Emmys 2024 Poll: Who Should Win for Lead Actor in a Drama Series?
Out with the old, in with the new: All six nominees for Lead Actor in a Drama at this year’s Emmys are first-time nominees in this category. But which one should walk away a winner?
This represents a complete overhaul from last year’s field of nominees, who were all from shows that either ended or didn’t air in the past year, including winner Kieran Culkin from Succession. Among the new crop, two are enjoying their first Emmy nominations ever: Shōgun star Hiroyuki Sanada, tabbed as an early favorite for his work as cunning feudal lord Toranaga; and Dominic West, up for playing Prince Charles in the final season of Netflix’s The Crown.
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West’s co-star on The Wire, Idris Elba, is in the mix as well for his lead role as Sam Nelson on the Apple TV+ hostage thriller Hijack. (Somehow, neither West nor Elba were ever nominated for The Wire, but Elba did earn four previous nods in the limited series categories for Luther.) Donald Glover, an Emmy favorite from his years on the FX comedy Atlanta, nabbed his first nomination on the drama side for playing spy John Smith in the freshman season of Prime Video’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Walton Goggins, a previous nominee in the supporting actor category for Justified, earned a spot in the lead category this year as The Ghoul in Prime Video’s video game adaptation Fallout. And rounding out the category is Oscar winner Gary Oldman, nominated for playing unpolished intelligence officer Jackson Lamb in Season 3 of Apple TV+’s spy drama Slow Horses. (It’s his first Emmy nod in more than 20 years, in fact, since he played Joey’s constantly spitting co-star on Friends in 2001.)
So no matter who wins, we’ll see a new champ in this category. But if it were up to you, who would hear their name called when the Emmys are handed out on Sunday, Sept. 15 on ABC? Vote for your favorite in the poll below, and then hit the comments to defend your pick.
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