There’s no shortage of Donald Trump impressions in the media these days, some great, some questionable. Alec Baldwin won an Emmy for his hilarious portrayal of the president as an unhinged buffoon on “Saturday Night Live.” The latest in what will likely be a long string of portrayals over the next few years comes from Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, who is chilling as a scheming, impulsive presidential candidate turned president-elect in Showtime‘s “The Comey Rule.”
Jeff Daniels stars as FBI Director James Comey opposite Gleeson as Trump in this two-part event series that tells the story of two powerful men whose strikingly different ethics and loyalties put them on a collision course. Based on Comey’s tell-all book “A Higher Loyalty,” which was adapted by writer and director Billy Ray (“Captain Phillips” and “Richard Jewell”), it is a riveting exposé on the controversial role played by Comey and the FBI in shaping the events that led up to Trump’s surprise election victory and Comey’s ultimate firing.
Critics have singled out Gleeson’s performance for praise. Adam Graham (Detroit Daily News) notes that “actors will no doubt be biting into the role of Trump for years to come, but to top Gleeson they’ll have to do a a heck of a lot of chewing.” Nell Minnow (RogerEbert.com) admires the actor for “skillfully avoiding caricature, a challenge for a real-life character of excesses and exaggerations.”
“The Comey Rule” was also a ratings hit, seen by over one million viewers (cable and streaming) for its premiere, which made it the network’s highest rated limited series debut. Will that translate to success at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards and next year’s Emmys?
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Expect the Golden Globes to embrace the series like they did Showtime’s other exposé, the Roger Ailes limited series “The Loudest Voice,” for which Russell Crowe won Best TV Movie/Limited Actor earlier this year. It’s tough to anticipate how Gleeson might do since he’ll be competing in the supporting category, where actors in TV movies, limited series, dramas and comedies are all grouped together.
But Gleeson is well liked by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that doles out the Globes. they have nominated him three times before: twice for Best Film Comedy/Musical Actor for “In Bruges” (2008) and “The Guard” (2011), and once for Best TV Movie/Limited Actor for playing another instantly recognizable world leader, Winston Churchill, in the 2009 telefilm “Into the Storm.”
At the SAG Awards, lead and supporting performances are combined into one acting category, so there are only two TV movie/limited series prizes (one for male actors and one for female actors, but none for ensembles). That makes it tougher for any program to break through, and Gleeson has never been nominated before by the guild, but don’t count out an admired character actor giving a showy performance as a politician during an election year. Bryan Cranson won a SAG Award just a few years ago for playing President Lyndon Johnson in the 2016 telefilm “All the Way.”
When it comes to the Emmys, “The Comey Rule” could be a dark horse contender in limited series categories, which are already starting to look pretty crowded, overflowing with highly anticipated contenders like HBO’s upcoming “The Undoing,” “The Nevers” and “The Gilded Age.” But Gleeson has already won an Emmy for his aforementioned performance as larger-than-life Churchill in “Into the Storm.” Mark this down as a super-early prediction: Emmy voters will give Gleeson an Emmy bookend for playing Trump this time next year.
And TV academy members really love when actors play real politicians, like Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin (“Game Change”), Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy (“The Kennedys”), Paul Giamatti as John Adams (“John Adams”), as well as all of those “Saturday Night Live” stars: Baldwin, Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton, Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer, Tina Fey as Palin and this year Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris. Will this dramatic rendering of Trump appeal to voters as much as Baldwin’s comedic spin? If so, that’ll be two more Emmys than Trump himself has ever won.
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