There isn’t a lot of middle ground this Emmy season. Either a category is insanely competitive or so wide open that contenders one might have considered fringe candidates any other year have a good shot at a nomination. The former is the case when it comes to the Lead Actor in a Drama Series field.
READ MORE: Billy Porter: “I set out to be the change I wanted to see” [Interview]
At this point, just four actors are pretty likely for nominations: “Pose’s” Billy Porter (your 2019 winner), “This Is Us'” Sterling K. Brown (your 2017 winner and four-time nominee in this category), “The Crown’s” Josh O’Connor, and “Bridgerton” breakout Rene-Jean Page. Beyond that, there are so many possibilities that someone might make the cut completely out of the blue.
Could “Perry Mason’s” Matthew Rhys (your 2018 winner for “The Americans”) land a nod? Sure. Category shifter Joseph Fiennes of “The Handmaid’s Tale” fame? You bet. “The Mosquito Coast’s” Justin Theroux? He never got recognized for the superior “The Leftovers,” but O.K.! “P-Valley’s” Nicco Annan? Why not! We wouldn’t be mad about it, that’s for sure. Again, almost anything is possible with this race this particular year. [Posted May 4]
Likely
Billy Porter, “Pose”
Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”
Rene-Jean Page, “Bridgerton”
Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Possible
Matthew Rhys, “Perry Mason”
Joseph Fiennes, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Justin Theroux, “The Mosquito Coast”
Jonathan Majors, “Lovecraft Country”
Kevin Costner, “Yellowstone”
Nicco Annan, “P-Valley”
Forest Whitaker, “Godfather of Harlem”
Pedro Pascal, “The Mandalorian”
Anthony Starr, “The Boys”
Anthony Mackie, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”
Sebastian Stan, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”