Michael Pitt, "Boardwalk Empire"

Nomination Status: I still don't understand how he didn't get a nomination last year. It may be too hard for him to crack the field now.

In His Favor: After deserving a nomination for the first season of "Boardwalk Empire," Pitt got the spotlight for much of Season Two and ran with it. Jimmy's betrayal of surrogate father Nucky and his subsequent rise to to a very tenuous position of shady authority was the season's driving arc and Pitt's work, especially in the last two episodes, can stand up with the best in this category.

Working Against Him: Despite all of the awards momentum for "Boardwalk Empire" last year, Pitt didn't earn a single individual nomination from any major award-giving group. Just because Pitt was probably better in Season Two doesn't mean that he's likely to snag a place.