Emmys spotlight: Aaron Pierre is powerful presence in ‘Genius: MLK/X’
National Geographic’s anthology series “Genius” portrays the inner lives of some of history’s most important figures, with previous seasons focused on Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, and Aretha Franklin. This fourth season doubles down on its love of historical figures with portrayals of two civil rights leaders: Martin Luther King Jr. (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and Malcolm X (Aaron Pierre). Both actors are sublime in their portrayals of these iconic men and British thespian Pierre, in particular, displayed a commanding screen presence that critics flocked to admire.
M. N. Miller (Geek Vibes Nation) explained: “Then you have Pierre, who brings an extraordinary mix to his character. His turn can be smooth and charming while also being dignified and showing sober honesty. Which is in contrast to previous depictions of the influential figure and speaker. Again, Parks humanizes these men; the main reason is so we can see past the history books to see how ordinary men (of genius) can change history.”
Brian Lowry (CNN) observed: “The performances do justice to the principals, with Pierre – a British actor recently featured in the independent film ‘Foe’ as well as ‘The Underground Railroad’ – particularly good in capturing Malcolm’s quiet intensity and the change that overcame him thanks to his prison conversion to Islam.”
Aramide Tinubu (Variety) opined: “It’s always burdensome to portray well-known figures. Yet, Harrison Jr. and Pierre are more than up for the task. The actors have mastered the cadence of the activists’ speech, gait and even their projecting of the fear and paranoia that comes with living under surveillance, and the constant threat of violence. Stepping beyond the outward stoicism the men displayed to the world, the joys of new love, ice cream and the tenderness of fatherhood are abundant here. In the careful hands of these actors, Malcolm X and Dr. King become tangible.”
Pierre is a strong contender for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor alongside co-star Harrison. You might think that the fact that Pierre competing for a bid here alongside his co-star could hurt his or both of those chances, but that isn’t the case. Emmy voters have often nominated two men from the same show in this category, including Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. (“Hamilton”), Riz Ahmed and John Turturro (“The Night Of”), Courtney B. Vance and Tom Hiddleston (“The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story”), and Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton (“Fargo”). Pierre and Harrison could be the latest duo to both earn citations here.
Pierre is also an up-and-coming star whose stock is quickly rising. Emmy voters like to reward actors in breakout roles with nominations in this category. Recent such nominees include Himesh Patel (“Station Eleven”), Jeremy Pope (“Hollywood”), Paul Mescal (“Normal People”), and Ahmed (“The Night Of”). At the time of their nominations, Patel and Ahmed were two young British actors who had appeared in several British TV shows and had gone on to become known by US audiences with the breakout shows they were nominated for. Pierre fits this pattern, too.
Portraying Malcolm X has often been met with rapturous applause from awards groups if the actor gets it right. Denzel Washington was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for playing the man in Spike Lee’s 1992 movie “Malcolm X.” On the TV side of things, Al Freeman Jr. was nominated for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor for the 1979 miniseries “Roots: The Next Generation.”
This particular Emmy category often nominates actors for portraying real people, too, including Sebastian Stan (“Pam & Tommy”), Colin Firth (“The Staircase”), Ewan McGregor (“Halston”), Sam Rockwell (“Fosse/Verdon”), and Hugh Grant (“A Very English Scandal”). In fact, five of last year’s six nominees were cited for depicting real people: Daniel Radcliffe (“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story”), Michael Shannon (“George & Tammy”), Evan Peters (“Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”), Taron Egerton (“Black Bird”), and Kumail Nanjiani (“Welcome to Chippendales”). The other nominee was Steven Yeun (“Beef”).
Emmy voters also love to nominate performers in this category for playing major, important historical figures such as Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, respectively, (“Hamilton”), Bryan Cranston as Lyndon B. Johnson (“All the Way”), Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell (“Wolf Hall”), Clive Owen as Ernest Hemingway (“Hemingway & Gelhorn”), and Greg Kinnear and Barry Pepper as John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy (“The Kennedys”).
We also know that Emmy voters love “Genius” in particular: every single season of “Genius” so far has had its leading actor nominated. These were Geoffrey Rush (“Einstein”), Antonio Banderas (“Picasso”), and Cynthia Erivo (“Aretha Franklin”). It would make sense for Pierre (and possibly Harrison, too) to follow.
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