Monday, December 31, 2018

2018 Hardest Working Actor Awards

I have a lot of ideas that I never follow through with. That's because they take a really long time or put me in too much of a time crunch for no good reason. This is one of those ideas. I've wanted to do this for several years and always get sidetracked before I can finish. Not this year! Don't get used to this though.

Let me explain what this is. Every year, there are certain actors who follow me throughout the year. These people manage to find time for several movies, TV series, cameos, and guest appearances, and I think they deserve some recognition for their hard work. So, I've gone through all the TV shows and movies I've watched in 2018 and found as many actors and actresses as I could who appeared in at least 3 things I've seen. Even with how much I watch, that's hard to pull off. The following awards don't cover all the performers I found. It definitely doesn't cover everyone I could've potentially seen 3 or more times. It does represent a fun smattering of the people who made my viewing in 2018 great.

Made in Georgia
No group was busier in 2018 than the cast of Atlanta. I made the joke that every movie this summer had to include someone from that show. And it wasn’t really a joke. Animation, live-action, Star Wars, surreal comedy, Marvel, sketch comedy. They did it all and they did it throughout the year

Winner: Brian Tyree Henry
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Widows
Hotel Artemis
Atlanta (full season)
BoJack Horseman (1 episode)
If Beale Street Could Talk
White Boy Rick
Family
Irreplaceable You
Drunk History (1 episode)
Room 104 (1 episode)

Runner-Up: Lakeith Stanfield
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
The Girl in the Spider's Web
Sorry to Bother You
Atlanta (full season)
Come Sunday
Random Acts of Flyness (1 episode)


Also Considered:

Donald Glover
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Atlanta (full season)
Solo: A Star Wars Story
SNL (host)
Slice
Dead Pigs


Zazie Beetz
2018 Release I Watched
Atlanta (full season)
Deadpool 2


Crazy Busy Asian
Not every Asian-American actor was in Crazy Rich Asians, but that wasn't the only opportunity for them in Hollywood in 2018.

Winner: Awkwafina
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Crazy Rich Asians
Ocean's Eight
Dude
SNL (host)
Animals (1 episode)

I think it's fair to call Awkwafina the breakout star of 2018. A year ago, she was that odd casting choice in Ocean's Eight, a distant 8th in the power rankings. Now she's a scene stealer in two hit summer movies and hosted SNL.

[Side Note: I never realized how often a Fall SNL gig was used as a coronation. Tiffany Haddish got it last year. Margot Robbie in 2016 after Suicide Squad. Amy Schumer for Trainwreck in 2015.]

Runner-Up: Jimmy O. Yang
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Crazy Rich Asians
Life of the Party
Silicon Valley (full season)
Fresh Off the Boat (1 episode)
The Simpsons (1 episode)
The Happytime Murders
Drunk History (1 episode)
Another Period (1 episode)
The 5th Quarter (1 episode)

Also Considered:

Randall Park
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Aquaman
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Fresh Off the Boat (full season)
BoJack Horseman (1 episode)
Art Prison
Animals (1 episode)
Drunk History (1 episode)
Robot Chicken (1 episode)
Hot Streets (1 episode)


Hong Chau
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
BoJack Horseman (full season)
Homecoming (multiple episodes)
Forever (1 episode)
Duck Butter

I don't like using a single appearance on a TV show as one of the three jobs to qualify for the award, but her episode of Forever was so widely regarded as the best episode of the show and so dominated by her that I'll make an exception.

Wakanda Forever
Black Panther made stars out of a lot of people, rose others to new heights, or reminded audiences why they already were stars. And yeah, many were helped here by some Black Panther/Infinity War double-dipping. It still counts though.

Winner: Sterling K. Brown
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Black Panther
Hotel Artemis
This Is Us (full season)
SNL (host)
Brooklyn Nine Nine (1 episode)
The Predator
Robot Chicken (1 episode)

A full season of a network TV show, a role in the year's biggest hit movie, two other movies, and he still found time to host an episode of SNL and give my favorite guest performance in a TV show this year (Brooklyn Nine Nine - "The Box"). This man is on fire.

Runner Up: Michael B. Jordan
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Black Panther
Creed II
Fahrenheit 451
Kin


Also Considered:

Chadwick Boseman
2018 Release I Watched
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
SNL (host)


Letita Wright
2018 Release I Watched
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
Ready Player One
Black Mirror (1 episode)

Given how late that Black Mirror season premiered in 2017, her episode of that really should could toward her 2018. She didn't even need it to qualify though.

Angela Bassett
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
Black Panther
Bumblebee
BoJack Horseman (multiple episodes)
9-1-1
American Horror Story

The Kathryn Newton "Young and Hungry" Award
This goes to the young actress who showed up so often that it doesn't seem mathematically possible that it was only a single year. Special consideration is given to television work as a regular cast member, because it’s much more of a time commitment.

By the way, the reason why Kathryn Newton is its namesake is because she had a bonkers 2017. Newton was in two Best Picture nominees (Lady Bird, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), was a regular in two of the best TV shows that year (Halt and Catch Fire, Big Little Lies), co-starred in a mini-series (Little Women), and even stopped in for a guest spot on Supernatural. In terms of hit rate, it's hard to do much better.

Winner: Julia Garner
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Waco (full season)
Maniac (full season)
The Americans (multiple episodes)
Ozark (full season)
Dirty John (full season)

Holy crap! Julia Garner was a regular in four TV series in one year and found time to be in multiple episodes of another. Even factoring in calendar peculiarities, that's a feat unlikely to be matched by anyone any year. Wow.

Runner Up: Sydney Sweeney
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Everything Sucks (full season)
Sharp Objects (full season)
The Handmaid's Tale (multiple episodes)
Along Came the Devil
Relentless
The Wrong Daughter (TV Movie)

Sweeney is the kind of performer these awards were built for. I didn't know her at the beginning of the year. I saw her early in the year in Everything Sucks! as one of the several young actors who I'd never seen before. Then, she showed up for a stint in The Handmaid's Tale in the Spring and I thought that was a fun casting coincidence. By the time she showed up in Sharp Objects in the Summer, I realized she was a real up and comer in the business. She snuck in a few movies along the way too.

My British Crush
It's not an accident that I see some actors several times throughout the year. For example, I do have a weakness for attractive Brits and will track them down. That shouldn't take away from the fact that the following actresses provided enough output to watch them so much. Luckily, they were also all in some of my favorite things of the year (or, at least they were great in them).

Winner: Olivia Cooke
2018 Release I Watched
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
Life Itself
Ready Player One
Thoroughbreds
Vanity Fair (full season)
Bate Motel (full season)

Finally catching up on the last season of Bates Motel ended up being the tie-breaker. I realize that’s not in the spirit of a 2018 award, but they are meaningless awards anyway.

Runner Up: Claire Foy
2018 Release I Watched
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
The Girl in the Spider's Web
First Man
Unsane
Breathe

Not listed here is her Emmy win for The Crown. I don't think Hollywood is pushing to make someone a star more than Claire Foy right now.

Also Considered: Florence Pugh
2018 Release I Watched
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
Malevolent
Outlaw King
The Little Drummer Girl (full season)
Lady Macbeth

I specifically tracked down Malevolent the other night to make sure Pugh made the cut. She was really something in The Little Drummer Girl. Even if she doesn't keep up this pace, I expect roles she gets will be more prominent sooner than later.

Right at the Buzzer
Through accident or intention, some people make most of their appearances in my end of the year binge. This award goes to the performer who came in at the wire.

Winner: Florence Pugh
2018 Release I Watched
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
Malevolent
Outlaw King
The Little Drummer Girl (full season)
Lady Macbeth

While I saw 2017's Lady Macbeth over the summer, I saw all of Pugh's 2018 work in the month of December: the two movies in the last week.

Runner Up: Ben Whishaw
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Paddington 2
Mary Poppins Returns
A Very English Scandal (full season)
National Theater Live: Julius Caesar

Let's see, I finally caught up with Paddington 2 at the beginning of December. I snuck in A Very English Scandal over a weekend in December after forgetting to watch it all Summer. Then he showed up as an older Michael Banks in Mary Poppins Returns. I'm not sure anyone had a more charming set of performances this year.

Also Considered: Dakota Johnson
2018 Release I Watched
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
Bad Times at the El Royale
Suspiria
Fifty Shades Freed
Fifty Shades Darker

It's worth at least mentioning Johnson. Bad Times at the El Royale came in October. Suspiria in November. I caught 2017's Fifty Shades Darker at some point in the Fall and decided to finish the trilogy out and watch Fifty Shades Freed this December.

Does He/She Really Need to Work This Much?
Staying busy is something for up and comers and character actors. The desire to accept any role one comes across is marked by the desire to get more exposure. Once a performer is established, they have the luxury of saying "no" sometimes. This award goes to the person who, thanks to Oscar nominations, blockbuster movies, or a steady TV gig, you wouldn't think would have to work so much.

Winner: Michael Shannon
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Fahrenheit 451
The Little Drummer Girl (full season)
Waco (full season)
State Like Sleep
What They Had
12 Strong
Room 104 (1 episode)
Our Cartoon President (1 episode)
Arena (1 episode)

The man has two Oscar nominations and has more than established himself as a guy who the biggest names want to work with. What the hell is he doing on so many TV shows still? He was a regular in two different series and starred in a TV movie. He had three other movies that I didn't see and guest roles for three other programs. I have no doubt that this man is a workaholic.

Runner-Up: Tessa Thompson
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Creed II
Annihilation
Sorry to Bother You
Westworld (full season)
Dear White People (multiple episodes)
Furlough
Little Woods
Portlandia (1 episode)

Five movies (three that I saw), a full season of a massive HBO series, and she still found time to do a couple episodes of some other shows.

Also Considered: Jon Hamm
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Bad Times at the El Royale
Tag
Beirut
Legion (multiple episodes)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (multiple episodes)
Barry (1 episode)
Nostalgia
The Amazing Gayl Pile (multiple episodes)
I Love You, America (1 episode)
Random Acts of Flyness (1 episode)
American Masters (1 episode)

Hamm can't figure out if his post-Mad Men career is as a leading man or a character actor, so he just takes all the roles. And there's the fact that he loves when he has the chance to be funny. That means every year is packed for him. It looks like he might've had a vacation sometime around 2009. Since then, he’s been amazingly steady with work.

Being a Double Threat Won't Slow Him Down
I'm only tracking actors for all these awards because film directors work slowly, film writers get credits arbitrarily, TV writers stay busy with one project, and TV directors are journeymen who leave less of a mark on a show. Actors have the easiest time working on multiple projects a year. There are a select few who balance acting, writing, and/or directing though. And, yes, the secret to doing this is to write and act or direct and act in a film or show.

Winner: Bradley Cooper
2018 Release I Watched
The Mule
A Star is Born
Avengers: Infinity War

Cooper very well could pull off the unthinkable combo of Best Actor and Best Director at this year's Oscars for A Star Is Born and he still found time to voice a Marvel character and be in a Clint Eastwood movie.

Runner Up: Joel Edgerton
2018 Release I Watched
Boy Erased
Gringo
Red Sparrow

Edgerton is king of the "third name on the call sheet" roles. At least he beefed his list up by directing and writing Boy Erased too.

Also Considered: Mindy Kaling
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
A Wrinkle in Time
Ocean's Eight
It's Always Sunny (1 episode)
Champions (multiple episodes)

If I can mention Mindy Kaling in something, I will mention her. She got to hang out with Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, Cate Blanchett, and Sandra Bullock, be a punching bag for the Paddy's Pub gang, and work several jobs for a network sitcom that she created. Oh, and didn't she have a kid at some point too?

The Character Actress Margo Martindale Award
All praise the queen of the character actresses!

Winner: Ann Dowd
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Hereditary
American Animals
The Handmaid's Tale (full season)
Tyrel
A Kid Like Jake
Nancy
3Below: Tales of Arcadia (full season)

Runner Up: Margo Martindale
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Instant Family
The Americans (full season)
BoJack Horseman (1 episode)
Sneaky Pete (full season)
The Good Fight (multiple episodes)
Ducktales (multiple episodes)

The Character Actor Michael Pena Award
Someone once described Michael Pena as the best part of anything he's in. That has yet to be disproven.

Winner: Michael Pena
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
The Mule
Ant-Man and the Wasp
A Wrinkle in Time
Extinction
Next Gen
Narcos: Mexico (full season)

Runner Up: Ron Livingston
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Tully
A Million Little Things (multiple episodes)
The Romanoffs (1 episode)
The Long Dumb Road
Richard Says Goodbye
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then Bigfoot
Loudermilk (multiple episodes)

The Rose Byrne Award
I have an unhealthy obsession with Rose Byrne. She was actually in four movies this year. I'm shocked that I only went to see three of them. That's on me. I won't deprive Rose Byrne of her award though.

Winner: Rose Byrne
2018 Release I Watched
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
Instant Family
Peter Rabbit
Juliet, Naked
Marie Antoinette

The Domhnall Gleeson Award
I figured out earlier this year that Domhnall Gleeson is my favorite actor right now, so of course he gets an award. He was in movies this year and I saw them.

Winner: Domhnall Gleeson
2018 Release I Watched
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
The Little Stranger
Peter Rabbit
A Futile and Stupid Gesture
Crash Pad

I'd also like to point out past years when he has won this award.
2017 - Crash Pad, Goodbye Christopher Robin, Mother!, American Made, Catastrophe (2 episodes)
2015 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Brooklyn, Ex Machina, The Revenant
2010 (I just realized this the other day) - True Grit, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1, Never Let Me Go

Mr. 2018
Winner: Brian Tyree Henry
2018 Release I Watched
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Widows
Hotel Artemis
Atlanta (full season)
BoJack Horseman (1 episode)
If Beale Street Could Talk
White Boy Rick
Family
Irreplaceable You
Drunk History (1 episode)
Room 104 (1 episode)
Look at his 2018 again. I saw him in something in every season of the year and still didn't see half the things he was in. Bonus points too for being a series regular in a TV show in the middle of all this. Now that 2018 has ended, Brian, please, relax and take a vacation. You've earned it.


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