Jeff Daniels is always a reliably excellent performer whether its in comedy or drama, TV or film, and the veteran actor has turned in another masterclass performance in Netflix’s “A Man in Full.”
Adapted from Tom Wolfe‘s novel of the same name and created by “Big Little Lies” helmer David E. Kelley, “A Man in Full” follows Daniels as real estate mogul Charlie Croker, who tries to protect his empire and legacy from crumbling when he falls into sudden bankruptcy. Daniels dominated the screen here, chewing scenery, spitting it out with venom, and then re-chewing the scenery some more. Whatever you may think of the show, Daniels is never anything less than ferociously good, as noted by critics.
Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) wrote that the show “struts about with swaggering ferocity, led by Jeff Daniels’ full-bodied performance as a blustery, bloviating capitalist predator… ego is both a perpetual necessity and a potential liability in Kelley’s series. It’s certainly both for Charlie, whom Daniels embodies as a rip-roaring king of industry who suffers no one lightly, never backs down from a fight, and believes that there’s nothing worse than appearing weak… Daniels chews scenery with larger-than-life gusto, lending the action the titanic attitude it demands.”
Dominic Patten (Deadline) opined: “Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane rarely put in anything less than stellar performances, but the Emmy winner and Oscar nominee are rarely as good as they are in Netflix‘s adaptation of Tom Wolfe‘s ‘A Man in Full’… the never better Daniels as a pugnacious Atlanta real estate tycoon Charlie Croker on the brink of bankruptcy.”
Richard Roeper (Chicago Sun-Times) explained that the show succeeded “with a perfectly cast Jeff Daniels turning in a world-class performance as the powerful and obscenely wealthy but beleaguered real estate tycoon Charlie Croker.”
Currently, our predicted six nominees for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor are Jon Hamm (“Fargo”), Andrew Scott (“Ripley”), Richard Gadd (“Baby Reindeer”), Tom Hollander (“Feud: Capote vs the Swans”), Matt Bomer (“Fellow Travelers”), and Tony Shalhoub (“Mr. Monk’s Last Case”). But Daniels is an actor with a healthy Emmys history.
He was nominated for Best Drama Actor in 2013, 2014, and 2015 for Aaron Sorkin‘s “The Newsroom,” winning in 2013. He then picked up a Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor citation for “The Looming Tower” in 2018, the same year he won Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor for “Godless.” This is a respected thespian who is deeply admired by Emmy voters. The fact that he has been nominated twice for limited series, winning once, is a good sign, too. Voters like him in these categories.
Daniels is also a veteran actor, a profile of performer we know Emmy voters like to nominate in this category. Colin Firth (“The Staircase”), Michael Keaton (“Dopesick”), Hugh Grant (“The Undoing” and “A Very English Scandal”), Jeremy Irons (“Watchmen”), Jared Harris (“Chernobyl”), Antonio Banderas (“Genius: Picasso”), John Turturro (“The Night Of”), Geoffrey Rush (“Genius: Einstein”), and Robert De Niro (“The Wizard of Lies”) are all veterans who have earned citations for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor in recent years.
Daniels also portrays a somewhat villainous character. He may not exactly be evil but he is certainly unlikable at times and this sort of character — a scenery-chewing, game-playing, morally grey quasi-villain — is often nominated in this category. The likes of Kumail Nanjiani (“Welcome to Chippendales”), Ewan McGregor (“Halston”), Grant (“A Very English Scandal”), and De Niro (“The Wizard of Lies”) have all been nominated for similar roles.
Plus, this is a high-profile adaptation of an acclaimed novel. Actors have often been nominated in this category for starring in adaptations like these, such as Himesh Patel (“Station Eleven”), Andrew Garfield (“Under the Banner of Heaven”), Paul Mescal (“Normal People”), Benedict Cumberbatch (“Patrick Melrose”), Tom Hiddleston (“The Night Manager”), and Cumberbatch again in four different “Sherlock Holmes” projects.
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