Emmy Predictions: Lead Actor (Drama) – Could Hiroyuki Sanada Make History With Double Wins for Acting and Producing?
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
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2024 Emmy Predictions:
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Weekly Commentary (Updated: Aug. 7, 2024): Hiroyuki Sanada, the star and producer of “Shogun,” is poised to make history. As a leading contender for the best lead drama actor, with the series itself leading the race for best drama, a win in both categories would mark the first time an Asian individual has achieved this feat in the same year (specifically in the drama categories). Last year, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong made history by winning the leading categories for a limited series with “Beef,” which also won the top prize in its category, which they executive produced. Will that positive trend continue?
More to come.
The Creative Arts and Governors Gala ceremonies will occur over two nights on Sept. 7-8. The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards will air on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 15.
Read: All Primetime Emmy predictions in every category on Variety’s Awards Circuit.
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Image Credit: Netflix And the Nominees Are
Rank Series 1 Hiroyuki Sanada — “Shōgun” (FX) 2 Gary Oldman — “Slow Horses” (Apple TV+) 3 Dominic West — “The Crown” (Netflix) 4 Walton Goggins — “Fallout” (Prime Video) 5 Donald Glover — “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” (Prime Video) 6 Idris Elba — “Hijack” (Apple TV+) Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series -
Eligible Performers (Lead Drama Actor)
Image Credit: HBO **Officially submitted and on the Emmy nominations ballot.
- David Ajala — “Star Trek: Discovery” (Paramount+)
- Björgvin Arnarson — “Chucky” (Syfy)
- Zackary Arthur — “Chucky” (Syfy)
- Jason Beghe — “Chicago P.D.” (NBC)
- Adrien Brody — “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” (Max)
- Josh Brolin — “Outer Range” (Prime Video)
- Santiago Cabrera — “The Cleaning Lady” (Fox)
- Deon Cole — “Average Joe” (BET+)
- Gordon Cormier — “Avatar: The Last Airbender” (Netflix)
- MeKai Curtis — “Power Book III: Raising Kenan” (Starz)
- James Badge Dale — “Hightown”
- Josh Dallas — “Manifest”
- Hugh Dancy — “Law & Order” (NBC)
- Michael Dorman — “Joe Pickett”
- Jamie Dornan — “The Tourist” (Max)
- Idris Elba — “Hijack” (Apple TV+)
- Ansel Elgort — “Tokyo Vice” (Max)
- Giancarlo Esposito — “Parish” (AMC)
- Colin Farrell — “Sugar” (Apple TV+)
- Nathan Felder — “The Curse” (Showtime)
- Nathan Fillion — “The Rookie” (ABC)
- Demetrius Flenory Jr. — “BMF”
- Manuel Garcia-Rulfo — “The Lincoln Lawyer” (Netflix)
- Paul Giamatti — “Billions” Showtime)
- Donald Glover — “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” (Prime Video)
- Walton Goggins — “Fallout” (Prime Video)
- Daniel Henney — “The Wheel of Time” (Prime Video)
- Jay Hernandez — “Magnum P.I.”
- Sam Heughan — “Outlander” (Starz)
- Tom Hiddleston — “Loki” (Disney+)
- Freddie Highmore — “The Good Doctor” (ABC)
- Isaiah Hill — “Swagger” (Apple TV+)
- Quincy Isaiah — “Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” (Max)
- O’Shea Jackson Jr. — “Swagger” (Apple TV+)
- Cosmo Jarvis — “Shōgun” (FX)
- Joel Kinnaman — “For All Mankind” (Apple TV+)
- Taylor Kinney — “Chicago Fire” (NBC)
- Luke Kleintank — “FBI: International” (NBC)
- Andrew Koji — “Warrior” (Max)
- John Krasinski — “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” (Prime Video)
- Peter Krause — “9-1-1” (ABC)
- Raymond Lee — “Quantum Leap” (NBC)
- John Leguizamo — “The Green Veil” (The Network)
- Damian Lewis — “Billions” (Showtime)
- Andrew Lincoln — “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” (AMC)
- Eoin Macken — “La Brea” (NBC)
- Jesse L. Martin — “The Irrational” (NBC)
- James McArdle — “Sexy Beast”
- Zahn McClarnon — “Dark Winds” (AMC)
- Dylan McDermott — “FBI: Most Wanted”
- Ted McGinley — “The Baxters”
- Christopher Meloni — “Law & Order: Organized Crime”
- Ben Mendelsohn — “The New Look” (Apple TV+)
- Shemar Moore — “S.W.A.T.”
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan — “The Walking Dead: Dead City” (AMC)
- Anson Mount — “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Paramount+)
- Chad Michael Murray — “Sullivan’s Crossing” (The CW)
- Gary Oldman — “Slow Horses” (Apple TV+)
- Babs Olusanmokun — “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Paramount+)
- Timothy Olyphant — “Justified: City Primeval” (FX)
- Lee Pace — “Foundation” (Paramount+)
- Mandy Patinkin — “Death and Other Details” (Hulu)
- Scott Patterson — “Sullivan’s Crossing” (The CW)
- Norman Reedus — “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” (AMC)
- John C. Reilly — “Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” (Max)
- George Rexstrew — “Dead Boy Detectives” (Netflix)
- Alan Ritchson — “Reacher” (Prime Video)
- Ramón Rodríguez — “Will Trent” (ABC)
- Kurt Russell — “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” (Apple TV+)
- Hiroyuki Sanada — “Shōgun” (FX)
- Pablo Schreiber — “Halo” (Paramount+)
- Tom Selleck — “Blue Bloods” (CBS)
- Joseph Sikora — “Power Book IV: Force” (Starz)
- Morgan Spector — “The Gilded Age” (Max)
- Lakeith Stanfield — “The Changeling” (Apple TV+)
- Corey Stoll — “Billions” (Showtime)
- Wilmer Valderrama — “NCIS” (CBS)
- Ken Watanabe — “Tokyo Vice” (Max)
- Titus Welliver — “Bosch: Legacy” (Freevee)
- Dominic West — “The Crown” (Netflix)
- Zeeko Zaki — “FBI” (NBC)
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More Information (Lead Drama Actor)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Apple TV+ 2023 category winner: Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy — “Succession” (HBO) — Season 4
2024 Emmy Awards Calendar and Timeline (all dates are subject to change)
- Eligibility period: June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024
- Feb. 29: Submissions open
- May 9: Deadline for programs identifying as Primetime programming to upload all entry materials.
- June 13: Nominations-round voting begins
- June 24: Nominations-round voting ends at 10:00 p.m. PT
- June 28 – July 8: Voting for peer group-specific top ten rounds panels (if applicable)
- July 17: Primetime Emmy nominations are announced.
- July 24: Deadline for errors and omissions to the nominations.
- August 5: Find-round videos available for viewing.
- August 15: Final-round voting begins.
- August 26: Final-round voting ends at 10:00 p.m. PST.
- Sept. 7-8: Creative Arts Emmy Awards and Governors Gala
- Sunday, Sept. 15: 76th Primetime Emmy Awards to air on ABC.
Emmy Prediction Categories
2024 Primetime Emmy Prediction Categories About the Primetime Emmy Awards
The Primetime Emmy Awards, commonly known as the Emmys, are awarded by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). Established in 1949, these celebrate outstanding achievements in American primetime television. The Emmys are categorized into three divisions: the Primetime Emmy Awards for performance and production excellence; the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, recognizing achievements in artistry and craftsmanship; and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards, which honor significant engineering and technological advancements. The eligibility period typically extends from June 1 to May 31 each year. The Television Academy hosts the Emmys and has over 20,000 members across 30 professional peer groups, including performers, directors, producers, art directors, artisans and executives.
