; the loss of confidence, the bitterness in 603 as he walks away at the end, and so many more………The fact that Jon is such an internal character must make this one of the harder roles to portray on the show, but Kit has done a fantastic job of building this character up over the seasons and I really feel that in season six we got a massive pay-off on that. The little things like the way Jon stands, the closing of his eyes in moments of great emotion – all of this helps us to understand Jon, and to empathize with him. The VFX for Battle of the Bastards were amazing, but it wouldn’t have been such a stunning episode if it wasn’t for the investment the audience had in Jon – and that investment is there in great part because Kit and his performance makes us care for that character, and root for him to succeed.
Same! 😀
Lyanna mormont.. why is there even a poll
Lena and Iwan. This was Lena’s standout season and Iwan was spectacular.
Lena and Kit, for similar reasons. Portraying a character’s mindset and emotional journey through subtle, nuanced acting is a lot more challenging than delivering Emmy-baiting emotional outbursts or scenery-chewing speeches. You don’t have the luxury of spelling it out for viewers, but they still have to receive the message loud and clear.
Lena said next to nothing during the opening and closing moments of “The Winds of Winter.” Kit said absolutely nothing from the moment Jon approached the battlefield in “Battle of the Bastards” to the moment he beat Ramsay’s face in. Neither of them needed to. I take this caliber of acting as a given when it comes to Lena, but Kit surprised me. He’s been improving every year, but I didn’t know he was capable of conveying this much with so little.
As much as I adore all the actors and actresses on the show. I had to go with:
Lena and Kit.
Easiest poll of them all: it’s Kit and Lena. I’ve been a fan of both since S1, but they blew me away in S5 and S6.
Lena and Iwan
Lena and Kit.I wish all elections were this easy.Honorable mentions go to Natalie and Iwan they were both amazing and nailed their roles.
I also would have voted for Liam if he had been included in the choices, but voted in the end for Iwan. As for the ladies, Lena was great but Sophie had a huge season, so I voted for her this time.
Maisie and Iwan for me!
Rhaenys Stark,
yay!! Ditto!!!
Kit and Natalie
I went with Maisie and Kit.
I don’t think Maisie gets enough credit for what she pulls off.
Kit Harington, I think he’s a great actor (his performance in the play Dr.Faustus was a tour de force, awesome!!) and I think the same about his performance in this season. Jon is a very physical character, yes I know… But the same time Jon is very introspective (with different traumas, etc, etc..) I think that Kit, gives to the character emotional truth(Sansa and Davos scenes) without unnecessary gestures (Jon is a warrior in the middle ages, of course! 😉 and I love it!!
And Lena is THE QUEEN!!!
Luck to all!! They’re amazing cast!!
Ah, Carice and Kit in Brimstone..
http://theplaylist.net/3-intense-clips-new-images-revenge-western-brimstone-starring-guy-pearce-dakota-fanning-kit-harington-20160902/
Me too, dear!
Lena and Kit, but I will definitely miss Ramsey. I still miss Joffrey.
Totally agree!
Iwan Rheon and Natalie Dormer (Lena Headey was outstanding too!)
Kit and maisie ????
I think Liam will be under ‘best supporting actor’, so cast your votes for him there once it comes up
Kit and Natalie for me
Hodor Targaryen,
I don’t think she knew, to be honest. She is still young and her lack of experience didn’t give her the background she needed to be really committed. Plus she had no idea what being no one really meant. But yeah once she realized who she was, the gloves were off
I am torn between Sansa and Lena. I’ll keep reading posts and see if I can be convinced either way. As far as actor – It had to be Kit It was his season and he owned it
“Shame…shame…shame.”
Best Actress: Lena Headey
“You can’t kill me. I’m a part of you now.”
Best Actor: Iwan Rheon
Kit Harington is almost certainly going to win Best Actor, though, and I can accept that. He’s grown tremendously as an actor and he’s only gotten better with each new season. Personally, though, given the choice between a well-portrayed protagonist (Jon) and an equally fascinating antagonist (Ramsay), I’m inclined to go with the antagonist because I generally find believably frightening, impactful villains to be more psychologically interesting, and I’m always impressed by an actor who can make going to such dark places seem so effortless–Iwan Rheon definitely has that gift.
Lena all the way!!! If she doesn’t win big this year in all the awards (including this one) something is very wrong lol.
Also had to vote for Kit, IDK man, either Kit IS Jon Snow or he does an amazing job bringing Jon Snow to life. Hard to tell at this point since it is his only big role to date but anywho, he killed it this year.
For best Actress I’ve going with Sophie Turner. Always has been a somewhat underrated performer in my opinion who really pulled of Sansa’s taking on of a more commanding screen presence this season. It’s close with Lena, but I feel like it’s her turn to get recognition. For Best Actor I actually took Peter. It was a bit stuff because I think the category is sort of mix of guys who didn’t have much heavy material this year and actors who did but who just aren’t up there in the acting chops to get my vote. I settled on Peter because even though this was a low key year from him, I really appreciated him more after this season. He and Conleth made Meereen, fairly dull in past seasons and books, actually really entertaining this year. We complain sometimes about him getting way more respect respect from award shows than other equally deserving actors, but he’s so good at what he does and lifting up material that you can see how he’s earned that.
Actor: Kit Harington
Close Second: Iwan Rheon
Actress: Lena Headey
Close Second: Sophie Turner (with Maisie Williams an equally close third).
I’ll be rooting for Harington and Headey to take home Emmys in their respective (Supporting) categories on September 18th as well.
That being said, all of the nominees delivered wonderful performances in Season 6, and I think they’re all incredibly worthy of recognition. I wish could write about them all at length, but I couldn’t trust myself to stop in a timely fashion! Fortunately, several other commenters – including Hodor Targaryen and Alba Stark – have already paid eloquent tribute to all of the nominees above, which I enjoyed reading very much! Excellent job, everyone!
Have to go with Peter Dinklage and Maisie Williams – actors who can do so much with little to no dialogue. I can just watch Tyrion looking at Dany and feel what he is feeling – he’s that good. The only annoyance is the bad accent, but the good acting overshadows that flaw.
Maisie Williams – So good. She will go on to better and greater things.
I voted for Iwan. Kit is not very good actor. He is playing a part of a man, who does not show much facial expression, and Kit is still managing to act the role poorly.
Kit and Lena FTW!
Best Actress: Natalie Dormer. No doubt Lena is great, but aside from briefly mourning Myrcella, it was the same old bitchy, hateful Cersei. Margaery ran the gamut this year. I loved watching her try to save herself and her family, she was everything: broken, manipulative, caring, strong, loyal, determined, and in the end scared. Margaery was far from ever being a favorite of mine but this year I was rooting for her and hated seeing her die, and that had everything to do with Natalie’s performance.
Best Actor: Kit Harington. Yeah, no one comes close to beating him. From his devastation post-resurrection, to his joy at reuniting with Sansa, to his weariness at once again going to war, to his fear during BotB, to the relief and happiness at being proclaimed KitN, there was no emotion that Jon didn’t feel and convey this year. And that was because of Kit, who poured his heart, soul, sweat, and blood into this year’s performance. This was Kit Harington’s and Jon Snow’s season.
Actress – this was hard as all of them had great seasons, and in my opinion especially Sophie and Maisie really came into their characters. Sansa had great scenes throughout, and personlly I will be very dissapointed if she sides against Jon in season 7. Emilia has some great, albeit scattered scenes (the fire is Vaes Dothraek, final scene in 610 heading to Westeros). Lena of course continues to amaze me through Cersei’s character arc, my pity is turning to hate and I’m excited fro season 7! Natalie has never been a favourite character/actress of mine however the double game that Margaery was playing this season was very intriguing and that’s all down to Natalie’s acting. She will definitely be missed. However, I had to choose Maisie as I feel like she herself IS Arya. And the entire story line of her figuring out her identity (“A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell and I’m going home” GOOSEBUMPS). I cannot wait for the Stark family reunion, to see their dynamic (Sophie and Kit’s sibling chemistry is already great).
Actor –
We should feel blessed that the GOT cast is so stunning that it is night on impossible to seperate the best of the best. Personally, I believe this season was always about the North so the contest is between Iwan and Kit, who play such drastically different characters with the same level of dedication and deft skill. Maybe Bran could have a shoe-in, after all he did brig about the GREATEST fan theory reveal of all time. Yes, I am talking about R + L = J. I can’t wait to see what he does with this information next season, and how he will break the news to Jon (and Sansa, and Arya). Nikolaj/Jaime had to deal with a lot (Myrcella’s death, Cersei’s unpredictableness, the whole Riverrun disaster), a whole lot of character development or ‘unravelling’. Just no real scenes that stole the show. Tyrion was plain and boring in Meereen, the only good scenes he was was with Grey Worm and Missandei telling jokes, and when he is named Hand of the Queen. Peter Dinklage still acted the hell out of it and I love his dynamic with Dany and Varys. But anyway, back to Kit and Iwan. Liam Cunningham would definitely be up there if he had been included in the list, fast becoming one of my favourite characters on the show. While Ramsay will be put down in history as one of the worst villains to ever grace our screens, and Iwan’s incredible acting will be missed and I am interested to see how D and D fill that gap, I had to give this to Kit. Jon is changing in undocumented ways after being brought back to life, and it is KIt who breathes the life into this character. God bless and happy watching !
Kit and Lena duh!
I’m always a little baffled when people complain about Peter’s accent in GoT. Okay, he doesn’t sound authentically British, but he doesn’t sound remotely American either. Planetos is not Earth and Westeros is not the UK or Europe. How do we know how people speak there? His might be the purest Westerosi accent of all. The showrunners have clumped actors with particular regional British accents together in particular kingdoms, starting out with Sean Bean being a Yorkshireman, but that’s all totally arbitrary. It’s a fantasy world!
As I mentioned during the candidate submissions, I think Lena should be a separate category (and Alfie for the men). I really appreciated Maisie’s and also Nathalie’s acting but it is almost unfair to compete with Lena (but then if you think life is fair you have not been paying attention, right? ) .
For the men, lacking Alfie I went with Kit who was really strong this season and had very strong material to work with in addition.
Kit in the North and the Mad Queen. Honorable mentions to the Mad Dog and No One, tied with her sister for second place.
Easiest choice yet.
Sophie and Kit. Lena is superb always but Sansa’s moments were nuggets of dramatic goodness this season, especially her confrontation with LF. That I felt hard.
And Kit was brilliant this season, even though I think Liam Cunningham was the best overall male actor.
Kit without a doubt or second thought – he was “on” not only during the actual showing of the series, he was “on” the whole darned year, and handled it admirably. I loved every scene of his, there wasn’t a false note anywhere, at any time. He handled the transition from confused, angry, disillusioned murder victim to standing bravely, once again, staring down seemingly certain death. Did anyone, anywhere, doubt Jon’s determination watching him stand there facing down dozens of charging horses? No … we believed every second of it, he made us understand it and cheer for him. That’s acting. He’s wonderful. I will enjoy watching this young man throughout his career.
Lena. It’s her year. She is and will be forevermore, Cersei Fucking Lannister. Not that I think she’ll make it out of season 7, but she owned it right and tight this year.
Otherwise, it would have been Sophie, and I have no doubt that Sophie will bring her A+ game for season 7. Nor do I doubt Maisie will bring anything less than excellence. Good heavens, I love this show, and admire all these insanely talented people. Happy to have them to watch. Carry on, good folks, and know that what you do brings meaning and pleasure into a whole lot of lives …
Both choices were hard for me, because my heart battled my mind. I try to judge acting separately from the role. Good actors can make the villain the best thing in a show. Mediocre actors playing a hero/heroine adequately often get much more acclaim than they actually deserve. Another key criterion is that the performer puts something extra into the role that lifts it above the writing, plot, etc.
Originally, I chose Lena Headey. She’s been great throughout the series in one of its showiest roles. But this year she had one key emotion: angry revenge. Last year she had such a range of emotions AND the walk of shame. I voted for her then. Cersei again had very juicy material this year, and Lena acted the hell out of it but not ABOVE it. In the event, I went with Maisie. Yes, the Braavos plot ended clunkily, and yes, there was a lot of being beaten and hit, but it did show brilliant physicality. (Actually, in S1 I was gobsmacked that a right-handed 12-year old acted left-handed to be accurate for readers.) Much of this season Maisie didn’t even have her eyes to act with. Her acting was internal. Sniffing poisons, answering questions, risking death by drinking a poison that depended on truth–she kept us in suspense yet still implied that Arya knew what she was doing. Then to turn around and in the theatre/Lady Crane scenes melt into a version of the tender little girl of S1 was very adroit. And finally to be the mysterious, clever and cold-hearted avenger for her family sealed the deal. To say the least, she transcended the material. I suspect that helped her get the Emmy nomination.
It was similar with Best Actor. Kit had his best season by far. He had great material and handled it brilliantly. He was very physical (especially during BOB and clawing his way through the bodies) and spiritual. His handling of Jon’s resurrection, his subsequent alienation and finally a droll sense of humour were marvelous. And yet…and yet, I ended up choosing Iwan Rheon. I could not get over his mobile face, his brilliant line-reading, and his ability to repeatedly surprise and shock us despite how well we knew Ramsay. Plus he was generally quite funny as well. Like Joffrey and Tywin, Ramsay is a villain I shall miss. Rheon really did light up the screen in his scenes—I can ask no more. Happily, Kit will have two more chances. And I fervently hope he wins the Emmy. As for Lena and Maisie, I hope either of them does but suspect it will go to Maggie Smith. For doing the same thing brilliantly for six seasons.
Because he’s the only person who sounds different? So out of all the Lannisters, Tyrion alone has a purely Westorosi accent for some reason? You don’t think that stands out and makes no sense? Fantasy does not mean nonsense. Rules still apply.
The North guys – Kit, Richard had to do Sean Bean’s Northern accent. They could not get away with doing their own thing. Dinklage is just bad with his RP accent like most American actors.
The way he pronounces certain words is just really, really bad – like the word ‘Loathe’ – I was like – what was that?!
But like I said, he’s a very good actor – that sort of makes up for his bad accent. He still manages to deliver his dialogue well. Unlike, say, someone like Sophie Turner, who is awful at line delivery despite having the proper accent.
I decided to go with Sophie. The other actors were amazing, but Sophie had so many small moments and interactions that really showed her range. Her character has gone through so much and changed – I look forward to see what she does with herself now.
Maisie has been a fav o mine since the beginning of the show. To watch her grow as an actor has been so much fun. I think this season was her best, but I suspect the best is yet to come.
I don’t think any of the accents make much sense. Liam Cunningham is from Northern Ireland but puts on a Geordie accent to portray a guy who grew up in Flea Bottom – as did Gendry, Bronn and Karl Fooking Tanner, all of whom sound completely different. The Cleganes are neighbors to the Lannisters, but Rory McCann doesn’t try all that hard to disguise the fact that he’s a Scot. Euron is the only member of the Greyjoy family to have a thick Scandinavian accent. Nikolaj is Danish and sounds more Middle American Newscaster to me than RP. Huisman is Dutch but occasionally breaks out in a cowboy twang. It’s all a mishmash, but I’m fine with suspending disbelief about accents on a fantasy planet. And to my non-British ears, the way Tyrion talks is not a failed attempt at RP, but rather the way that a rich, privileged, overeducated kid from Lannisport might speak.
In fact, I’m much more bothered by the use of musical instruments that did not yet exist in medieval times in the soundtracks! But I don’t see anybody else complaining about those.
Kit Harington and Lena all the way. The vote for Kit came easy, season 6 was Jon’s story and Kit made the best of the opportunity. For all the online criticism targeted at Kit’s acting abilities in the beginning of the show, I’m not surprised many failed to see how Kit took time to developed his character. Season 1 Jon was a moody, entitled bastard who many people felt wasted screen time at the boring Wall. I’m sure many non book readers placed all their fate in the dashing Robb Stark. Jon was in a way invisible, for who can compete with Kings and the waker of dragons? But look at the character now, look at how people cheered when he came back. Sure, he’s still moody but the boy is now a man and Kit took him there slowly, peeling away the layers, showing his flaws and strengths, making him heroic, yes, but very human.
I voted for Lena because her villain has never reached a cartoonish level. Sure, Cersei is an idiot but she doesn’t believe she is and Lena plays her with respect and credibility. She commands her storyline but doesn’t resort to chewing the scenery. Ramsay, Euron and even Joffrey were/ are often over the top yet Cersei in a way makes a more formidable villain because of how restrained her crazy is. Of course now that may change but when all is said and done she’s a villain I may actually miss if she doesn’t make it till the end. Can’t say the same for Ramsay.
I voted for Emilia and Iwan. Lena and Kit were close seconds.
Kit and Sophie!
Lena as Cersei
Probably because we can see from E1 with the slow realisation and tears as she realises Myrcella is dead at the start of the season to the point where there is subdued acceptance and lack of evident grief over Tommens death
On top of the Cersei-Jaimie scene where we see her vulnernable side and then the “Confess” Wine-boarding gloating over Septa Unella there is good diversity
On the actor side I would have chosen Jonathon Pryce, and then Davos second, but in terms of the list I just sided with Kit over Iwan.
Iwan has been fantastic but Jon had to subtly play the part of hanging Ollie, to being reluctantly pulled into a fight etc despite being tired of fighting, so while Iwan had his own journey I think Kits character journey just demanded a tad more
Special mention goes to Natalie Dormer as Margaery, who did the very tricky job of convincingly playing a Queen who looks the part despite only caring about House Tyrell and her brother, to playing someone who is convincingly playing the brainwashed nut while not being so
In terms of Jonathon Pryce though, everyone found those Sept basement scenes “boring” but what I enjoy about the books and season 1 is it’s not meant to be merely “tits and dragons” and action sequences, those scenes are fantastic examples of the subtle manipulation that occurs, eg in terms of the body languages and visual cues, look at how he managed to pivot an aggressive Tommen into basically his puppet
Another great example was Varys, I’m not necassarily a fan of “purely altruistic” Varys, but the scene with Whore woman was fantastically done by the actor in terms of what was given to him.
Kit!!!! My King!
He is winning everything 🙂
And Natalie – she was always my fav actress on the show, ll miss her a lot…
Lena and Kit ,the King in the North!
I felt Maisie deserved a nod because she has been so phenomenal since day one. I can vote for Lena next year, which I suspect will be her last season.
I loved Emilia too, but I am guessing her & Lena will have plenty of votes. It was extremely hard not to vote for Nathalie, she will be sorely missed and I thought she never got enough accolades.
Kit deserves to win this year. He was amazing
I went with Kit and Natalie but truth be told I wasn’t too impressed with anyone of these 10 names this season. I think all did a fine job but no one stood out to me as exceptional. I was much more impressed with guest stars and so called supporting actors and actresses during season 6.
All the truly great actors are in the supporting category…
I was originally going to vote for Sophie and Nikolaj, because they did do outstanding jobs these year, but since Natalie and Iwan ended up in this category instead of supporting actor/actress and this will be my last chance to vote for them, I changed my mind.
Best actress: Natalie Dormer. I liked Margaery in the books, but I LOVE show Margaery and much of it is thanks to Natalie’s amazing performance. I was literally begging for her to get out of the Sept and watching her die in that wildfire blaze was just heart-wrenching. Natalie did an outstanding job playing a character with layers upon layers of personality and I am very grateful for that. I hope she’ll have a long, successful and enjoyable career ahead of her.
Best actor: Iwan Rheon. Playing villains is never easy. You have to make people hate and despise you, but at the same time you have to make them love to hate and despise you, or else you end up being nothing but the scrappy. Show Ramsay was by far one of the most frightening and enjoyable non-action antagonists I’ve ever watched. It was a tough job taking over the psychopath torch after Joffrey, but Iwan took Ramsay, cranked him up to eleven and delivered amazing work. Like with Natalie, I hope Iwan will have a long and successful career ahead of him. Goodbye, Ramsay. It was so much fun hating you!
Iwan and Natalie, you are both amazingly talented people. Thanks for all your extraordinary work.
Firannion,
You aren’t alone. I too went for Maisie. She shows real maturity in her acting for someone so young and this is her first acting role, so she really impresses me.
Kit got my vote for best actor. His portrayal of Jon this season was top notch.
Never been a huge fan of Kit but for me he was the standout of the male nominations.
I expect Lena to win the female category and if so it will be well deserved but I went for Maisie as she obviously puts so much physically into the role even to the extent of doing some of her own stunts now, but still excelling at those quieter moments such as with Lady Crane.
Peter Dinklage manages the trick of sounding like he is a Jo’burger/Capetonian trying to talk RP English – quite a neat trick for someone from New Jersey!
Why is Alfie Allen not considered a main actor?
I don’t religiously follow this site but I am genuinely curious. Does Iwan Rheon (or Isaac Hempstead Wright, for that matter) have more screen time,c or are they listed differently in the cast lists? Was it different in former seasons?
I went with NCW as best actor. Despite the writing of S6 favouring Jon’t story arc in terms of content and volume, Jaime’s interactions with Edmure and Brienne were some of my favourite acted scenes this season. On the female side I’d personally put Lena and Sophie marginally above the others, and since Lena seems to be the front runner I chose to support Sophie. All ten actors deserve to be acknowledged for their acting though!
hamnoo,
Apparently who is named “main character” at the WotW Awards is decided from number of members of the WotW who voted for Rheon’s character to be considered as such. And for some reason lots of people pointed at Iwan Rheon as a main character. I do see why Alfie with his few lines and too few scenes might not be considered a main actor this season but there is no doubt in my mind that his character is a main character, and that Iwan’s never was. But the rules are different here than in the usual award shows.
I voted for Kit Harington and Natalie Dormer. Kit because his character went through different emotional turmoil and portrayed it so realistically, and Natalie for much the same reason. She showed Margaery going through emotions that she had never done before and did it well.
I thought all the actresses in the finals did a great job as usual, but in every case except Sophie Turner’s and Natalie’s the characters didn’t change much and Natalie’s showed the most change.
Iwan Rheon – He was great!
Lena Headey – Longer than they think may she reign!
The White Wolf gets my vote rather easily. The others generally did less and not as remarkably (very nice effort by Nikolaj and Iwan).
Now choosing between queens and princesses (including one very naughty stabby and slashy) it’s far harder. Lena certainly deserves recognition. But Emilia has done great this year I find. And despite my reoccuring gripes with Sansa’s writing, Sophie had quite some meaty scenes as well. While I came to hate some parts of Arya’s storyline (low points of the season for me), Maisie shines as well. And last but not least, I’ve always loved Natalie’s portrayal of Margaery.
I’ll yet have to think this through. I’m thinking probably Cersei, but maybe Daenerys or Margaery as well.
my votes are for Maisie her scenes with lady Crane and the acting troop was amazing…. and Kit The King of The North… 🙂
I chose Sophie and Kit. They both surprised me in a very positive way.
I went with Lena and Kit.
Stand out moments, to me were the Myrcella scene, where Cersei mourns her, the torture of Septa Unella and Cersei’s crowning.
For Kit, I can say it was most of the season, he was great in EP9. Loved him, as well, when he killed the traitors, in EP3.
Hard vote though, Sophie was great this season and I liked Nikolaj as well.
Lena and Kit
The Best Actress category was hard, but I had to go with Lena.
The Best Actor’s was easy. Kit by miles… Peter and Isaac had nothing, and NCW was good but Kit had more to work with and was much better. Iwan shouldn’t be in this category.
lena easily
wavered between kit and iwan went with iwan in the end i think he had the edge really – alfie should have been up there too imo considering sophie and iwan were
Halfman,
Same votes here. Kit just IS Jon Snow, he inspires much devotion. And I surprised myself a little voting Maisie cause I’m always for Lena first, but this particular season didn’t give her quite the range as in previous ones (a stand out scene with arrival of Myrcella is the only one I recall offhand) That said, I hope she takes home the Emmy. I’d be happy for Maisie too, but I’d like Lena to be recognized for her time on Thrones and the show misses the deadline at least next year and possibly the one after so…
I was torn between Lena and Maisie. In the end I went with Lena because she did such a great job portraying a woman beginning to unravel, but still tightly wound and not totally undone. Maisie was great as always and I have to highly commend her for her moment in the sun when she said, “My name is Arya Stark of Winterfell, and I’m going home.” I think she did an outstanding job this year so it was tough, but in the end I just felt Lena nailed Cersei again this year. Given the option, I would have gone with little Lyanna Mormont…lol.
Someone here said how much Kit Harrington has grown as an actor and as good as both Iwan and Nikolaj (at Riverrun) performed this season it was hands down Kit. He has grown so much as an actor and his facial expressions and eyes convey all the emotions needed in some scenes. I didn’t choose him because he got more screen time, but definitely because he’s become an amazing actor.
As someone else already said, “King in the North, Queen in the South”
Lena and it’s not even close
Kit and it is close. I wanted to vote for Nikolaj just for episode 8. But, Kit had so much more to work with and absolutely did a bang up job. Episode 9 especially.
BAck to lurking… spoilers already?? *sigh*
Mary,
Yessss!!! same for me
I kind of surprised myself with this one, and ended up going with Natalie and Iwan.
I thought Kit was amazing this year – he went through a lot, and (without a ton of words) managed to portray his motivations with his eyes and body so very well. But Iwan is amazing, and I’ll never get to vote for him again, so I went with him.
For the women, I thought this was kind of a down season for Lena, although I would vote for her almost any other season. And I love love love Arya, but didn’t actually think this was Maisie’s best year either. In the end I went with Natalie. She had layer upon layer of story to tell this year, and she nailed it all.
Natalie and Kit for me. I debated between Natalie and Lena and it basically came down to the wildfire scene at the sept. I felt that Natalie’s performance during this sequence was the stronger of the two as basically Cersei just looks out the window drinking wine.
All were superb but I had to go with Kit and Lena, with Sophie as a very close second.
I will be on pins and needles on Emmy night, hoping the academy members go for Kit and Lena as well, but will be just as happy if Maisie, Emilia or Peter win.
Emmys for Miguel, David, Dan and the whole team at the Creative Arts as well please!
I’m British and I don’t think PD’s accent is that bad – the American does come through sometimes as does NCW’s Danish one but their overall acting is of a good enough standard that I’m willing to cut them some slack. There are (not so much in GoT) times when non-British actors, not necessarily Americans, do a “British” accent that has me reaching for the ear plugs but I won’t wax lyrical about them at this time.
It wasn’t particularly easy to choose but like many others I went with Lena and Kit – though the point some commenters have made that they had good material to work with is valid.
I’m beginning to be sorry I didn’t vote for Emilia. I thought all of her scenes were outstanding performances.
Her speech while she burned the khals, good-bye Jorah speech, making Tyrion hand, she made all the dragon scenes very believable & emotional.
I feel like she deserves a lot of love for this season, as it’s one of her best Imo. She definately outshines Sophie because of all the emotional range Emilia got to show this season.
& especially considering she had much more difficult scenes (green screens, being captive, anger & power over khals, Jorah & Tyrions heartfelt scenes, negotiation scenes).
This may have been Sophie’s best season, but to me, it doesn’t begin to compare with Emilia’s. I’m not a Sophie hater, but I’ve never felt moved by her performances & this season was no different for me.
Granted, Emilia had more to work with, but IMHO, she pulled off every scene perfectly & I’m surprised she’s not receiving more love
MaesterMercy,
Emilias awesome, shes excellent at what she does and in portraying Daenerys. Love her
Best Actress: Sophie Turner (exquisite performance)
Best actor: Iwan Rheon
I voted for Maisie and Kit.
Two of my favourite actors from the show playing two of my favourite characters. I love their portrayals of the characters. Kit in particular really stood out the last two seasons. I absolutely adored him in Battle of the Bastards. He’s wonderful and whenever he’s on screen, I truly believe he is Jon Snow. And Maisie is just as wonderful. She always makes me believe she’s Arya, too. I’m always excited to see what she’ll do next.
MaesterMercy,
I love Emilia too she is a very charismatic actor.Sometimes people take out the frustrations they have with Dany on Emilia but I think she does a great job.And I much prefer her to Sophie too just a personal opinion.
Okay, gonna say it now, but this poll has been skewed so badly I found it hard to fully back the ones I went with..
Sure, Lena is going to win the Best Actress, but the Best Actor category is a complete and utter farce with Bran and Ramsay as one of the Top5. Tyrion had close to zero good lines, which leaves us with Kit and Jaime. Where’s Liam? Where’s Alfie on the list? Sorry. I voted for Kit, but it was a vote I don’t think he actually deserved.
Firannion,
Are you me? The bit about three people from the same part of the same city having vastly different accents is the one I always think of when the topic comes up 😀
Like everything else I guess it depends on the individual viewer’s perception and how used to British accents you are. I’m from south east England and speak with a Londonised version of RP. I’ve never noticed anything strange about Tyrion’s accent, whereas I’m far more aware of ones less similar to my own. Euron, Mel and Shae, amongst others, are interesting to me because to my ears they sound like people who have English as a second language (I could easily be wrong but that’s what I would guess if asked).
As for the modern instruments, I don’t think I could cope with a soundtrack made up of 270 variations of Greensleeves! 😉
eejazz,
Same here
Well, I am basing my vote on the best actress and the best actor, not on how strong their storyline was or how many scenes they had. I don’t care that Kit Harrington may have grown as an actor (even though he most definitely has), or that Lena Headey (an actress whom I love and think is great–she would be a close second for me) and Sophie Turner (an actress I think is OK) both had strong storylines and lots and lots of scenes, I am basing my votes solely on acting. Therefore, despite a less than stellar storyline, and fewer scenes than previous seasons, Maisie Williams and Peter Dinklage get my votes.
Best Actress – Maisie Williams — She handles the big scenes beautifully, but it’s really the small scenes that are just astounding. For example, the one where Arya was watching the play was heartbreaking. There was no dialogue, nothing, but you could feel all of Arya’s pain as she stood there among a crowd of people cracking up. They’re laughing over the Hand of the King (her father) being beheaded, and she’s reliving that moment. Standing in a crowd of people cheering it on, just like she had years before, but that time it was real. And you could see, feel all of of that, just in her eyes, the emotion on her face.
Other actors had classically-trained, veteran actors alongside them throughout their arcs. That’s not so for Maisie. She has carried her story on her own. She’s been the lead, the main actor in her story, carrying the heavy load. And while the writing, and arc may have let viewers down, she never did. She always brought the most to every scene and nailed it, i.e.: “A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell and I am going home.” The delivery of that line, the steely determination on her face… all of it was pure gold. Maisie Williams nailed it.
Best Actor – Peter Dinklage — I was going to write that two scenes immediately spring to mind, when a third, and then a fourth–wait, a fifth… a SIXTH scene… OK, six scenes immediately spring to mind as to how great Peter Dinklage was in Season 06 and why I voted for him. I’m not going to list them all, just a few: Tyrion speaks to the dragons (obviously), Dany names Tyrion Hand to the Queen, and here’s one that I think most would be surprised to see on any list like this: Tyrion tries to get Greyworm and Missandei to tell jokes. Let me explain.
Tyrion is so used to be the sarcastic, pretending-not-to-care, above-it-all social butterfly playing at court which is essentially what he’s doing. They are the royal advisors here… but Greyworm and Missandei are former slaves. So it’s not the same. And Tyrion is not the same anymore either. He, technically is a former slave himself. He does care; he is trying to not be above it all. He is actually trying to connect with them… but he doesn’t know how, and it doesn’t help that he knows they aren’t particularly happy with him because of the arrangement he’s made. But he’s trying. Badly. And it’s all so deliciously awkward. It’s sweet, but it’s awful. And Dinklage plays every note so perfectly.
And every scene of his in season 06 is just like that. Tyrion has been through a transformation. He’s not the same character that he was in season 04. Season 05 changed him, and we see that difference now. Dinklage shows that in small ways. Anyone who says he didn’t deserve the Emmy nomination was not paying attention to his scenes. He did not phone them in; he was not sleepwalking through them. He may not have had as much screentime in season 06 as he has had in past seasons, but he was gold every single second he was on screen.
Ser Oromis Locke,
Liam wasn’t the main character of his storyline. Which is why the vast majority of voters (not WotW staff) put him in supporting. Alfie’s screen time is probably pretty close to Iwan’s and Isaac’s, honestly, and again, almost no one suggested him for Best Lead. Most categories have pretty clear favorites, doesn’t mean it’s skewed by anyone.
THIS!!!
SweetWinterChild,
Your first two lines not only rhyme but fit perfectly with a piece of classical music that’s well known here in the UK. Sadly I have no idea what it’s called, although I would take a very uneducated guess that’s it’s Mozart. It’s the one that goes Da dada, da dadada daaaah 😉 Anyway I am now singing it to myself: ? Kit, my king, he’s winning everything ? 😀
I voted for Iwan and Masie. If I were voting for the most improved it would be Kit. It was a difficult decision in choosing between Lena and Masie and went with Masie based on the broader range of emotions even though I didn’t particularly like the time spent in The House of Black and White. Iwan brought the character of Ramsey to life and did a great job doing so. Even though I love the character of Jon Snow and Kit is a fine looking man he lacks in performance skills, but has certainly improved over the six seasons. He is not quite as wooden. NCW was a close second for me this year.
It works the other way ’round, too. Tom Wilkinson is a wonderful actor, but casting him as Lyndon Johnson in Selma was a disaster. I gather that he acquitted himself well in earlier projects playing Ben Franklin and Joe Kennedy, Sr., but in that one he didn’t even sound like a Texan. LBJ’s voice was unmistakable and still remains way too familiar to many living Americans for Wilkinson’s gallant attempt to fly. It was the one big gaping hole in an otherwise-outstanding movie.
For the role of Tyrion, of course, the casting pool was way smaller (no pun intended). And GRRM is said to have had Dinklage in mind for the role all along. I can’t imagine GoT being nearly as appealing or successful with anyone but him in the role. Maybe having a more linguistically diverse cast from the get-go might’ve been a good idea, so that the one person who sounds most “American” wouldn’t stand out so much. Not that I’d want to hear accents from Mississippi or the Bronx in Westeros, but… maybe going 90% British wasn’t so smart either. Having the Dornish sound mostly Hispanic certainly works for me, for instance.
There is a whole big wide world of medieval and Renaissance music and traditional ballads of the British Isles (often with lyrics as grisly as anything that GRRM could make up) awaiting your discovery, then!
JenniferH,
I completely agree with everything you said about Tyrion. The jokes scene was poorly received by many but I liked it a lot. It was nice seeing Missandei and Grey Worm loosen up and smile for a change. Being treated like an object all your life is not something that can be easily forgotten and Tyrion tried to make them feel human. That’s how I understood the scene at least.
Very easy Kit and Lena
Sophie Turner and Kit Harington for me. Sophie had such a variety of emotions to convey and she did so effortlessly, truly bringing her character to life.
Choosing Kit was harder, but his performance this season was a revelation. This dialogue in particular pushed him over the top for me… “I’m tired of fighting, it’s all I’ve done since I’ve left home! I’ve killed brothers of the Night’s Watch, I’ve killed Wildlings, I’ve killed men I admire, I hung a boy younger than Bran! I fought…and I lost.”
OT but here’s a creepy artistic vid starring Gwendoline Christie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0IesoGjVOg
It’s an interesting argument. Those “Let’s tell jokes” scenes were squirmy to sit through, but they were meant to be awkward depictions of culture shock. Storywise, what they mainly conveyed to me was Tyrion’s deep loneliness, what a fish out of water he finds himself to be in Essos, his need to communicate. He needs to return home, not only to demonstrate his newfound loyalty to Dany, but also because that’s the only place where, ironically, he has any chance of finding “his people”: among the mostly awful Westerosi who mostly treated him with contempt all his life. The ending of this story will not feel satisfying to me unless Tyrion makes some deep human connections with people (and not just a liegelord like Dany) who genuinely respect him before he exits the stage.
Kit and Lena.
I love all the actors but Jon was clearly the main character of the season with the most intense moments (resurrection, strategy, meetings, battle, family matters) and it was really well played by Kit.
And Cersei had also a lot to do in this season and she dominated the climax (her vengeance was pure genius, and her coronation scene gave me chills when she transformed into an evil queen as iconic as a disney queen). I’ve always loved Lena’s acting, she deserves an award for her portrayal of Cersei since season 1.
Sophie Turner for sure… she had a lot to work with and she delivered every time… many of her scenes were memorable, not just because of the action. Her accepting Brienne and Pod into her service when she was down, comforting and being kind to Theon, finally meeting her brother Jon at Castle Black, giving Littlefinger his lashings in Mole’s Town, going one on one with Davos and Lord Cerwyn, arguing with Jon about the battle, going up against Ramsey before and after…. giving him his just desserts, reflecting every comment he threw at her, then dealing with Littlefinger again… She was very well rounded with soft, easy and understated scenes but also did a 180 and do some pretty intense dramatic moments throughout the whole season.
Close comes Natalie, she played the part so well, giving into the Faith to work their angle and still having an ulterior hidden motive… you just knew she was going along with it all the time. Then when she figures out Cersei she tries to get out but couldn’t. It kind of sucks that it’s her last season, she could have been put in the supporting category and won with a landslide, same with Iwan.
Masie and Lena come next, Arya’s memorable episode was “No One” with her brief appearance in the finale and Cersei’s was “The Winds of Winters”, it seemed they both delivered their all there but before that, not much, just their usual work, which is good. Lena’s best work was her torturing Septa Unella and Masie’s was probably her moments with Lady Crane and the chase.
Dany/Emila are here be default I guess. Carice was great as well.
Actot will probably go to Jon, he had a lot to work with and delivered well. A bit too much of plot armor (those arrows should have killed him and if not some thing else would have) but whatever.
Davos should have been here as well, him talking with the lads of the nights watch in the first episode was great, then advising Jon and meeting with Sansa and the rest of the Stark army loyalists, convincing Lyanna and finally going OFF when he confronted Melissandre at Winterfell over Shireen’s death.
Davos doesn’t have his own storyline in the show, though — I guess you could argue in the first two episodes, but that’s just the vacuum created by Jon’s absence; he’s otherwise a supporting character.
I was initially surprised by Rheon being included here, but on reflection, I suppose it makes sense. He doesn’t interact with any other lead characters until episode 9, his final appearance, so that would constitute his own storyline.
Eine kleine Nachtmusik 🙂
Lulus Mum,
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (a little night-music) 🙂 Was playing a bit of it earlier today…
Alba Stark,
I don’t comment often, but when I do, it’s because it matters a lot to me.
Strong year for the Lannister twins. Lena Headey was such perfection, she gave me the fucking creeps in episode 8 & 10. When she confesses to Septa Unella, chills in my spine.
I absolutely ADORED Jaime’s storyline this year. Been torn between what remains of his honor, learning how to escape the poisonous dominion Cersei has on him, realizing he’s not the same when she’s away, assuming the Kingslayer persona in order to avoid bloodshed, meeting Brienne… Strong year for Coster-Waldau. I give him all the credit he deserves.
Kit and Liam were very strong too.
For me, Kit and Natalie, both for playing sensitively nuanced scenes with a lot of emotion implied though not directly scripted. It was a hard decision on the ‘actress’ but I went in the end for Natalie over Lena, for reasons that have been already mentioned.
It’s that delicately nuanced portrayal that is, to me, important (in both).
I know what you mean. Lena is stand out but I just feel that even though some actor/actresses always shine, it can overshadow other worthy contributions. Maisie is still a teenager and very new to the profession so I’m blown away by her portrayal, even in scenes that have invited criticism. She’s very believable as Ayra time and again.
And Kit? Well, that’s a no brainer lol.
Lena and Iwan were my choices.
My votes went to Sophie and Iwan because their story arc, or rather their performances in their story arc were so compelling. And I had to vote for the two of them because those performances were a duet illustrating every horrible abusive forced marital relationship ever described when pen was put to paper. Except for one thing, this time the lady got her just desserts, or at least the bitch did.
KIT and MAISIE all the way!
I hope they both win at the Emmys next weekend too… I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited for the Emmys before. I’ll be watching with a glass of wine and fingers crossed. They both deserve it!
Yep this one was easy!!
Lena best actress!!
I really hope she wins an Emmy too!!
And I totally LOVE my King in the North!!?❤️?❤️
Kit for best actor!!
And I’m so hoping he wins his first Emmy!!! He deserves it!!
It was his season!!
I don’t even understand how Peter Dinklage got nominated for this season. No offense, Peter is a fantastic actor but the material they gave him to work with in S6 wasn’t really Emmy worthy in my eyes.
Iwan was great as well !!
I miss Game of Thrones!!?
The actor category was pretty easy. I went with Kit. He’s grown and improved so much the past two or three seasons. At the beginning of the series, he was the weak link of the main actors for me. Not anymore. He went from just being one note emo guy to showing a huge range.
The actress category was tougher. It was between Natalie, Sophie and Lena. Ultimately I picked Lena on the strength of her season finale performance alone. She was always great at doing the bitchy, sarcastic mean drunk thing. This new Cersei is mean on a whole new level. She chilled me to the bone, and as a big horror buff, that really doesn’t happen to me easily.
Kit was an easy choice.
And I had to go with Sophie over Lena this year.
Aside from the strong scene with Jaime following Myrcella’s return and the scene with Septa Unella in the finale I can’t remember her having to do much more than glower or look stoic for most of the season.
Whereas Sophie had much more to work with this season in my opinion. Her scenes with Brienne , Jon, Theon, Ramsay and Littlefinger all stood out for me.
Headey and Harrington. Headey is always superb. Harrington came into his own this season.
MaesterMercy,
I just re watched a couple of episodes from last season and it stood out to me how I haven’t given Emili a enough credit. I’m just used to thinking she’s not one of the better actress om the show but in reality she was really quite good S6. The point you made is accurate when I think on it Sophie’s Sans a has not moved me either but Emili a actually did. So yeah. Sorry for any typos my smart phone is stupid and even auto corrects the word “on” to om.
Lena and Kit
On a related note, Lena and Kit got supporting actor and actress awards at Gold Derby TV Awards. Congrats
http://www.goldderby.com/article/2016/gold-derby-tv-awards-2016-winners-people-v-oj-simpson-game-of-thrones-news-913752468/
Went for Sophie (her growth has just been amazing from the very beginning, I had always considered her weak in the first 2/3 seasons.)
Emilia shouldn’t even be nominated, sorry not sorry.
Kit was SO CLOSE, but I had to give it to Nikolaj just for the Edmure monologue. The way he calls back to “The things I do for love” was one of the quieter, more tremendous moments of the entire season.
Lena and Iwan, no competition!
Kit and Lena ?
Immanuel Steinberg,
Sophie shouldn’t even be nominated, sorry not sorry.
FIXED
So much talent, and to choose only one each!
I tried to separate the acting from favourite characters/storylines/scenes. Difficult, I know, and I’m not sure I was entirely successful.
For the female lead, I was most impressed by Lena Heady and Maisie Williams. In the end I went with Heady. That pent-up rage all season before the finale, that smirk/smile (sipping wine, of course) and the utter emptiness after Tommen’s suicide and the subsequent coup, cold and cynical. Lena Heady nailed it.
Male lead, it was a toss up between the Lannister brothers. I love Jon Snow and Kit was great but Peter Dinklage’s acting with the dragons and his awkwardness in trying to bond with Missandei and Grey Worm, his loneliness and alienation, explaining himself to the returned queen… and finally getting the recognition he craves for, which humbles him. Peter Dinklage portrayed it all brilliantly.
But my vote went to NCW. There was so much subtlety, from grieving uncle-father trying his best to console the mother, his sister-lover, to his Riverrun mission and encounter with the Freys, Blackfish and Brienne, not to mention that look at Cersei in the finale. There was humour (scrutinising Frankengregor or Jaime’s face when Mace was giving his motivational speech before the Baelor’s sept confrontation), there was irritation and doubt (Jaime’s encounter with Walder Frey being the prime example). Nikolaj Coster-Waldau portrayed a man not comfortable in his skin.
The Jaime/Edmure scene was one glorious celebration of acting, with NCW and Tobias Menzies. (I also love the way the DOP lit the scene: Edmure in full, soft light, Jaime half in darkness, half in ligh – it’s got to mean something, right?)
In other news, I don’t know if anybody has posted a link to this. It’s Natalie Dormer’s (if it wasn’t for Heady and Williams, she’d win the best female lead category for me!) interview with Elle magazine a couple of weeks ago. No wonder she portrayed smart and clued-up Marg so well, she seems so in real life.
http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a38685/natalie-dormer-gender-equality-feminism-hollywood/
Lena and Iwan (very easy to pick, leaps and bounds above the rest!)
Kit had a good season.These two have been great consistently
Out of lurkdom. Harington, heck yeah! Last month I nominated Heady for best actress and Williams for supporting. JenniferH’s comments solved my dilemma. Action intimate funny creepy moving scenes: that little girl did em all. Love ya, Lena but not this time.
Tried posting earlier and it seems to have been eaten, so giving it a second go:
Firannion,
I now want the soundtrack to be done this way. For the last night of the Proms (prestigious classical music concert) the BBC got 1,200 performers to upload themselves playing Bizet’s Toreador Song to make a virtual orchestra. Alongside the more traditional instruments were hand bells, xylophones, spoons and household objects used as drums. It was actually much better than you’d think.
Ser Not Appearing in this Series, spaewife,
Yay! That’s the one, thanks guys *virtual high fives all round*. Gotta come up with some more words now: Kit, my king, he’s winning everything/Ram-say he, regrets not dog feeding/Da da dadadadada daaaaah etc 😀
Ahhh, I missed the vote.
I say, Cersei and Bran with Jon and Ramsey 2nd.
I can’t believe I missed the voting. ugh. IE has been caching old versions of the page. FF seems to work fine though.
I’d have gone with Sophie & Kit.
umuckurlife,
the boards are still switching to the new server apparently
Kit,the King in the North, hands down.