Martin just seemed naturally presidential, and I don't think the Emmy voters thought he was acting.
It was so wrong that he was not honored for his Jed Bartlet. "Two Cathdrals" was as good as it gets.
🎭All the world is a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.
No TWW Actor ever won an Emmy in the Lead Actor category, though Allison Janney did win two Lead Actress Emmys. The four male actors who won Emmys did so in the Supporting Actor category.
Neither Rob Lowe nor Martin Sheen were nominated for Emmys as Supporting Actors, and the strong perception of the show as the product of an ensemble cast may have weighed against their success in the Lead Actor category. Although a particular character in an ensemble may be featured in individual episodes, that is generally insufficient to characterize any specific male character as a lead. On the other hand, it might be a conceptually difficult to nominate the actor playing the President of the United States as playing a supporting role.
The Lead Actor category is much more suited to movies. In television, the characterization is a poorly defined conclusion based on the status of the actor, the relative importance of the character and frequency and duration of the character's appearance.
If Martin Sheen had been a Guest Actor in any of several episodes, he might have easily won in that category. He was trapped by circumstance.
I hated James Gandalfini for the whole run of the West Wing for stifling Martin Sheen's access to an Emmy , especially , as Lmayberry says, in season 2.
But then I watched the Sopranos, and my goodness the acting was extraordinary, and Gandalfini was giving such great rich performances, expecially in his duets with Lorraine Branco, and Edie Falco.
Martin Sheen had two extraordinary movie roles, a great, highly honored TVseries and a distinguished career. I think he's a balanced enough man to be content with that.
It was a toss-up whether I go in for diamonds or sing in the choir. The choir lost.