‘Sugar’ will serve up Emmy nomination #8 for James Cromwell

Jacob Sarkisian
·4 min read
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James Cromwell has delivered another masterclass in character acting with his new TV show, Apple TV’s neo-noir detective drama “Sugar.”

Starring Colin Farrell in the lead role, “Sugar” follows a private investigator who dives into the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegal, the granddaughter of a famous, legendary Hollywood producer — Jonathan Siegel. It’s Cromwell who plays the producer Siegel and he once again proves what a terrific force he is on screen. Capable of gentility and intelligence as well as a commanding, brutish force, Cromwell is always reliably brilliant.

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Matthew Jackson (Looper) stated: “As great as Colin Farrell is, Sugar’s not the only interesting face in this story… James Cromwell is predictably wonderful as an old man who’s lost all sense of caring about the world but hasn’t lost his love for his granddaughter.”

Kyle Mullen (Under the Radar) observed: “The king of character actors, James Cromwell, who gives a wisened performance that ranks among his head-turning recent guest spot on ‘Succession’ or even his Oscar-nominated part in ‘Babe.’ Here, Cromwell’s Siegel is soft-spoken but doesn’t mince words while describing his disdain for his son and grandson, who he’s certain are involved in granddaughter Olivia’s disappearance. There’s an instant, easy warmth in Cromwell and Farrell’s exchanges, making their dialogue go down smooth even though it doubles as exposition that’d grow dull if uttered by lesser actors.”

Ben Pearson (Slash Film) declared: “I got great joy out of watching Farrell and the show’s terrific supporting cast — Amy Ryan, James Cromwell, Kirby (formerly known as Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Anna Gunn, and Nate Cordrry — slip into these parts and roll around in the milieu of a modern noir story, but it’s the overt links to the past that make it stand out from its contemporaries.”

Cromwell is, therefore, well in the hunt for another Emmy nomination. However, our current predicted nominees for Best Drama Supporting Actor are Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”), Jon Hamm (“The Morning Show”), Jonathan Pryce (“The Crown”), Tadanobu Asano (“Shōgun”), Khalid Abdalla (“The Crown”), Nathan Lane (“The Gilded Age”), Takehiro Hira (“Shōgun”), and Ke Huy Quan (“Loki”).

But Cromwell is a legendary actor with a sterling Emmy history. He has amassed seven nominations to his name so far, beginning with his first nomination in 2000 for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor for “RKO 281.” He then earned two Best Drama Guest Actor nominations — in 2001 for “ER” and in 2003 for “Six Feet Under.” He won his sole Emmy in 2013 for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor for “American Horror Story: Asylum” before he racked up three further Best Drama Guest Actor citations for “Succession” in 2020, 2022, and 2023. Cromwell doesn’t just have a great Emmys record, he also has recent nominations thanks to “Succession.” That keeps him firmly in the mind of voters as an easy person to vote for.

Plenty of performers with similarly extensive Emmys records have been nominated in this category, too, including Michael Imperioli (“The White Lotus”), Bradley Whitford (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), John Lithgow (“Perry Mason”), Jonathan Banks (“Breaking Bad”), and Mandy Patinkin (“Homeland”),

Emmy voters also love veterans like Cromwell in this category, with the likes of  Whitford (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Lithgow (“Perry Mason”), Patinkin (“Homeland”), F. Murray Abraham (“The White Lotus”), Christopher Walken (“Severance”), O Yeong-su (“Squid Game”), and Jim Carter (“Downton Abbey”) all earning nominations here. In particular, Abraham and Walken seem to be most comparable to Cromwell here. They are all veteran performers and Oscar nominees (or, in Abraham’s case, Oscar winners) who turned in eclectic performances late on in their careers in key supporting roles in popular, hit shows. Cromwell would fit right in here.

And, if all of that wasn’t enough, Emmy voters are also partial to crime shows with plenty of supporting actors receiving nominations for their performances in crime shows. Lithgow (“Perry Mason”), Banks (“Better Call Saul”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Better Call Saul”), Jon Voight (“Ray Donovan”), Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”), and Banks (“Breaking Bad”) were all nominated for their work in this genre.

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