Two of our top Experts at predicting the Daytime Emmys — Nelson Branco (Soap Opera Uncensored) and Dan J. Kroll (Soap Central) — have been battling about the winners of the Daytime Emmy Awards. They have already squared off over Best Drama Series, agreed on Best Actor and differed over Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
Now they turn their attention to Best Younger Actor. In this category, Dan predicts a first win for Chandler Massey (“Days of Our Lives“) while Nelson expects Chad Duell (“General Hospital“) to prevail after one loss as well.
(See all their Daytime Emmys predictions by clicking on their names: Nelson, Dan.)
Dan J. Kroll: Chandler Massey, “Days of Our Lives”
Flip a (three-sided) coin, throw a dart, or pull a name from a hat. For me, this is a three-person race. Eddie Alderson‘s clip on “One Life to Live” was probably one of the best-chosen reels of all this year’s submissions. Why? Eddie got to share screentime with all of the big players: Robert S. Woods (Bo Buchanan), Hillary B. Smith (Nora Hanen), John Wesley Shipp (Eddie Ford), and Jerry ver Dorn (Clint Buchanan). Here’s the dilemma: if voters let those other performances bleed into how they vote, Eddie will win. That’s not to say that his performance wasn’t good on its own — it definitely was.
Chad Duell’s reel addressed an issue not often discussed in the open: males who have been sexually assaulted. There were flashes of rather graphic violence in the reel, which made it hard to watch at times. What Chad did well was to show the inner struggle that Michael was feeling — the belief that he was somehow less of a man because he’d been raped. There were minor things to detract from the scene, like the fake snow at the top of the reel. It’s a solid reel, and could very well give Chad his first Emmy.
In Chandler Massey’s reel, his character, Will, almost, sorta, kinda came out to his grandmother. The chemistry between Chandler and soap diva Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans) was electric. (On a completely unrelated note, I’m so disappointed that Deidre didn’t submit herself for Emmy consideration this year. She was amazing in both Chandler’s clip and the clip submitted by Matthew Ashford in the Best Actor category.) The angst was palpable in the scenes, as Will tried to explain to Marlena why he couldn’t give his girlfriend what she needed. Despite Marlena’s assurance that she’d love Will no matter what he told her, Will broke down and left.
I don’t like calling someone an also-ran (especially when they could win and make me have to eat my hat), but Nathan Parsons‘ reel from “General Hospital” was the weakest of the four to me. I really thought he’d submit a different episode. When I think about how voters might vote, I don’t know that the episode selected conveys enough backstory. Sonny told Ethan to stay away from underage Kristina — and then Ethan, liquor in hand, was chatting it up with Kristina. I did think the ending was strong, as Ethan feared that everyone that mattered to him would eventually leave him.
Nelson Branco: Chad Duell “General Hospital”
This category is much harder to predict than younger actress because three actors are neck-and-neck: “DOOL”‘s Chandler Massey is daytime’s best younger actor but GH’s Chad Duell has one hell of a reel where his character, Michael, admits he was raped in jail. And we all know voters love three things: rape, multiple personalities and dead babies.
Massey’s “DOOL” character, Will, grapples with his homosexuality so he could take the prize, which he deserves, but I’m leaning towards Duell, who will have more support from the voting body (and when have you ever seen a younger male on soaps admit he was raped in jail by another man?).
The dark horse is Eddie Alderson who, as “OLTL”‘s Matthew, doesn’t have a social issue to prove his mettle but he’s a major contender nonetheless as his character reveals he murdered Eddie Ford in a series of horrifying flashbacks. However, the Academy has proven year after year it has something against the Aldersons (his sister and co-star Kristen Alderson, one of soaps’ best actresses has never been nominated). This is Eddie’s first nod after years of being snubbed — and that’s a miracle enough. Whomever wins, I will be happy. And that’s the only category I can say that about. But it’s a real “duell!”
OTHER AWARDS NEWS:
See Emmy predix of top 10 TV Experts
Videos: Our exclusive chats with Emmy contenders
Join the fierce discussion in our forums
Earliest Oscars Predictions Ever: Our Users Forecast Winners
