2015 Emmy Nomination Predictions: Best Actor in a Drama Series

2015 Nomination Predictions
Kyle Chandler "Bloodline"
Jeff Daniels "The Newsroom"
Jon Hamm "Mad Men"
Terrence Howard "Empire"
Bob Odenkirk "Better Call Saul"
Kevin Spacey "House of Cards"

Other Contenders - Clive Owen "The Knick", Matthew Rhys "The Americans", Hugh Bonneville "Downton Abbey", James Spader "The Blacklist", Steve Buscemi "Boardwalk Empire", Michael Sheen "Masters of Sex", Timothy Olyphant "Justified", Charlie Hunnam "Sons of Anarchy", Lee Pace "Halt and Catch Fire", Andrew Lincoln "TheWalking Dead", David Tennant "Broadchurch", Travis Fimmel "Vikings", Liev Schreiber "Ray Donovan", Jeremy Piven "Mr. Selfridge", Freddie Highmore "Bates Motel", Charlie Cox "Daredevil", Ben McKenzie "Gotham", Timothy Dalton "Penny Dreadful", Josh Hartnett "Penny Dreadful", Justin Theroux "The Leftovers", Jamie Bell "TURN", Aden Young "Rectify", John Benjamin Hickey "Manhattan", Patrick J. Adams "Suits", Simon Baker "The Mentalist", Kevin Bacon "The Following", Demian Bichir "The Bridge", Matt Bomer "White Collar", Ted Danson "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", Grant Gustin "The Flash", Taye Diggs "Murder in the First", Michael Emerson "Person of Interest", Clark Gregg "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", Aaron Stanford "12 Monkeys"

Commentary - After the chaos of Best Actress, this race feels a bit more tame, despite some stiff competition among the ranks. With Bryan Cranston, Matthew McConaughey, and Bryan Cranston all gone from this race, there is a huge void to fill. I fully expect Jeff Daniels to return as well, despite a muted third and final season for The Newsroom. He is a well-liked actor, a previous winner, and if he could beat out some of the competition he did the last two season to be nominated and win, I don't see how he doesn't get in this year. Bob Odenkirk won the CCTA, and fills like the perfect fit to fill in the Bryan Cranston slot. That still leaves two. Terrence Howard was a force on Empire this season, the biggest hit of the year. He held his own against Taraji P. Henson, and I think both will be rewarded for their work. Finally, I know that I have left a lot of the cast from Bloodline out of the ranks, but as I said in a previous post, I think that if anyone from the cast can get in it is Kyle Chandler. Clive Owen is right there for The Knick, Matthew Rhys should be in the conversation, James Spader could make an Emmy comeback for a stellar season 2 of The Blacklist, Michael Sheen, Steve Buscemi, Timothy Olyphant, and Travis Fimmel are all ones to watch for. But I think that Emmy favorite Kyle Chandler overcomes the dying buzz for his show and grabs a slot in this race.