Emmy gamble: 'Mad Men' star Elisabeth Moss drops to supporting
When the two lead female stars of "Mad Men" competed at the Emmys last year, only one got nominated for best drama actress: Elisabeth Moss, who portrays a scheming ad copywriter. January Jones (as Jon Hamm's estranged wife) got snubbed. The trophy for best drama actress ended up going to Glenn Close ("Damages") for a second year in a row.
This year, Moss has agreed to drop down to supporting and let her "Mad Men" costar have a clear shot for lead on her own, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Jones proved she's worthy of the race over the past two years when she was nominated in lead at the Golden Globes. Moss wasn't.
Early reax are positive. Our forum poster Chris "Boomer" Beachum calls it "a very wise move" and Sasha says, "I'm so happy they finally decided to do this! Now, it's up to Emmy voters to show they're not as lazy as they've proven for years and nominate Miss Jones. Miss Moss has just locked up her spot in supporting category and become a front-runner."
It's smart for one of the "Mad Men" ladies to get out of the running. It's a crowded category this year considering that recent Golden Globe and SAG Award champ Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife") will be crashing the ranks of the usual suspects, including Glenn Close, Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer"), Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"), Anna Paquin ("True Blood"), Sally Field ("Brothers & Sisters"), Patricia Arquette ("Medium") – and perhaps January Jones.
Photo: Elisabeth Moss, left, and January Jones in "Mad Men." Photo credit: AMC.
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Perhaps Moss wants a better chance at winning an Emmy.
If Emmy continues its lock on lead actress nominees Field/Hunter/Close/Hargitay/Sedgwick and Margulies a near shoo-in, Moss could be left out. Moving down to supporting makes sense. Jones may not even make it in with that line-up unless Emmy drops one of the favorites this year (probably Hargitay).
Posted by: Joseph | April 07, 2010 at 11:28 AM
watch the Mad Men cast and crew sing Bye Bye Birdie:
http://bit.ly/cW0CMM
Posted by: Matt | April 07, 2010 at 09:44 AM
This makes perfect sense, especially for the season. Elisabeth's performance is wonderful, but it would be unfair to compare her time on screen with performances that are the center of the entire series like in "Damages," "The Closer," and "Medium." It is a perfect supporting performance, and I am very excited by her chances at winning the Emmy this year. I would love to see a nomination for Jones after a particularly riveting season for her character this year, and I would love to see some love for Christina Hendricks in the supporting category as well.
Posted by: Hunter | April 04, 2010 at 09:25 AM
I have a problem with it because I think it sets a bad precedent. Elisabeth Moss has second billing. To me, she's the lead female character. Can they just do it for a season as admittedly Betty was more frontburner than Peggy. Am I supposed to believe that in Season 4 after Don and Betty have broken up and Peggy is the only copywriter at the new ad agency, Betty will be in it more than Peggy? I'm afraid that by putting E. Moss in supporting now, MW will keep her there and create ridiculous lead story for J Jones just because he feel he has to to keep her at that lead actress. I hope it switched next year with J Jones in supporting and E Moss in lead. I'll admitt I'm biased because I love Peggy and hate Betty, but it seems really insulting to me to put E Moss in supporting after two yrs as lead. I pray this is only a one yr thing.
Posted by: jen corozza | April 03, 2010 at 05:35 AM