31 Dec 2014 6:06 AM PT
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You win an Emmy or create a critical/ratings smash and you get to rest on your laurels, right?
Not if you’re one of TVLine’s Most Valuable Players of 2014.
As we brainstormed our end-of-year awards galleries (if you missed ‘em, please check out Part 1 and Part 2), certain names kept popping up — and not necessarily in the places you expected to find ‘em. Shonda Rhimes on The Mindy Project? Allison Janney slaying us again (and not for her Emmy-winning turns on Mom or Masters of Sex)? Michiel Huisman making us stop our ad-break fast-forwarding for The Seduction of Gisele Bündchen?
Check out the 21 folks who played pivotal roles in at least one major TV project in 2014 — but who also moonlighted in other interesting or out-of-left-field endeavors.
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MARTIN FREEMAN
For his Season 3 turn as Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock, Freeman won his first Emmy in 2014, while his role as Lester Nygaard in FX’s acclaimed Fargo earned him both Emmy and Golden Globe nods. Freeman capped his very big year by hosting one of Saturday Night Live‘s strongest outings of the season to date.
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MATT BOMER
Bomer turned in a revelatory performance in The Normal Heart, shedding 40 pounds to play Felix Turner, a New York Times reporter who succumbs to AIDS. The astonishing physical and emotional transformation earned the actor a Critics Choice Television Award and an Emmy Award nomination. But Bomer wasn’t done surprising audiences. He followed up the HBO film with a guest spot on American Horror Story: Freak Show as a hustler who was stripped down and murdered, and then he put his best suit back on for White Collar‘s twisty swan song.
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ALLISON JANNEY
Janney scored not one, but two Primetime Emmy Awards this year — as Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and Guest Actress in a Drama — for wildly different roles: Mom‘s bawdy, brutally honest recovering alcoholic Bonnie and Masters of Sex‘s repressed (but awakening) Margaret. Not only was the actress’ acceptance speech for the former trophy was one of the highlights of the Emmy telecast, but she also scored huge laughs as the virgin fiancée of an elderly billionaire on Web Therapy and is gearing up to host the 2015 People’s Choice Awards next month. Whew!
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RYAN MURPHY
As Glee prepares for its swan song in 2015, Murphy has found more than enough ways to stay busy, including two upcoming series — American Crime Story and Scream Queens — that have already generated significant buzz. Perhaps more impressive than Murphy’s number of projects, though, is the wide range the writer-producer has demonstrated this year. From the deeply poignant Normal Heart to the extra-creepy American Horror Story, it’s safe to say Murphy outdid himself in 2014 — with no plans to slow down.
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JIM PARSONS
We already knew that Parsons would deliver comedically this year, with another stellar turn as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory. What made 2014 a particularly major year for Parsons — aside from another Emmy win for TBBT, of course — was his dramatic turn as AIDS activist Tommy Boatwright in HBO’s The Normal Heart. Parsons couldn’t have been further from his sitcom character, and we couldn’t have been more impressed by the actor’s impressive range and immense talent.
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CARRIE PRESTON
The Good Wife fan favorite guest star returned as Elsbeth Tascioni for several wildly entertaining episodes – anti-Semitic bears! Clown visions! Awkward flirting with Kyle MacLachlan! – causing viewers to shout, “Spinoff, please!” Although that dream has yet to come to fruition, Preston was all over the TV in 2014, finishing her run on True Blood with an arc that found her Arlene finally overcoming her fang-phobia while shacking up – and getting hot and heavy on a pool table! – with vamp Keith. The actress also found time to make another visit to hubby Michael Emerson’s show Person of Interest as the love of his character Finch’s life.