As the Gold Derby odds currently stand in Best Movie/Limited Actress, Jodie Foster (“True Detective: Night Country”) appears to be heading towards her first Emmy win. She’s followed by Brie Larson (“Lessons In Chemistry”), Juno Temple (“Fargo”), Sofia Vergara (“Griselda”) and Naomi Watts (“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”) in last. However, are most of us writing off a win for Watts too soon? She has plenty going for her.
In “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans,” Watts plays Babe Paley, one of a handful of New York socialites author Truman Capote nicknamed “The Swans.” The Swans are betrayed when Capote publishes an excerpt of his upcoming book, “Answered Prayers,” in Esquire magazine, revealing secrets of The Swans’ lives. Of the group, Paley was the closest friend of Capote’s and she becomes distraught when stories of her husband’s affairs are revealed to the public. We see her emotionally conflicted throughout the FX limited series, missing Capote, yet unable to bring herself to forgive him, as well as battling cancer. All of these moments from Watts, especially in Episode 7 titled “Beautiful Babe,” are filled with drama, subtle yet emotional, and serve as the series’ emotional anchor. It’s the type of performance and material that actors particularly love. Even in reviews that didn’t give the series high marks, Watts’ performance as Paley still received acclaim.
SEE Naomi Watts (‘Feud: Capote vs. The Swans’): ‘There was a fragility, but a thick skin’ to Babe Paley
When the nominations were announced on July 17th, “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” earned 10 total bids with four acting nominations for Watts, Tom Hollander, Diane Lane and Treat Williams. While all four were predicted to get in (they were touted as the standout performances in the series), seeing it come to fruition proved the acting branch of the TV academy loved it. Only actors vote for the winners in acting categories, but the series receiving a surprise nomination in Limited Series Directing is another sign that Emmy voters enjoyed the show, and it’s quite possible it barely missed out on that Best Limited Series lineup. But the strength of the series with the actors branch is a huge reason why Watts should be considered a formidable threat.
Watts also has the benefit of being a film actress turning to television. Movie stars have especially found success winning in this category, and that’s continued to be true with the current voting system that was established in 2015. Since then, we’ve seen actresses like Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”), Michelle Williams (“Fosse/Verdon”), Kate Winslet (“Mare of Easttown”) and Amanda Seyfried (“The Dropout”) win this category. And like Williams and Seyfried, Watts is physically transforming into a famous real life person, and no one loves that more than other actors.
SEE Emmys: 4 reasons why Tom Hollander will beat the odds and win for ‘Feud: Capote vs. The Swans’
However, Watts clearly has strong competition from nominees whose shows are nominated for the Best Limited Series prize. Foster is a strong frontrunner and is supported by the fact that “True Detective: Night Country” received the most nominations of any Limited Series this year with 19. All the actors from the HBO series that were expected to get in were nominated. Brie Larson and Juno Temple’s respective series also did fairly well with the actors branch, although “Fargo” missed out on some expected bids in the supporting categories. Foster, Larson and Temple all have the Best Limited Series nomination in their favor, and since the current voting system was established, only one person has won this category without their series nominated (Regina King for “Seven Seconds” in 2018).
This perhaps makes the win too much of an uphill battle for Watts. Luckily for her though, “True Detective,” “Lessons in Chemistry” and “Fargo” only got three acting nominations to “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans'” four. Could that be a sign there’s more enthusiasm for the actors in this series than we think? If there’s one thing we know about the Emmys, it’s that there are almost always a couple big surprises. So given all of these factors, Watts can’t be counted out of the Emmy race just yet!
PREDICT the 2024 Emmy winners through September 15
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