We’ve celebrated the leads and the guest actors who shine on Game of Thrones and now it’s time for the supporting performers of season 6 to have their moment at the Watchers on the Wall Awards.
Admittedly, the line between lead and supporting category is a very fine one in Westeros, and actors shift between them from season to season. Sometimes it’s just a matter of screentime; with so many talented stars taking part in the show, occasionally an actor and their story take a step back for a few episodes. Sometimes a performer is absolutely the definition of a supporting actor, uplifting and improving the people around them with their abilities while creating a memorable character of their own.
However you interpret them, they’re all amazing, and all worthy finalists in this year’s awards. Now, onto those finalists!
For Best Supporting Actress, the nominees are:
- Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth
- Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed
- Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell
- Carice van Houten as Melisandre
- Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy
For Best Supporting Actor, we have:
- Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy
- Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth
- Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane
- Kristian Nairn as Hodor
- Jonathan Pryce as High Sparrow
You can see the complete results from round 1 of our Supporting categories voting here: (Supporting Actor) and here: (Supporting Actress).
Final round rules: To choose winners, cast your vote in each category in the polls below. In the finals, unlike the preliminaries, fans have one vote to cast in each category. At the end of 72 hours (Saturday 9/17/16 at 3PM EDT), the performers 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!
Gemma Whelan
&
Liam Cunningham (why do you make me choose between him and Alfie Allen why 🙁 )
Gemma and Liam !
Carice & Alfie here
Meera and Hodor #TeamBran
In my mind, the Best Supporting Actress has to be Diana Rigg. The Queen of Thorns was superb all season!
Also, although I know he probably won’t win, I give my Supporting Actor vote to Liam Cunningham. The steady Ser Davos is the epitome of support and has been in every episode where he’s been around.
Carice and Alfie for me
Gwendoline and then very very torn between Liam and Alfie (and HODOR!). Ultimately voted for Liam.
Team North, easily. Liam and Carice brought it in spades this year. Their scenes in “Home” and “The Winds of Winter” were some of the best-acted of the season.
The Red Woman and The Onion Knight.
Brienne and Davos, fam. Although Tormund comes in a v close second.
I usually think Liam is the best, but I had to give it to Jonathan Pryce this time.
And Gemma Whelan.
They were all very good. Difficult to choose. I’ve chosen Christian Nairn because it was his last season, for the other actors I can still vote next year.
For the women I chose Gemma Whelan because I really liked her acting with Theon this year.
But everyone was just so very good. I’m happy with whoever wins.
I went for the two zealots – Carice and Jonathan. Melisandre’s about-face was portrayed beautifully, and The High Sparrow’s total inscrutability was magnetic to watch (not to mention his speech in Book of the Stranger was one of the best-delivered speeches in the show’s history).
I voted for Kristian Nairn, because this was HIS season. The Hold the Door episode was so well done & our hearts broke as we watched him protect them at all costs. It was a hard choice for me as Alfie Allen & Liam Cunningham also were superb this past season.
I voted for Gwendolyn Christie for supporting actress, I love her facial expressions with Tormund but what stood out to me were 2 scenes. One, where she pledged herself to Sansa & two, her scene with Jaime & the look they gave each other as she & Pod rowed away. Amazing on her part.
Oh, it takes out a bit of the excitement when you show the preliminary results 🙁 I know you can only vote once this time (didn’t know you could vote more than one time during the preliminary) but still…
Anyway, voted for Alfie Allen all the way and was considering Diana Rigg very seriously, but went with Gemma Whelan who I think has been brilliant this season. Looking forward to seeing more of her.
This was surprisingly easy.Liam and Carice all the way they nailed it all season long.Honorable mention goes to Ellie she was great.
Carice van Houten as Melisandre – Kristian Nairn as Hodor
Got to be Diana Rigg and Liam Cunningham. 2 of the best actors on the show.
“Fuck justice then, we’ll get revenge.”
Best Supporting Actress: Gemma Whelan
“I don’t want to be forgiven.”
Best Supporting Actor: Alfie Allen
Liam (because he’s awesome) and Gemma (because being filmed kissing a boob must be uncomfortable, no matter your gender or sexual orientation).
Liam and Carice! They’re amazing! 😀
Luck to all!
Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy was the easiest choice. I always liked the character in the show, but Whelan really shined as Yara (Queen Yara!) this past season. The first encounter with Theon, her Kingsmoot speech, the Volantis pirate-style “pep-talk” scene, and of course the equally powerful and hilarious meeting with Daenerys.
Then, I went for Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth. I also considered Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy, who was wonderful as always but didn’t have quite as much to do as Whelan. There was also Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane, who I love, but… well, the main reason I loved him this reason was the joke of his infatuation with Brienne. I just think Davos had more to do. His defense of Jon, who once resurrected received one of Davos’ great pep-talks; his wonderful speech to Lady Mormont; and of course, his reaction to discovering Shireen’s remains and the confrontation with Melisandre, which actually gives me goosebumps, every single time.
Meera and Davos
Not a hard choice at all for me.
I voted for Gwendoline Christie (Brienne) and Liam Cunningham (Davos)
Gemma and Liam!
I met Gemma at the LFCC in July and she’s a funny, lovely girl. Yet you see her as Yara and she’s a completely different woman!
For the male roles, I thought, no contest… until I saw the competition. I love love love Liam Cunningham’s Davos, I love Kristofer Hivju’s Tormund, I love Kristian Nairn’s Hodor, I love Jonathan Pryce’s High Sparrow… They all did such excellent work.
But most of all, I love Alfie Allen’s portrayal of the cocky young so-and-so Theon, completely broken and reekified, slowly clawing his way back… Alfie Allen wins it.
The female best supporting actress was more difficult. Trying to separate the story/character from the actual acting. Everybody did a great job but, for me, Diane Rigg’s and Gemma Whelan’s work stood out. Espacially Gemma Whelan’s. She portrayed Yara’s ballsiness but also her softer – dare I say, feminine – side. She had us totally believing men would follow her and steal the Iron Fleet for her. She had us believing she totally loves her stupid baby brother. The tough love she gave to her baby brother was… well, tough, but also love. Gemma pulled it off. Oh, and the flirtation with the dragon queen 😀
Yeah, Gemma gets my vote. She’s so good in Yara’s skin.
Brienne got more to do than last year, and it was good, but not as good as the others. Arguably Melisandre’s best season, but more subtle. Olenna didn’t get as much to do.
Meera wasn’t in many but dear god were they impactful scenes, she’s runner-up.
But really, this was Yara Greyjoy’s season.
It’s hilarious; remember at the end of Season 5 when she hadn’t appeared at all the entire year, and had nothing significant to do since Season 2, really….and book-readers kept telling everyone “wait! Maybe the Kingsmoot subplot will be worked back in to Season 6 now that they’re going for 8 seasons!” and it just seemed like the usual bickering.
To be totally honest, even *I* was convinced at the end of Season 5 that the Kingsmoot subplot would be cut entirely.
EVERYTHING in the Greyjoy subplot in Season 5 was a pleasant surprise for me; the 6 minute return stretch we got in episode 6.2 “Home” was just a pure gift.
Was it a bit truncated from the book version? Yeah, but within tolerable levels (we didn’t really need to see the 3 early “fringe candidates” at the Kingsmoot that don’t even survive the first round – my only complaint is that it would have helped immensely to just have more banners from different Houses at the Kingsmoot – also apparently the concept art says they *wanted* to hold it at Nagga’s Bones but later dropped this? What, takes too much explanation? Dunno).
Point is that Season 6 was pure win for Yara Greyjoy and a real reward for all who held out hope in the back of their minds even during the darkest hours of disappointment after Season 5 finale.
Ugh, Best Supporting Actor gets muddled because so many “Supporting” roles are now “Major” roles. Bradley-West was good, but he wasn’t in much.
High Sparrow was good acting but poorly written.
Tormund was good, great, but not meaty acting/drama.
Davos…is a great actor, but other than yeling at Melisandre in the finale it wasn’t very connected to the story other than “let’s have Davos show up again”, overuse.
So really, for me, it’s a harrowing choice between Kristian Nairn as Hodor and Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy. Oh god, to choose.
Dear god, grudgingly I’m going to have to go with Alfie Allen. We had him with Sansa, we had him and the whole reuniting with Yara thing, then the Kingsmoot, even more reserved stuff (when he’s less traumatized) when he’s in Meereen. We love Nairn and it was a hard role to play, but damn it this was great Greyjoy stuff so…
without really planning it, I’m voting for the on-screen brother-sister team of Yara and Theon Greyjoy.
Jonathan (sorry Alfie) and Gemma (sorry Carice)
LIAM.
I think round 1 for supporting actor had it correct already with Liam edging out Alfie in a two man race. Liam was essentially a lead this season and he’s just, so, immersed into his character. When he comes in furious at Melisandre about Shireen it felt like Liam was truly furious at Carice for her character burning her at the stake. I don’t know that any actor/actress on this show is more submersed into the show and story than he is and that’s reflected in his performance. Davos in the books for me has been a ‘meh’ character, but Liam is changing that. Liam IS Davos!
Supporting Actress
Christie had some very good material this year, between the reunion with Jaime and an interesting dynamic with Sansa (too bad we didn’t see more of that). Rigg did her usual thing, which is entertaining, but it does feel repetitive after a while. Van Houten did well with what she had, but I thought her character was conspicuously underused at such a critical juncture. Whelan had her biggest role to date, and delivered (indeed, if you’re going by the logic that leads are people with their own storylines, arguably she should be considered a lead actress, since the whole Greyjoy plotline was built around her). However, I ultimately voted for Kendrick, who hadn’t made much impression on me either way in Seasons 3 and 4, but who was the real star of Bran’s plotline in Season 6 (sorry, Bran!).
Supporting Actor
Nairn was fine in a role that has rather obvious limitations. Hivju was great comic relief. Pryce definitely elevated the writing around the Sparrows, and was one of the show’s more nuanced antagonists. Ultimately it comes down to Allen and Cunningham, and I went with the latter.
Davos and Mel! The dream team! hahaha
What the flarp, Rory, Iain, and Tom didn’t make it? I suppose this makes my choice somewhat easier…
My votes went to Hodor and Mel. Davos will get my vote next season, whereas Hodor… I can’t think of him without my eyes getting wet still, so Kristian Nairn deserves it.
Meanwhile Carice was an easy choice. For 4 seasons Mel had been just a plot device, and in S6 she turned into one of the most tragic characters – even the most tragic, I would say – and Carice absolutely sold it.
Liam got more votes than any other actor in the preliminary round.
He got my vote along with Carice. Diana and Alfie were close seconds, but they didn’t have quite the body of work to compare for this season, in my opinion.
Carice and Liam. The scene in the finale where Davos confronts Mel, that had some of the best acting this season. Of course, they were excellent in the other episodes too.
Arkash,
Same!
Alfie and Carice.
Gwendoline and Liam.
http://www.ew.com/special/game-thrones-bracket?xid=entertainment-weekly_socialflow_twitter
An EW poll where you can vote the person you want to see on the Iron Throne 🙂
Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy and Jonathan Pryce as High Sparrow.
Davos and Melisandre (although funnily enough I thought they both had their weakest seasons yet).
Best Supporting Actor:
Kristian Nairn is a somewhat sentimental option for me. I will say, though, that communicating emotions and thoughts with such limited dialogue is an impressive feat for any actor, and Nairn did that extremely well this season. I first recognized it in “Home,” when Bran asks him about “what happened” – Hodor seems to be understanding the question, but can only say that one word. And, of course, he had several moments like that in “The Door,” helping deliver one of the most heartbreaking deaths on the show. However, Nairn was only in two episodes, and those moments of impressive acting that I cited make up very little screentime. I voted for him for Best Death, but he’s easy to eliminate for me compared to these other actors.
Kristopher Hivju has always been good as Tormund, and was given a lot to do this year. Hivju has done an excellent job showing his evolved feelings towards Jon Snow, and he had to show that off with a couple well executed speeches. And there is a visceral physicality to the role that deserves praise as well. Tormund still doesn’t have as broad an emotional range as some of his competition, so I won’t vote for him, but he is a worthy nominee.
Jonathan Pryce is an incredible actor, and he elevated every scene he was in on this show. I voted for him last year, and I wanted him to be nominated this year, but he doesn’t get my final vote. He had great moments, but those moments certainly weren’t as strong as the incredible scenes he had last year, and doesn’t quite measure up to the more emotional performances of other nominees.
I think Alfie Allen’s performance as Theon Greyjoy will go down as one of the greatest performances on the show. The character is a compelling one, but also one that provides unique and difficult obstacles for Allen. No one’s character has gone through quite as big a rollercoaster ride as his has, and this was a pretty pivotal season for him. While he escaped from Ramsay last year, he really hadn’t quite become Theon again till the end of this year, and he pulled it off incredibly. I don’t know how he does it, but he does seem like a different person when he raises his eyes to meet Yara’s in the drinking scene in Episode 7. Allen is always amazing, but one other nominee had a stronger year, giving an equally impressive performance with significantly more material.
I very easily and confidently decided to vote for Liam Cunningham this season, despite the incredibly strong competition in this category. Cunningham has always been one of my favorite actors. I voted for him in the preliminary rounds of all the other WotW Awards. He is a modest character, with few demons or eccentricities, yet always manages to be incredibly watchable and compelling. Davos is the quintessential supporting role; generally a follower, using his moments to elevate and push forward the storylines revolving around other characters. He did that again this year, even when said other character was a corpse on a slab. He was really the MVP of the show in those first two episodes, holding down the fort in the most anticipated storyline of the season while still keeping the focus on Jon Snow. After Jon woke up, Davos appeared in every episode Jon was in, with Emmy-reel material in almost every one. His best moment, I’d say, is his confrontation with Melisandre in the finale. I well up a little bit just replaying Cunningham’s lines in my head. Cunningham showed a broad emotional range, perfectly acting out the best moments this already compelling character has ever had. He deserves the award.
Carice for best female and Liam for best male. Their scene in The Winds of Winter is right there with Tyrion’s trial as one of the best performances of the show and they were excellent through out the whole season.
The Dragon Demands,
Uhm… In your long post above, you might be confusing characters and their book/show storylines and the actors who play them in the show, as written in the script.
I agree with you, Gemma Whelan (Yara) and Alfie Allen (Theon/Reek) absolutely nailed their roles this year. Not because of their storylines and how book/show compare, but just their acting. Which is what this award’s supposed to be about.
Tough choice from the ladies, but I went for Carice for her scenes surrounding the resurrection and the confrontation about Shireen’s death.
Liam Cunningham was an easy choice for the men. He was sublime in the scene regarding Shireen’s death, he made the scenes surrounding Jon’s death and resurrection more compelling and he even pulled off a few comedy moments too.
Jonathan Pryce and Alfie Allen were both very good too. Pryce managed to make the High Sparrow absolutely radiate with such smug self-satisfaction that it was impossible not to loathe him.
Tough choice between Liam and Alfie. I voted for Liam primarily because of his heartbreaking speech to Melisandre about Shireen. Its always hard not to vote for Alfie.
Ellie gets my vote because Meera is my hero.
Gwen and Liam. Both had great seasons
Gwen 5eva
And Pryce… he somehow made me hate his Sparrow more than I hate Cersei… So satisfying to watch him burn.
Best Supporting Actress
I actually had a tough time picking between my top two in this category.
The easiest to eliminate was Ellie Kendrick. She is good, and I liked her moment in “Home” where she gave Bran the stink eye. She is certainly more interesting now post-Jojen, but I still feel like they haven’t developed the character very much, or given her enough character moments to really shine above her fellow nominees.
Gwendoline Christie had a handful of moments that made me consider her. Her swearing her sword to Sansa was a powerful scene, and I am always impressed by her and NCW whenever they have a scene together. In between, she had some decent moments (her hilarious reaction to Tormund’s advances) but certainly was more in the background most of this season.
I always enjoy Diana Rigg, and her last scene with Margery was probably my favorite scene of hers in the series. I love seeing titans like the Queen of Thorns show some vulnerability, and Rigg did a great job with that. And her awards reel is bolstered by some of her more typical, but still excellent, QoT scenes.
When it comes to vulnerability, I don’t think anyone did that better this year than Carice van Houten. Her quiet scenes in those first two episodes are incredible. She is one of the absolute best on the show at communicating so much without dialogue. I usually prefer the quiter, more nuanced performances, so I almost decided to vote for her.
Gemma Whelan ended up getting my vote, by a hair. While her performance was maybe less nuanced than van Houten’s, it was still challenging. By my count, she was only in six episodes in the series before this season, and she had to come in and really become a co-lead with Alfie Allen of the Ironborn storyline. Her sudden elevation from occasional guest to major political player could have felt abrupt, but Whelan’s version of Yara was so compelling and watchable it worked. I also appreciate how she and the writers embrace the rougher edges of the character – that therapy session with her brother is brutal, but absolutely true to the character. I would be more than happy to see Carice van Houten get the prize, especially given her strong work over several seasons, but this year I hope that Whelan gets it.
Voted for Alfie but I had a hard time choosing between him and Liam!! Damn someone give the casting people an award already! They do an awesome job!
Hodor Targaryen,
You wrote exactly what I wanted to write 🙂
This is always the hardest category. I chose Diana and Liam this time. Everyone is equally talented but combining screen time and how substantive the season’s roles were, these two won.
Victoria of the Vale,
My two votes exactly!
I think I found this the hardest of the acting sections to work through – and that is due to the amazing cast that works on GoT. Casting is measured and considered in the leading, supporting, guest and minor roles and it absolutely shows.
Best Supporting Actor: Liam Cunningham
This was a toughie. I sort of had it in my head that I would choose Rory (who made my final five but didn’t pick up enough votes) but sadly he wasn’t an option so that forced a re-think. When I look back at the big action set-pieces over the last three seasons – Watchers on the Wall, Hardhome and Battle of the Bastards – only two actors have appeared in all three; Kit Harington and Kristofer Hivju. Throughout these, it has been interesting to see the evolution of Jon and Tormund’s relationship. And this season I have loved to watch both that and Kristofer’s performance generally. In season six I felt that we were able to see the fully formed Tormund that Kristofer has been growing since the beginning of season three – and he was fabulous. I loved the loyalty he showed to Jon, the emotion he covered up with humor when Jon was resurrected, the comedy in the scenes with Gwendoline Christie……….this was certainly his best season and I can’t wait to see more of him in season seven.
As I think I said when discussing my final five picks for this category, I cannot say enough about the performance Kristian Nairn gave as Hodor in this season, and in seasons past. He acted the hell out of a part that required him to say a single word in over a hundred different ways. This season was the most emotional I feel we saw Hodor – in the final Hold the Door sequence – and I will miss him so much!! Kristian’s performance in his final episode was stunning, and had me in bits.
While I was not sorry to see the High Sparrow get his comeuppance in 610, I was disappointed to get to leave season six with the knowledge that Jonathan Pryce will not be in season seven. His performance over the last two seasons has been impeccable, and he will be much missed. He played a character that was simultaneously ruthless and genuinely kind; he played both sides of the High Sparrow to a level beyond which I had anticipated.
When choosing a winner, for me it came down to Alfie Allen and Liam Cunningham. Alfie is just stunning in this role. I think he originally auditioned for the part of Jon Snow, and in a way I am so pleased that he didn’t get that role because I can imagine no other actor playing the part of Theon Greyjoy. The part requires the subtlety and facial acting that Alfie excels at and it shocks me that even in a cast of such high ability, he hasn’t won more awards for his portrayal of this part. He makes a character that has betrayed the Starks (and in a way, I guess, also his own family) and has repeatedly made the wrong choice in the stupidest of ways, human and prevents you from hating Theon.
So, I chose Liam Cunningham. I have never seen him give a bad performance on this show – I love his portrayal of Davos, and this season was no exception. He was just amazing. The scenes between Liam and Kit were all measured and composed and simple – and yet stunning at the same time. Liam manages to convey the role of Davos as adviser (and often counselor and mentor) to Jon without ever appearing to control him, or steal the scene when our attention is supposed to be fixed upon Jon. My heart broke when watching Davos confront Melisandre about Shireen, and melted when I watched him explain to Lyanna Mormont why she needed to support Jon – and that is testament to the quality that Liam brings to the show.
Best Supporting Actress: Gwendoline Christie
Again, a toughie. There were such amazing performances in this category throughout season six. I loved Ellie Kendrick’s performance as Meera. It was intelligent, it was heartfelt and it portrayed just how much Meera and Bran have ultimately become reliant on one another; they have become each other’s adopted family and I loved the tenderness of their hug when Bran realizes that the wights have found them following their escape from the cave. In seasons three and four there was so much focus on Bran’s relationship with Jojen, that Meera sort of took a back foot – and it was great to see that rectified in season six. Moving forward, until I think Bran reaches Winterfell it will be Meera that he will need to trust and confide in.
I loved that season six allowed Carice to expand on Melisandre’s character and show how broken she is after the events at the end of season five. I have always seen Melisandre as a tunnel-visioned character with one single goal that she runs towards – namely, the defeat of the Night King. Everything she does is with that goal in mind, and she justifies horrific acts with the argument that it is all for the greater good. After four seasons of certainty, Carice played the uncertainty and frailty of Melisandre to perfection this season.
As was the case with Ellie Kendrick, Gemma Whelan shone in season six when given more material to work with. From her hard-hitting therapy session with Theon to her flirting with Daenerys in Meereen, Gemma’s performance was amazing throughout and I cannot wait to see Yara again in season seven. For the first time this season, I really felt invested in the Ironborn arc, and a huge part of that was down to Gemma and Alfie and the amazing chemistry they have on screen.
Diana Rigg’s portrayal of Olenna is majestic. I will repeat again my sorrow that we will no longer have any scenes between Diana and Natalie Dormer – they had a wonderfully magnetic onscreen relationship and Margaery’s death deprives us all of that in the future. She even made the Sand Snakes a compelling aspect of season six – I have watched that scene multiple times, something I rarely do with the Dornish arc. I love her relationship with Varys also and hope to see more of that in season seven now that they are allies. Diana has added so much class to an already classy line-up, and I will never forget Olenna’s explanation to Mace that they had been beaten by the High Sparrow, nor her put-down of Cersei as possibly the most evil person Olenna had ever met.
Ultimately, I went with Gwendoline Christie. She always has so much range, and the emotion she conveys is simply stunning. Brienne’s scenes with Tormund – and that wildling fellow with the beard – in which they never exchange a word and yet show so much, are among my favorites of the season. And yet, Gwendoline also excels at the physical aspects of her role – I’m thinking of the fight against the Bolton soldiers here – and the emotional side of Brienne. As much as I laughed at the looks between Brienne and Tormund, I had my heart torn in half by the emotion of the scenes Gwendoline and Nikolaj had at Riverrun, and at Brienne pledging Sansa her sword. I hope that Brienne and Jaime meet again, but worry that goodbye was final!!!
I voted for Gemma and Alfie. They did so well this season.
Yes, I’d have to agree. I’d love a Davos in my life. He defended Jon’s body from Thorne: “I’d like some mutton”; then helped Jon come back to life and somewhat accept what happened to him. Fail again, indeed. He was convincing as the peace maker in the camps and aced the Mormont conference, obtaining the fierce 62 Mormont men for Jon. Yet too, a totally, wonderfully worthy warrior on the field, commanding the men to follow Jon, then almost losing himself to emotion in confronting Melisandre. Totally believable and not a false note ever, either in the performance nor in any off-season interview.
I grew to appreciate him all the more during the off-season, in fact, because he was so happy to talk with people about the show. No, Liam was the easiest choice. Yes, Alfie was fucking phenomenal, I agree. During a rewatch, I cried again watching him proclaim to Sansa that he would have died to get her to Castle Black, and could he borrow a horse. But Liam took it.
Gwendoline as Brienne was the same – Brienne was capable in so many different capacities, with the only thing confounding her being Tormund’s attentions. LOL, we never knew we wanted those two to be together, and now it’s so much fun to watch. Clarice was a close close second for me – I forgave her everything, even Shireen, for bringing Jon back. I loved the look on her face when she came back to the room and saw that her prayers had actually worked. I can’t wait to see her encounter next year with Arya. But all in all, I liked Gwendoline better. Jaime has grown to respect and love her, so have we. The boat scene at the end was touching, and I loved her telling Littlefinger he’d better answer Lady Sansa’s question. Just a good year for her.
Supporting Actress: Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy
I thought I’d be somewhat out on the limb with this choice – I’m pleased to see just how much support Gemma’s garnering in the comments. She’s always been an underrated performer, but I thought this was her best season. Her exceptional chemistry with Alfie Allen was even more noticeable this year, and the journey those two went on together felt natural, meaningful, and deeply earned. And the mutual admiration/flirtation she shared with Dany was an unexpected delight.
Close Second: Gwendoline Christie. She’s always stellar, of course, but this year in particular she had some truly incredible scenes. When she swears her sword to Sansa in the snowy forest after saving her from the Bolton hunters, the look on her face when Sansa reciprocates her vow speaks volumes about how much that acceptance means to her. Her reunion with Jaime at the Siege of Riverrun features some of my favorite moments those two have ever shared (and they’ve had no shortage of great times together). Gwen and Nikolaj have such a wonderful rapport that they can silently convey all their characters want to say to one another, but can’t.
Supporting Actor: Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth
He’s been consistently great for five years, yet somehow remains underrated. Cunningham has mastered the art of the wry quip (Davos’s terse standoff with Alliser Thorne, his pre-battle banter with Tormund), and he excels at dispensing sage wisdom (counseling Jon post-resurrection, his rallying speech to Lyanna Mormont). But his range extends far beyond that. In the scene where he confronts Melisandre about Shireen’s death, the level of rage and heartbreak Cunningham managed to convey was stunning. My own breath still catches when, in a strangled cry, he forces out the words “I loved that girl, like she was my own! She was good, she was kind, and you killed her!” One of the most powerful acting moments of the entire season.
Close Second: Jonathan Pryce. The frustration that some people seemed to have with the High Sparrow and his followers obscured just how great Pryce was in the role. His long speech in “Book of the Stranger” was mesmerizing, and one of the best parts of the masterful Sept sequence was watching the way he played his character’s slow descent from supreme arrogance at the height of his power to horror at the revelation of his impending fiery demise. We were incredibly fortunate to have had him on the show for the past two years.
I don’t want to be filmed or have my picture taken the vast majority of the time but this is one instance I would not protest. Haha. Jokes aside I voted Davos and Melisandre.
Two difficult categories! I went with Ellie and Alfie. I almost chose Liam, but Alfie’s role demanded more of him I thought.
Ultimately we all win, because we have such strong options to choose from. 🙂
On the women’s side it was very tight for me: I finally voted for Ellie Kendrick because I totally identified with Meera’s initial frustration and pain at the cave and her heartbreaking “I’m so sorry” when the wights caught up with them. Gemma Whelan and Carice van Houten were very, very close second and third places in my book. Gemma’s sparring with Daenery’s was pure gold, as well as her tough love toward Theon. And Carice’s doubts at the beginning of the season were very well acted.
As much as I love Gwendoline and Diana Riggs characterizations, I did not feel they were particularly different from what they have given us in other seasons. Yes, Brienne’s swearing a vow to Sansa was very emotional, and her conversation with Jaimie. And the Queen of Thorne’s conversations with Cersei and her dismissal of the Sand Snakes made me laugh out loud, but I still miss her conversations with Tywin.
On the guys’ side it was a no-brainer for me this season: Liam Cunningham. He was the backbone of the Northern story: he was the one who pressed the red lady to perform the resurrection, he earned Lady Mormont’s respect, he defended Jon’s body at the beggining, he supported Jon upon coming back from the dead, and prevented his new demise during the Battle of the Bastards… He even had a couple of funny moments (The “mutton” request and the happy shitting conversation with Tormund). If he had not been this season, the story would have been totally different.
Oh no. Is this like the other thing where I’ll have to vote for Jon in three different browsers, incognito and not, on different devices over and over? Haha. I mean…Of course I have a life and didn’t do that. Not even one time. ?
singedbylife,
That’s too bad you voted before reading the whole post. When I was voting, I would read the comments first. In doing so it allowed me to either agree or disagree with the arguments being made for the five actors. I found that helpful when I went to make my choices. Something to think about next year.
https://watchersonthewall.com/wotw-awards-season-6-best-supporting-actress-preliminary-round/
Olenna and Davos
🙂
First, did anyone else have trouble voting on their computer? I ended up using my iPhone instead, but this is the first time that happened.
ACTOR: IMO only Alfie and Liam really soared above the show into Tier 1 territory. Liam’s been a rock since Season 2: enerally honourable but pragmatic, truthful, decisive and with a side-line in quips. Neither in books nor show was I impressed with Stannis the Mannis, but for me Davos redeemed him and made him a viable candidate… until Shireen. Alfie had a good year with a much more subtle assignment than Liam’s–to show how a man totally broken in body, spirit and self crawls back to some measure of self-respect and agency. Quite an arc, but Liam’s speeches to Lyanna and to Melisandre about the burning of Shireen, plus his tentative determination use his enemy to revive Jon — well, THAT was acting.
ACTRESS: Diana Rigg. So few scenes, so much accomplished…and by a pensioner, of all things. I think Olenna is the clearest-eyed non-throne striver in the show. She would do anything to aid her family, including ‘sleep’ with the enemy (Cersei) and later gloat over her, play along with Margaery’s charade, put the Sand Snakes in their place, and rule her family via her woman’s place. Diana Rigg captured all this and then some. Her Queen of Thorns might prick, but we’d lick the blood on our finger and still root for her. Both Rigg and Olenna are walking advertisements for a satisfying and active old age
It was tough choosing between Gemma and Carice, in the end went with Carice. She wasn’t that prominent this year, but she got to play a different facet of Melisandre.
And among supporting actors, all are good choices. Alfie is always great, but I think he had better years. Kristian is Hodor, nothing else needed. Kristopher is a most fun character to watch. And Jonathan is, like Alfie, always great as well. But I’ll always support the Onion Knight and Liam has been superb since he first appeared in the show. Add to it that he had a huge season this year and I just can’t vote for anybody else.
Asha & Hodor for the win 🙂
Diana Rigg & Jonathan Pryce
(Runners-up: Gemma Whelan & Liam Cunningham)
For the actresses, I managed to hop over Briennes beautiful scenes with Sansa and Jaime (more of the same! kinda), Meera’s heartbreaking “I’m so sorry!” (just the one scene) and Olenna’s last moments with Margaery, and dialogue(s?) with Cersei (I suppose more of thesame we’ve already seen of her and too few scenes) relatively easily. Then it got hard, because I’ve always loved Gemma Whelans Yara, and she finally, FINALLY really got something to work with this year. And boy, did she work it 🙂
…but I went with Carice. Vulnerable, broken Melisandre still gives me goosebumps.
For the actors, Hodor was easiest to eliminate – he had the ‘best’ death but not much more to do this year. Tormund will get the comedy award. Alfie did not do much for me this year – and I wonder why. Perhaps it’s courtesy of my attention being drawn to Gemma in their scenes together. Perhaps it’s me being too cranked out by continuity issues (cross a creek n establish the danger of cold/a shot later, they’re suddenly dry n warm ish; broken man without much means makes it unchallenged to the Iron Islands on his single horse where he has everyones ear despite being broken) to pay full attention to his acting. Either way, I found him relatively easy to eliminate. Jonathan Pryce was the last, and surprisingly difficult to skip. He was simply brilliant, working Tommen and Margaery, and his last moment in the sept, when he realizes what’s about to happen is gold – but in the end, I felt he did his best work last season.
And of course, he had to go up against Davos, who’s always solid and lovable, but this year, had so many different things to do – including confronting Melisandre about Shireen.
I voted for Carice and Liam. It was a difficult choice, since Alfie, Kristofer and Jonathan were all fantastic as well.
Brienne and Lady Olenna are two of my favourite characters and I can’t say enough how much I admire those two wonderful actresses (although I grab any opportunity to state my admiration for them). I have liked Gemma since I first saw her, but in season 6 she really surprised me with the new facet of her personality. It was a pleasure to watch the broken, doubting Melisandre, but Gemma impressed me more. Hail the Queen of the Iron Islands!
I’m a little ashamed I didn’t pick Liam for one of the five nominees – there are really few nominees and too many great actors! Reading the complete results of round 1, I was pleased to see Liam’s leading position. He doesn’t need my vote to win, but I’m pleased to offer it to him.
I genuinely don’t think I can decide between Liam and Alfie.
I went with Ellie Kendrick and Kristofer Hivju.
They probably won’t win, but I wanted to give them shout out because I have found myself really getting into their characters this season. Mostly because of their acting.
I will use your words as my own 😉
Chose Carice and Liam, but could just as easily have chosen Ellie and Alfie.
Again such a high quality selection for both male and female 🙂
Well the bsactor was easy: Jonathan Pryce ( Allens worst acting season, Nairn no acting really, Liam was OK but not that extraordinary and Hivju was just a good laugh. Where is Ian?)
The supporting actress was more difficult but I voted for the Queen of the II.
Why are these so brutal?…lol….I changed my mind several times while my mind played back my favorite scenes with each character. Hands down I had to give the actor to Liam. He IS Davos. He is so perfect in this role. I love Tormund, enjoyed Jonathan Pryce, Alfie Allen was spot on this year, Kristian as Hodor was my most beloved character, but in the end..yeah, it’s Davos all the way.
For actress I had to go with Brienne. Carice does a fabulous job, Diana was great as always though not enough “meaty” parts this past season, Gemma on the other hand made it tough for me to go with Brienne. I just think the scenes she had in S6 were so amazingly well acted and mostly because of her facial expressions. She is another of my beloved characters. What she does and stands for matters. The character of Brienne would make a great role model..honesty, loyal and self-sacrificing to those she cares about. Great character, great role.
This one was a very mixed bag for me.
Best Supporting Actor was really easy – Liam Cunningham all the way. This man IS Davos and, dear god, I hope his character survives the entire series.
Best Supporting Actress was really tough for me, because I initially nominated Natalie Dormer (who then got promoted to Lead Actress) and voted for Hannah Waddingham in the last round, even though I knew she was highly unlikely to make it to the finale. Of the five remaining ladies, I eventually voted for Carice van Houten as Melisandre. She went all the way from broken old crone, to reignited worshipper to not-so-confident priestess. That last conversation between her and Davos, where she looked appropriately haunted by her burning of Shireen, really sealed it for me.
Mel and Davos, such an odd couple.
When I say support, I think of Ser Davos.
All excellent candidates indeed.
The girls were tougher. I went with the lovely Brienne of Tarth though.
Yara- “I’m gonna f**k the t*ts off this one” among other things.
Davos- “she was good, she was kind, and you killed her!” *cries*
Gemma & Alfie ftw!
Wow, what diverse picks peeps have for this category!! 😀
FWIW, my picks are Carice and Kristofer precisely because they had so little to work with.
I love, LOVE, LOVE Alfie, and think he’s been robbed of accolades and is one of the most underrated actors on the show; but Tormund had so few scenes and did so much with them. To me, that’s award-worthy.
Likewise, Brienne is ‘All That And A Bag Of Chips’, but Carice made me love her, hate her, and feel sorry for her; and all in a few scenes with so few lines! Give that woman an award.
So I am so late to the party here! But let’s do this thing.
For Supporting Actress:
Gwen Christie is great, but Brienne had meatier years in terms of her role. Diana Rigg was singular this time through, and I’d be thrilled if she won, because she had more emotional range this time. There’s real anger when she dresses down Cersei in this season rather than in the past. “I’ll never forget it,” indeed. I was thrilled to see Ellie Kendrick again, because she’s an ace with the physicality of Meera.
But for me this came down to two.
Gemma Whelan really nails it this year as Yara, both from the humor standpoint (“I’m up for anything, really”), and her pain, and admonishment and shame when it comes to her baby brother. It was such a close call, but…
…I went with Carice van Houten, who really displayed incredible range this year as Melisandre, turning what had been a one-note zealot into someone really broken by her faith.
On the other side. Jonathan Pryce was excellent again, but his having won last year made it easier for me to set him aside, as much as I liked him. Kristofer Hivju is such an asset as Tormund, and he’s become a better part of the show every year. Alfie Allen brings it every year, and I love him.
And Kristian Nairn went out with a bang, and if he won, that’d be great.
But this year really did belong to Liam Cunningham, and I never felt it more than when he really went after Melisandre for killing Shireen. It all poured out then. He’s such a rock for this show, and I just think he’s awesome.
So hard, so hard, so hard. I’m afraid I chose the characters and actors I liked the best: Gwendoline and Liam.
Greatjon of Slumber,
Love reading your comments, glad you left one here later than most.
Pretty sure Pryce lost to Allen last year, tho. So he will likely never get a WotW award 🙁
…Exactly right. Even though Price probably deserves it the most for Season 6, Alfie has been the most deserving of this honor since he first left Winterfell.
I think Liam and Kristofer are both portraying people close to their real identities. I love the both of them AND their characters. Davos is definitely my all-time fave! But in terms of acting in S6, I’m not voting for Price. Gotta give it to Theon.
As for the ladies, a tough competition. After mulling it all over, I’m reluctantly giving it to Carice. Her range in S6 was amazing! Rigg was next in line, although we didn’t see much of her. Her lines were incredibly written. Gemma comes in 3rd. I’m SO happy that we got to see more of her this season. Yara’s dialog this past season was also incredibly written…(such great writers!) Ellie and Gwendoline tie up the last two. Gwen has grown into Brienne so well and Ellie breaks my heart every time I think of her entire journey. All of these women deserve to win!
Alfie and Carice!
Easy. Davos and Mel.
P.s. Have Liam Cunningham or Carice van Houten been sighted in Belfast at all?
This is always the hardest category for me, because GoT has so many absolutely first-rate second-tier actors. Having to choose between Liam and Alfie was the killer. Liam really got a chance to shine this year, dominating the first several episodes. But ultimately my decision keeps coming down to how much Alfie can wring my heart even when he doesn’t have a line to speak. I hate to pass over Jonathan in his final season, too; he was splendid. Kristofer never fails to make me laugh, and Kristian is just lovable. But Alfie’s the man I think deserves a pile of awards for his consistently superb physical acting technique.
Among the women, Carice, I’m sorry to say, has never really done anything for me; too hokey for my tastes, and this season she mostly sulked. I felt that Gemma was miscast from the get-go, but I warmed up to her considerably this season. She’s beginning to develop the swagger that was missing before. I like Ellie as Meera, but she hasn’t had that much to do. I absolutely adore Diana, but as someone else noted above, this season was mostly a retread of schtik that she has done before – nothing on the order of her locking horns with Tywin or the High Sparrow. So I’m giving my laurels to Gwen, (especially for her pledge to Sansa), even though I still think that she’s not being given enough screentime. I would happily watch a whole series that was nothing but the adventures of Brienne the knight-errant, if she starred in it.