Anson Mount's Star Trek performance was Golden Globe-worthy
So, why didn’t Anson Mount receive a Golden Globe nomination? Surely, those behind the scenes of the awards ceremony aren’t holding onto a displeasure of that awful Britney Spears’ flick Crossroads. By the way, Mount's performance is the best acting featured in that movie, in which another Star Trek fixture, Zoe Saldana, appears. too.
Over the years, if anyone ever questioned Mount’s acting abilities outside of Strange New Worlds, they were clearly answered by his time in Hell on Wheels. However, if you watched season 3 of SNW, you already know Mount commands the screen from the very first scene of episode 1, "Hegemony, Part II." Engaged with the Gorn in a fierce firefight, which turns into a game of chicken, the script does the veteran actor absolutely no favors. Fortunately, Mount doesn't need any assistance from the weakly written opening lines of the teleplay.
Rather, Mount relies on his facial expressions and muscle movement to accentuate subpar lines that anyone could have memorized with a few moments to spare in their day. The lack of any meaningful dialogue here doesn't end up mattering, though, because Mount's non-verbal acting is palpable.
On a bridge full of crew members, audiences' eyes are fixated on Captain Pike because Mount took the time to prepare, make the right acting choices, and turn nothing on the page into everything on the screen. Mount's ability to generate a stage presence under those circumstances alone make him worthy of Golden Globe consideration because he does this sort of exemplary work ALL THE TIME on the show — and it's not easy, folks.
Bookend that first scene with the final one in which Captain Pike's emotionally charged interaction with the woman he loves, Marie Batel, requires Mount to bring his A-game, and he does. Pike has already gone through a hellish ordeal commanding the Enterprise throughout "Hegemony, Part II," all the while knowing that Marie is fighting for her life against the Gorn infection in sickbay.
Mount should have been nominated right here in this moment, which is only the first of 10 episodes from season 3. The way he throws his emotional switch from the calm, cool, and collected captain of the USS Enterprise to the teary eyed, vulnerable lover, who can't think of losing someone so dear, hits harder than any phaser set to kill.
Pike utters a plea to his father and then a prayer to God, while Mount utilizes his superlative acting techniques to convey every last ounce of humanity and dignity having been stripped away from not a Starfleet commander, but from someone staring at the motionless body of his lover and questioning why is this happening — in what seems to be one of Pike's darkest hours.
"Chris?" Marie speaks softly and finally imbues Pike to breathe again. Every nuance, every facial tic, enhances how Mount peers at his co-star, and those acting choices make you forget that you're only watching a streaming series. Here, unlike before, Mount gets an assist from the script and all but permeates his lines in a way that is so reminiscent to the verbal passion Robert Redford created when he was arguing about people being more important than their principles in The Way We Were.
After some discussion about Number One helping in Marie's recovery, Pike focuses on what is most important. "So, we can sit here and argue about what might or what might not happen in the future, or you can just set all that aside and let me hold you," Pike implores with tears in his eyes. "I really don't want to lose you." Melanie Scrofano (Marie) is an excellent scene partner, and I damn near expected her to brush her fingers through Mount's hair the same way Barbra Streisand did to Redford in The Way We Were.
Yes, this Star Trek scene is that emotional, and you can thank Anson Mount for honing his craft and pulling off some unforgettable on-screen magic. So, I don't care how disappointed some fans were with SNW season 3, the two scenes I have focused my argument on should have resulted in Mount receiving a Golden Globe nod all on their own. (Continued...)