Movie stars continue crossing over into Emmy territory

As the once great divide between the worlds of film and TV has eroded in recent years, movie stars have made an increasingly strong showing in the Emmy realm.

The trend continued with the announcement of Thursday’s Emmy nominations, as several actors known primarily for their film work were recognized for small-screen roles — particularly in the categories for TV movies and miniseries.

David Oyelowo, whose Oscar snub for “Selma” helped spark the “#OscarsSoWhite” backlash on Twitter, earned an Emmy nod for his performance as a disturbed war veteran in HBO’s TV movie “Nightingale.” Adrien Brody, whose signature films include his Oscar-winning performance in “The Pianist,” landed a nomination Thursday for his title role in the History Channel miniseries “Houdini.”

Fellow Oscar winner Frances McDormand garnered an Emmy nomination for her lead performance as a misanthropic schoolteacher in the HBO miniseries “Olive Kitteridge,” and Maggie Gyllenhaal (of “Secretary” and “The Dark Knight” fame) was nominated for a starring role in the SundanceTV and BBC spy thriller miniseries “The Honourable Woman.”

This year’s class of film stars turned TV darlings follows in the footsteps of actors like Matthew McConaughey (“True Detective”), Matt Damon and Michael Douglas (“Behind the Candelabra”), Jessica Lange (nominated again this year for “American Horror Story”) and Kevin Spacey (nominated again for “House of Cards”).

The continuing crossover of movie stars into TV land, which was rare if not inconceivable for much of television’s existence, no doubt underscores the small screen’s increasing prestige and reputation as a medium for serious, sophisticated storytelling.

On a logistical level, TV movies, miniseries and anthology series — the latter newly in vogue with shows like “True Detective” and “American Horror Story” — have allowed movie stars to make meaningful detours into television without locking up their schedules for the next few years.

Last year, the Television Academy also bumped up the number of acting nominees in the movie or limited-series category from five to six, further paving the way for film actors to get in on the action.

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