Emmy Surprises: Cherry Jones Drops Out, Terry O'Quinn Drops In

Hmmm, is 'Lost' star Terry O'Quinn particularly pleased with his Locke-ness monster ways in the series' final season? And could it be that '24' viewers weren't the only ones unhappy that, in that show's recently concluded final season, President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) became so obsessed with signing a peace treaty that she threw in with the dastardly former prez Charles Logan?

Could be, since Jones, last year's winner of the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Emmy, removed her name from this year's list of nominees, and Los Angeles Times Emmy expert Tom O'Neil suggests it might have something to do with her displeasure with the direction her once heroic character took in '24's' eighth season.

O'Quinn, on the other hand, became a surprise addition to the line-up of Emmy hopefuls.

Emmy voting began last Friday and Jones' name was MIA from the list of contenders. O'Neil reports at the Times' Gold Derby blog that Jones' agent and a Fox publicist declined to comment on why the actress fled the competition. But in an interview with EW.com in May, Jones talked about how her character had "lost her marbles" with her single-minded focus on signing a peace treaty, and how her President Taylor had taken a very unexpected turn.

"By the end of the season, (the '24' writers and producers) are just this side of brain dead. They have been trying so hard. They don't have an arc," Jones told EW.com about '24's' famous production methods. "Most TV shows would have an arc and they would figure out how to nudge everybody in the direction they wanted to go in. These guys look at the performances, look at who they've got and try to follow things they think will be the most shocking. The fact that my character has suddenly taken this turn was never anticipated by anyone, but they have to figure out a way to justify it. They and I have managed to do that. I've got to hand it to them, they live right on the edge. They don't take the easy road."

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Jones also said she was satisfied with the way her character wrapped up the series, but added that she can't imagine how she would factor into the upcoming '24' movie, which reportedly will pick up with the on-the-lam Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) getting involved with more international intrigue, though, this time, without the real-time format and on foreign soil.

O'Quinn, meanwhile, who won the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Emmy for his role as John Locke in 2007, later said in an interview on 'The View' that he wasn't likely to throw his hat in the Emmy ring again soon.

"My view was that, when you win an Emmy for a role, you ought to be ineligible for it again, for a while, maybe for a year or two or maybe not at all, (until) you get another role," O'Quinn said in Feb. 2008.

The actor did add his name to the list of those to be considered for the award in 2008, but failed to earn a nod, and then in 2009, didn't submit himself for a possible nomination.

But the actor, best known for his titular role in the over-the-top big-screen thriller 'The Stepfather' and 'Stepfather II' before his star-making turn on 'Lost,' wants to be considered for another Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy nomination this season.

Gold Derby's O'Neil wonders if O'Quinn may think it's okay to go for an Emmy statue again since he sorta played a new role on the show when John Locke's body was taken over by the Man in Black.

But though his rep hasn't yet commented on the actor's decision to rejoin the Emmy race, perhaps O'Quinn had a more simple reason for going for another Emmy: to boost his chances of getting a good post-'Lost' gig.

O'Quinn and 'Lost' on-screen nemesis Michael "Ben" Emerson (who won the Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy last year) are BFFs off-camera, and O'Quinn has reportedly been pitching several series ideas, in which the two would again co-star, around Hollywood.

Emerson told an Access Hollywood month, "Terry had a couple of really good, strong ideas and he pitched them to someone in the world of producers, and they seem to respond to it ... I don't know where it's at or whether it'll come true, but there's a good idea out there kicking around, and if it comes to life, it would make me very happy."

The idea: O'Quinn and Emerson playing a pair of best buds who are also bounty hunters.

We would so watch that show.