Jonathan Pryce will be double Emmy nominee thanks to ‘The Crown’ and ‘Slow Horses’

Jacob Sarkisian
·6 min read
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Jonathan Pryce looks set to make a double return to the Emmys this lineup with terrific performances in two major, awards-tipped shows in Netflix’s “The Crown” and Apple TV’s “Slow Horses.”

In “The Crown,” Pryce continues in his role as Prince Philip, a role he first played in season five after Matt Smith and Tobias Menzies played the role for two seasons each beforehand. This sixth and final season takes place between 1997 and 2005 and depicts the death of Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), the premiership of Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel) as Prime Minister, and the wedding of Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams). Pryce’s delicate, measured performance has been cited by several critics as one of the highlights of this season.

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William Tucker (But Why Tho?) explained: “The pacing in ‘The Crown’ is extremely slow, but it gives the monologues and conversations the room to thrive and expand. And with the talent delivering them you can get lost in the words. With old heads like Pryce and Staunton, their years of experience steps onto the screen and commands attention. Much of the time, the room will empty, leaving just them on the screen, and they just stay there.”

As a result, we are predicting Pryce to be nominated for Best Drama Supporting Actor alongside Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”), Jon Hamm (“The Morning Show”), Tadanobu Asano (“Shōgun”), Khalid Abdalla (“The Crown”), Nathan Lane (“The Gilded Age”), Takehiro Hira (“Shōgun”), and Ke Huy Quan (“Loki”).

Pryce is an easy prediction to make here, particularly as Emmy voters love “The Crown.” So far, the show has won a whopping 21 Emmys. Being involved in a show this beloved will always help your chances no matter what. But let’s dig a little deeper into Emmy voters’ love for this show. They specifically adore the performances, having awarded “The Crown” 18 nominations in total for its various actors’ roles. That is an incredible number. Season one garnered two bids, season two reaped four nominations, season three received two bids, season four was greeted with a huge nine nominations, and season five picked up one citation for acting.

In particular, “The Crown” has done well in this category. John Lithgow won here in 2017 for playing Winston Churchill while Smith was nominated in 2018 for his portrayal of Prince Philip. Then, Menzies won this award in 2021 for his rendition of Prince Philip. So both actors who played Prince Philip won an Emmy for their work. Could Pryce make it three out of three? It would make sense. He will at least be nominated.

Pryce has another shot at a nomination this year thanks to his guest role in “Slow Horses” season three. This Apple TV+ show follows a group of British intelligence agents who work at an MI5 department populated by people who made career-ending mistakes. One of those agents is River Cartwright, played by Jack Lowden. Pryce features as River’s grandfather, a retired MI5 officer. The veteran British actor appears in episodes three (“Uninvited Guests”) and six (“Footprints”) of season three and, again, he has the support of critics.

Ana Yorke (Pop Matters) opined: “Lowden has his breakout role here as the insubordinate but smart River Cartwright, Lamb’s lickety-split sidekick, while Jonathan Pryce perfectly offsets him as his wise, steady grandfather, himself an experienced former agent.”

Jeff York (The Establishing Shot) observed: “Jonathan Pryce plays River’s legendary spy of a father, yet he’s hardly a loving or supportive papa. Instead, he’s almost as prickly as Lamb, and seemingly, just as secretive as everyone else on the show. You never quite know whom to trust, but for certain, the entire cast is having a field day playing such secretive folk.”

We think Pryce has a great shot at landing a nomination for Best Drama Guest Actor. Currently, our predicted nominees in this category are Nestor Carbonell (“Shōgun”), John Turturro (“Mr. And Mrs. Smith”), Michael Emerson (“Fallout”), Kyle MacLachlan (“Fallout”), and Paul Dano (“Mr. And Mrs. Smith”). However, Pryce is right on the precipice and could easily break into this lineup.

Drama Guest Actor is often populated by veteran actors like Pryce with the likes of James Cromwell (“Succession”), Carl Weathers (“The Mandalorian”), Charles Dance (“The Crown”), Courtney B. Vance (“Lovecraft Country”), Gerald McRaney (“This Is Us”), and F. Murray Abraham (“Homeland”) all receiving nominations.

We are also predicting that “Slow Horses” will be nominated for Best Drama Series, Best Drama Actor for Gary Oldman, and Best Drama Supporting Actress for Kristin Scott Thomas. Meanwhile, Lowden is on the bubble of landing a Best Drama Supporting Actor bid. These are some major nominations so it would make sense for Pryce to be taken along for the ride and receive a Drama Guest Actor nomination.

These two nominations could be Pryce’s third and fourth Emmy citations. His previous two nominations both came for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor — in 1993 for “Barbarians at the Gate” and in 2010 for “Return to Cranford.” We think he will make a comeback to the Emmys after 14 years with at least one bid. And, good news, Drama Supporting Actor is a good category to make a comeback in.

Michael Imperioli was nominated for five Emmys for “The Sopranos” from 2001-2007 before then going on a 17-year Emmy absence. He made an Emmys return in 2023 thanks to this category when he picked up a bid for “The White Lotus.” Christopher Walken was nominated for an Emmy in 1991 for “Sarah, Plain and Tall.” He was then nominated 31 years later in 2022, when he was cited in this category for “Severance.” Jeffrey Wright won his only Emmy in 2004 for “Angels in America.” He was next nominated 13 years later in 2017 in this category for “Westworld.”

Plus, the combination of Drama Supporting Actor and Drama Guest Actor has actually been accomplished before, so the precedence is there. Giancarlo Esposito was nominated for both awards in 2020. His nomination for Drama Supporting Actor came for “Better Call Saul” while he was cited for Drama Guest Actor for “The Mandalorian.” Pryce could follow in Esposito’s footsteps with “The Crown” and “Slow Horses.”

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