Emmy Nominees 2010: Who Should Be Nominated for Best Supporting Actor Emmys?

The lead actors and actresses get all the credit but often the supporting characters are what take a television show to the next level. These supporting actors, in both dramas and comedies, do just that and deserve Emmy Nominations in 2010.

Let's go ahead and get the "Lost" love out of the way first. This entire list of drama Emmy nominees could be filled with "Lost" actors but we'll keep it to a minimum. Terry O'Quinn has to be the first Emmy nominee. O'Quinn has always been the best performer on "Lost" and this year he played a completely different part than previous seasons. My Emmy nominee is Josh Holloway. Holloway really should have been nominated for an Emmy last season when he was more of the focal character but he's overdue and should be given one this year.

A couple of television shows that I enjoy that have no shot of getting any Emmy nominations (but should) are "Burn Notice" and "Leverage". Bruce Campbell plays the perfect sidekick in "Burn Notice" and there aren't enough sidekicks today. The reason I began watching "Leverage" was because of Christian Kane but Aldis Hodge has won me over as the wise-cracking tech geek.

Dollhouse was a pretty unique television show with an interesting story but unfortunately it starred Eliza Dushku, a horrible actress and easily the most overrated actress of the Whedonverse. For Dollhouse to work it is essential for the actors to be able to play completely different characters. Dushku just didn't have the chops. Enver Gjokai on the other hand gave a performance worthy of an Emmy Nomination.

The final Emmy nominee in the drama category should be Ron Pearlman from "Sons of Anarchy."Ron Perlman has been a consistently good worker for years and it is about time he got some recognition.

Considering all the good nominees for supporting actors in a comedy series it really makes you think. Comedies have always thrived on the supporting characters and not so much on the main characters. All six of my Emmy Nominees for best supporting actor in a comedy come from three different television shows and all three shows are new.

There are several actors from "Modern Family" that could be nominated for an Emmy. Ed O'Neil is overdue and Jesse Tyler Ferguson is underrated as the straight man of the gay couple. That is, straight as in the serious one, not straight as in, oh nevermind. However, the two stars of Modern Family in my opinion are Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet.

"Community" was another newcomer to the comedy genre. Joel McHale did a surprisingly good job as the lead actor but there are two actors that steal every scene they are in, Danny Pudi and Ken Jeong. One student, one teacher, but equally excellent characters and both actors are deserving of an Emmy nomination.

The last two choices may be surprising. The supporting character that always gets the attention from "Glee" fans is Jane Lynch but Mike O'Malley has quietly been great. His defense of his homosexual son when he overhears Finn refer to something as "queer" was the best acting performance of the show so far.

My other "Glee" choice is Harry Shum Jr.. Who, you ask? Mike Chang. Still don't know who that is? He's "the other Asian". You know, the guy who never talks. How can he be my choice for an Emmy nominee? It's simple. Lea Michele is not that great of actor or dancer but will get consideration because she's a fantastic singer. Jane Lynch can't sing or dance but is the best actor on the show. Shum doesn't act or sing but dances better than anybody on the show. So, why not "the other Asian"?