Emmy FYC: Eva Green and Christian Camargo, "Penny Dreadful"

Team Experience shares their dream Emmy nominations. Consider it an FYC as nomination ballots are out...

by Dancin' Dan

Showtime's now cancelled gothic horror show Penny Dreadful has never been one to receive much awards love, even when it should have been (has there been a better villain on any television show in recent memory than Helen McCrory's Evelyn Poole in the show's second season?). Part of this had to do with timing: Airing always began around June, near the time the Emmy nominations for the previous season were voted on, meaning that by the next nominating period, it was long forgotten. The other part is the nature of the show itself. Emmy has rarely favored genre shows, much less ones as bloody and occasionally over-the-top as this.

Sadly this has meant that the series's leading lady, Eva Green, has been ignored despite giving the most committed, most fearless, and best performance on television...

The show's third (and final) season, which aired a full year ago, was no exception for Green, especially in the showcase fourth episode, "A Blade of Grass", in which Green's Vanessa Ives goes on an extended flashback (through hypnosis at the hands of her therapist, an Emmy-worthy Patti LuPone) to the five months she spent in the padded cell of the Banning Asylum. In this episode, Green achieves a bone-deep, feral despair that never feels anything less than horrifyingly real, despite being over-the-top. It's arguably the most stunning work she's done on the show, which is saying something!

Outside of that episode, Green is just as stellar, as she battles to either accept or banish the darkness inside her even if it may mean her own death and indeed, the end of the world itself. We even see her totally disarmed by the charm's of one of the third season's new recurring cast members, Christian Camargo's Doctor Sweet.

Like Green, Camargo understands the stylization required by the material of Penny Dreadful, and fully commits to it. He doesn't just let the show's stunning production design do the work, even though he very easily could, given that the character's main haunt is the natural history museum, surrounded by specimens of deadly creatures. The show wastes almost no time in revealing Doctor Sweet's true identity: He is indeed Dracula, the brother of Lucifer who loves and has been hunting Vanessa with the goal of making her his bride. Camargo walks the thin line between menacing figure and protective lover with surprising ease, making it all too easy to see why Vanessa is falling for him despite the clues being hidden in plain sight. He makes the plight of Dracula, of all people, seem relatable - no mean feat! And when Vanessa does finally give in to him, both actors capture every reason for her doing so: Camargo is effortlessly, disarmingly direct about his intentions, and Green reveals the lost girl at the end of her rope, someone who needs what this dark spirit is offering to her more than anything else, because she is just too tired of hiding and hurting.

Acting in a genre show is tricky. You have to make quite fantastical things feel not only relatable, but real. In the third season of Penny Dreadful, both Green and Camargo managed to do that more effortlessly than performers on some straight dramas manage with very real-world problems! Given that the season ended with the surprise that it was indeed the last for the show (kudos to creator John Logan for not drawing it out past its expiration date), this is the last time Emmy voters can reward Green's consistently excellent, high-degree-of-difficulty work. Isn't it about time they spice things up a little? Rewarding one of the most outré shows on TV would be the best kind of shock, and these two performers are more than worthy.

Other FYCs 
Music for Big Little Lies
Samira Wiley in Orange is the New Black
Judith Light in Transparent
Master of None for Best Comedy
Comedy Moms in Best Actress
The Americans for Best Drama
Aubrey Plaza in Legion
Justin Theroux in The Leftovers  
Difficult People for Best Comedy

Comments

[Anonny]

I adore Eva Green. So underrated and yes she's great on this show.

[Mareko]

Is Eva Green ever *not* best (or near best) in show? Her reward is in heaven, I suppose.

[catbaskets]

I hope that your multi-year campaigning will contribute to a much-deserved tribute nomination this year. Such a fearless actress doing committed, compelling work in such a weird and rich show. It feels destined to become iconic.

[Mirko]

I love Eva in PENNY. I will always cherish that GG nomination

[Craig]

Eva Green, Keri Russell and Tatiana Maslany have been the three most underappreciated actresses with regards to Emmy -- even though all three of their dramatic characterizations are heads above the rest of their peers. At least Maslany has her Emmy. And let's hope Green can continue to be casted in roles that showcase her talents.