Will Emmys give Nicholas Galitzine the royal treatment for ‘Mary and George’ or ‘Red, White and Royal Blue’?
It has been quite a year for British actor Nicholas Galitzine, who has broken through with three different roles in three wildly different projects. One was the comedy film “Bottoms” where he played a dimwitted high school jock. The other two were on the small screen, and both make him an Emmy contender for Best Movie/Limited Actor: “Red, White and Royal Blue” and “Mary and George.”
“Red, White and Royal Blue,” based on the popular novel by Casey McQuiston, tells the contemporary story of a love affair between Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the US president (Uma Thurman), and Henry (Galitzine), a prince of the United Kingdom. Released last August, the streaming romcom was a big hit for Amazon Prime Video, and it has already been recognized by the Producers Guild with a nomination for Best TV Movie. And while on its surface it may lack the snob appeal of most major awards contenders, it actually has a tony pedigree — literally. Director and co-writer Matthew Lopez won a Tony for his play “The Inheritance.”
Starz’s “Mary and George” couldn’t be more different, except that it also concerns British royalty and is also hella queer. Galitzine plays half of the title pair, George Villiers, whose mother Mary (Julianne Moore) hatches a plot to rise through society by having George seduce King James I (Tony Curran). Though the limited series has elements of humor and camp, it’s fundamentally a drama, with Galitzine digging deep to paint a dark, Dorian Gray-esque portrait of beauty, vanity and greed.
Both projects received positive reviews, with Nell Minow (RogerEbert.com) praising the “shimmering sweetness” of Galitzine and his “Royal Blue” co-star Perez, while Taylor Gates (Collider) says of his “Mary and George” turn that he “more than holds his own alongside Moore, and it’s his journey as George that requires the most change and range.” But he does face some challenges on his road to the Emmys.
“Mary and George” is a prestige drama more in line with what the Emmys usually go for, but Starz programs have typically not been on voters’ radar; from “Party Down” to “Outlander,” the premium network doesn’t seem to register with the TV academy, though the presence of Oscar winner Julianne Moore might help put this particular series on the map.
Then there’s the potential for vote-splitting. A lot of vote-splitting. For “Royal Blue,” Galitzine will be competing directly against his co-star Perez for votes. And he’ll be competing against himself since both of his performances are eligible for consideration in Best Movie/Limited Actor. Granted, voters have the option to mark Perez and both Galitzine performances on their ballots, but with limited slots available in a crowded field that includes established awards players like Jon Hamm (“Fargo”), Tony Shalhoub (“Mr. Monk’s Last Case”) and Michael Douglas (‘Franklin”), chances are a lot of voters who like both projects will pick and choose.
Then again, having two performances in the race shows Emmy voters his range as an actor, and range is one of the key factors that has led to Emmy wins in the past; that’s why actors playing twins or multiple personalities have had success. It also gives voters a chance to honor an actor for an overall career breakthrough. So maybe having one actor in two distinct awards contenders will turn out to be more of a blessing than a curse.
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