Legendary actor Charles Dance has been nominated for three Emmy Awards throughout his career, for starring in “Bleak House” (2006) and narrating “Savage Kingdom” (2018 and 2019). However, he’s never taken home the golden statue. Might his final appearance on “The Crown” be the ticket to claiming victory? According to Gold Derby’s early Emmy predictions for Best Drama Guest Actor, that answer is a resounding yes.
Dance played the real-life Lord Louis “Dickie” Mountbatten, uncle to Prince Philip (Tobias Menzies), in the third and fourth seasons of Netflix’s regal drama. Last year the character was a major presence as he staged a coup to oust Prime Minster Harold Wilson, who orchestrated his firing. This year he appeared only in the premiere, “Gold Stick,” where he clashed with Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) over his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles (Emerald Fennell). Later on while lobster fishing in Ireland, Lord Mountbatten’s boat explodes because of a bomb planted by the IRA, killing him and his grandson.
Even though Dance only popped up in a single episode in Season 4, he’s still a major threat to win the Emmy because of the impact he had on the series. Remember, screen time is not necessarily a prerequisite to win these guest star categories — just look at recent champs like Margo Martindale (“The Americans”) and Cherry Jones (“The Handmaid’s Tale”). Television Academy members are supposed to be voting on an actor’s performance in a specific episode, yes, but time and time again we see them voting for the character overall.
The renowned British actor gained a brand new audience this past decade when he was cast as the dastardly Tywin Lannister, father of Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), Cersei (Lena Headey) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) on “Game of Thrones.” Many awards pundits thought he would be a shoo-in for an Emmy nomination, particularly for his infamous death episode in which he was murdered by Tyrion while sitting on the toilet, but alas, he was never recognized. In other words, Dance has a major Emmy IOU.
As a reminder, two-time champ Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”) won’t be winning again this year as he was not submitted on the Emmy ballot. That leaves the door open for someone new to claim victory. Here are the Top 10 likely contenders for Best Drama Guest Actor at the 2021 Emmys, per Gold Derby odds:
1. Charles Dance (“The Crown”) — 7/2 odds
2. Courtney B. Vance (“Lovecraft Country”) — 19/5 odds
3. Michael Angarano (“This Is Us”) — 6/1 odds
4. Mark Hamill (“The Mandalorian”) — 13/2 odds
5. Timothy Olyphant (“The Mandalorian”) — 19/2 odds
6. Patrick Dempsey (“Grey’s Anatomy”) — 14/1 odds
7. Carl Weathers (“The Mandalorian”) — 28/1 odds
8. Don Cheadle (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”) — 30/1 odds
9. Bill Burr (“The Mandalorian”) — 42/1 odds
10. Justin Kirk (“Perry Mason”) — 75/1 odds
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