Once in Love With Emmy

It's Itzin's Hour. Tonight’s Emmy Award nominees include an old theatre colleague, Greg Itzin, for his role as President Logan in FOX’s ’24.’ Itzin was critical to ‘24’s’ breakout year, in which it received 12 Emmy nominations to lead the series category. When I ran into Greg at a recent Ahmanson opening, he was the only actor among a plaza full of them, posing for pictures with fans. When I joked that he had take well to being famous, he beamed and admitted – “Loving it. Having the time of my life!” His character, who changes from a forgettable vice president to a forgettable president with behavior that doesn’t mesh with a veteran of campaigning, is explained in a mid-season plot twist as the most conflicted character in the show’s history. Suddenly he – and his First Lady Jean Smart – were at the center of a Shakespearean maelstrom. As is the case with every moment of this show – the one series I know – the entire enterprise would collapse under its own cartoon logic if it weren’t for these great actors making their characters so believable. And Itzin's character will hopefully triumph over a final round of candidates – William Shatner of "Boston Legal," Oliver Platt of ‘Huff,’ Michael Imperioli of ‘The Sopranos,’ and Alan Alda of ‘The West Wing.’ This time, however, he shouldn't need to resort to subversion.
Photo: Jean Smart and Gregory Itzin