Let’s get serious for a moment, Emmy voters. Below you’ll find the penultimate installment of my 2009 Dream Emmy Ballot, this one focused on two of this year’s most competitive categories — lead actor and actress in a drama series. (My suggestions for outstanding comedy and drama series will be posted tomorrow.) Please use this list of recommendations as your own personal cheat sheet when the real balloting process begins next week. Sound good? Cool. Oh, and I will be checking my picks against the official nominations when they come out on July 16. You know, just to see if you copied correctly.

Best Actor (Drama)
•    Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment): He bared his soul as his shrink got shrunk.
•    Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights): The series’ heart and soul never punts. Ever.
•    Michael Chiklis (The Shield): He made his character sympathetic right down to his final despicable act. That’s art.
•    Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad): I’m not a fan of reruns, but c’mon, last year’s winner deserves a repeat. 
•    Hugh Laurie (House): He kissed Cuddy, lost Kutner, saw dead people, and got committed. ‘Nuff said.
•    Denis Leary (Rescue Me): Fired up about the show’s creative resurgence? Thank the guy who fanned the flame.

Best Actress (Drama)
•    January Jones (Mad Men): Played the ultimate desperate housewife with remarkable restraint.
•    Regina King (Southland): Her complicated, compassionate cop is the standout in a top-notch ensemble.
•    Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love): When her devout character was excommunicated, it was a religious experience for me, too!
•    Glenn Close (Damages): So sharp, she cut clean through a scattered season 2.
•    Evangeline Lilly (Lost): She parted ways with "son" Aaron and delivered the mother of all performances.
•    Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men): Masterfully conveyed the quiet pain of giving up a child.

Dream Emmy Ballot Part 1: Best Supporting Actor and Actress (comedy)
Dream Emmy Ballot Part 2: Best Supporting Actor and Actress (drama)
Dream Emmy Ballot Part 3: Best Lead Actor and Actress (comedy)

addCredit(“Chandler: Bill Records/NBC; Lilly: Art Streiber/ABC; King: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC; Chiklis: Prashant Gupta/FX”)

Hey, Emmy voters, tired of me yet? No? Good, because we still have six more categories to get through, including the two below — lead actor and actress in a comedy. (My suggestions for lead actor and actress in a drama will be posted later this evening, followed by outstanding comedy series and drama series tomorrow.) To recap: Use this list of recommendations as your guide when the balloting process gets underway next week. I’ll be checking to see how closely you paid attention when the nods come out on July 16.

Best Lead Actor (Comedy)
•    Alec Baldwin (30 Rock): Ironically, he soared by bringing his loopy character down to earth.
•    Kyle Bornheimer (Worst Week): The (super-funny) show didn’t last. But let’s keep its Everyman star as a souvenir.
•    Steve Carell (The Office): With the help of Amy Ryan’s Holly, he gave Michael some heart and depth.
•    Zachary Levi (Chuck): Who else shifts as easily between comedy, drama, and kung fu? That’s right, no one.
•    Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory): Revenge of the nerd!
•    James Roday (Psych): My sixth sense says this is the underrated comic’s year.

Best Lead Actress (Comedy)
•    Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?) Made trying to be good look good.
•    Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory): Only a real dork would write her off as just another pretty face.
•    America Ferrera (Ugly Betty): Deserves major props for hiding the series’ signs of wear. Without a poncho, even!
•    Tina Fey (30 Rock): I want her to go to there. Again.
•    Joanna Garcia (Privileged): If Emmy didn’t shun The CW, it’d admit it loved Garcia.
•    Eva Longoria-Parker (Desperate Housewives): The most unsung member
of the ensemble is also its funniest. Let’s give her some love.

Dream Emmy Ballot Part 1: Best Supporting Actor and Actress (comedy)
Dream Emmy Ballot Part 2: Best Supporting Actor and Actress (drama)

Think my job is easy? You try narrowing down the potential nominees for the best supporting actress in a drama Emmy to just six finalists. I could make the case for at least a dozen candidates, but alas, Emmy rules allow for only half that many (I stretched it to a seventh, because I literally could not eliminate any of the women below). And the supporting actor category wasn’t exactly a cakewalk, either. Anyway, you know the drill, voters: Use this list of recommendations as your guide when the balloting process gets underway next week. We’ll see how closely you paid attention when the nods come out on July 16. (Coming up tomorrow: my picks for best lead actor and actress in a comedy and drama.)

Best Supporting Actress (Drama)
* Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights): Episode 8. When her character
realizes she isn’t going to be getting her new dream home. Excitement.
Desperation. Resignation. All in three minutes. She deserves her own
category.

* Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love): It’d be easy to overlook her sunny character as mere comic relief. Easy and wrong.
* Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy): Though the cancer arc tested my
patience, damned if she didn’t sell the material like her life depended
on it. (Memo to Shonda Rhimes: As such, please don’t kill her off.)
* Christina Hendricks (Mad Men): If it takes a strong woman to show her
soft side, this one’s Hercules in heels. Hers is my favorite Mad Men character
by far.
* Alison Pill (In Treatment): As a young cancer patient purging her soul, she was part sad, part inspiring, all perfection.
* CCH Pounder (The Shield): She fought two evil foes (lupus, Mackey) with
fierce determination. If Mackey was this show’s driving force,
Claudette was its secret weapon.   
* Chloe Sevigny (Big Love): The sneakier her character got, the more I wanted to give her a hug. Oh, and an Emmy!

Best Supporting Actor (Drama)
* Walton Goggins (The Shield): Right down to his character’s dying breath, he kept us gasping in awe. A mesmerizing performance.
* Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad): Slowly stepping out of Bryan Cranston’s
shadow, he revealed himself to be a powerhouse actor in his own right.
* John Noble (Fringe): You know how the show kinda feels familiar? Well,
there’s nothing familiar about Noble’s kooky, quirky scientist.
* Jeremy Davies (Lost): As the show was nearly swallowed up by mythology, he supplied much of the heart that kept us invested.
* Ryan Kwanten (True Blood): Yes, he’s pretty. He’s also pretty amazing.
(You can argue with me after you’ve played an extended-erection subplot
with the kind of go-for-broke abandon that he did.)
* Jon Voight (24): The acting vet’s challenge: Play a power hungry,
murdering evildoer without coming off as a cartoon. Mission
accomplished! 

More Dream Emmy
Best supporting actor and actress (comedy)