Josh Charles was one of the frontrunners to take home the Emmy for Best Drama Supporting Actor last year for his role as Will Gardner on “The Good Wife.” This was his first nomination after two decades of TV work. Although his good friend Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones“) ultimately won on Emmy night, Charles was just happy to be recognised for the show. “It was very exciting. I love doing the show and I love the people I work with.”
The day of the Emmy ceremony was a generally relaxed affair and he says being nominated with his pal made the experience all the more enjoyable. “It was nice to be recognised with certain friends that I’ve known for a long time and to see Peter up there, it was great!”
“‘Dink,’ as we his friends affectionately call him [and I] hung out the day of the Emmys,” he recalls with a smile. “While my girlfriend was getting made up in the room, he and I hung out by the pool.”
This year, Charles and Dinklage are vying for a nomination in this competitive Emmy category, along with last year’s other contenders John Slattery (“Mad Men”), Walton Goggins (“Justified”) and Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”) as well as 2010 champ Aaron Paul who is back with new episodes of “Breaking Bad.” Newcomers include Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”), Neal McDonough (“Justified”), Mandy Patinkin (“Homeland”) and John Goodman (“Damages”).
Looking back at the show’s third season, Charles is particularly proud of the episode “Parenting Made Easy,” which wraps up the story arc surrounding his character Will Gardner’s steamy relationship with Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies).
In his video chat with Gold Derby he also talks at length about other potential episode submissions, including “Live From Damascus,” a strong showcase for his character, in which Will faces disciplinary action from the Bar Association, and agrees to accept a six month suspension and walk away from the law. “That is where the arc which had been building comes full circle, and then there’s that nice little switch in “Live From Damascus” where he gets sucker punched when he thinks he’s in the clear.”
Although he hasn’t made up his mind about what episode he would submit should he be nominated again, he admits to finding it very difficult to narrow it down to one. “To have to pick and choose and [focus on] your performance in one [episode]; it’s hard to do because there’s things that you build for over a longer period of time in television. Things arc over eight, nine episodes and it doesn’t all happen in one.”
