EMMY PREDICTION: Younger Actress

1st time nominee Ainsworth for the WIN!

There is no doubt about it. 2 of the 3 actress’ nominated should be here. Brittany Allen, I am sorry, but this is the academy throwing AMC a pity nomination!

BAITIEST MATERIAL: Lexi Ainsworth, GH

BEST ACTRESS: Emily O’Brien, Y&R

So why is O’Brien NOT my frontrunner? Easy! Screaming for 5 minutes, does not win you an EMMY. Offering the academy 5 minutes of screen time to represent your years work does not with you an EMMY. Trapped, kidnapped, and pleading for freedom should be the perfect recipe for a high drama submission.  It's a shame this reel is too short to sustain any definite arc or any momentum for the performer.  O'Brien works with what she has and tries to bring the material to life. There is a lot of screaming, pleading, and tears. Should this reel have been double the length, O’Brien would have been given the opportunity to deliver a more layered performance.

Brittany Allen...how I cringed watching your reel, not because you can’t act – you do have a certain level of skill, but the God awful writing speaks volumes! "I cheated. I cheated. I'm sorry, I misconstrued a situation and had sex with your worst enemy." First off, people watch soaps to escape reality, but to say a the situation was ‘misconstructed’?! Really? Who says that? Lazy writers, who recycle plots. Secondly, how many times must voters be subjected to the same boring, tired stories. In the last decade, how many actress’ have submitted the same material!  If you answered, “too many”, you got that right! As a result, Allen brings nothing to the table. She plays it all too safe and does not hit any levels of subtlety or subtext.  The tears are there, so is the pleading look in her eyes but in the end this reel starts in a tepid place and ends up in a lesser place.    

Last, but not least, our likely winner, Ainsworth! While her competition is busy ACTING, Lexi takes a step back and plays all the smaller moments to perfection. Ainsworth shines as her character tells her parents about her abusive relationship, the shame that came with it, and the inadequacies that fuelled her desire for it.  This is a reel that knocks you out with true and heart-felt emotion.