Emmy rookie Paul Rudd is hoping to make a double play
A total of 36 individuals earned their first Primetime Emmy acting nominations in 2024, including “Feud” stars Naomi Watts and Tom Hollander and recent Oscar also-rans Lily Gladstone (“Under the Bridge”) and Ryan Gosling (“Saturday Night Live”). A standout among these newbies is Paul Rudd, who is the only one in the group with shots at two performance wins: Best Comedy Supporting Actor (“Only Murders in the Building”) and Best Narrator (“Secrets of the Octopus”).
Rudd could now make Emmys history as the eighth doubly-nominated first-timer to triumph on at least one of his bids. The first to do so was Robert Cummings, who simultaneously won for “12 Angry Men” and lost for “My Hero” in 1955. He was followed by Jack Albertson (won for “Cher” and lost for “Chico and the Man,” 1975), Eileen Brennan (won for “Private Benjamin” and lost for “Taxi,” 1981), Jane Lynch (won for “Glee” and lost for “Two and a Half Men,” 2010), Riz Ahmed (won for “The Night Of” and lost for “Girls,” 2017), Ann Dowd (won for “The Handmaid’s Tale” and lost for “The Leftovers,” 2017), and Ali Wong (won for “Beef” and lost for “Tuca & Bertie,” 2023).
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Twenty-six acting Emmy newcomers (13 male and 13 female) preceded Rudd in being concurrently nominated for more than one performance. Aside from Ahmed, Dowd, and Wong, those who were added to the list within the last decade are Gaby Hoffmann (“Girls” and “Transparent,” 2015), Mindy Sterling (“Con Man” and “Secs and Execs,” 2017), Fiona Shaw (“Fleabag” and “Killing Eve,” 2019), Rhea Seehorn (“Better Call Saul” and “Cooper’s Bar,” 2022), Sydney Sweeney (“Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” 2022), and Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us,” “Patagonia,” and “Saturday Night Live,” 2023).
Best Comedy Series contender “Only Murders in the Building” racked up 21 Emmy nominations for its third season, which streamed on Hulu from August to October 2023. Its other half dozen new acting bids went to leads Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short, supporting player Meryl Streep, and guest performers Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Matthew Broderick. All but Gomez and Randolph have previously competed for acting Emmys.
Rudd follows Pascal as only the second multi-nominated first-timer recognized for both physical acting and narration. His heavy-hitting challengers in the vocal performance category are David Attenborough (“Planet Earth III”), Angela Bassett (“Queens”), Morgan Freeman (“Life on Our Planet”), and Octavia Spencer (“Lost Women of Highway 20”).
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