Emmys: Who Might Earn More Than One Acting Nomination This Year?
Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 11:00AM
Christopher James in Emmys, Emmys 2023, Martin Short, Pedro Pascal, Quinta Brunson, Steve Martin

by Christopher James

Just this past year, Julia Garner won an Emmy for one of her two nominations that year.

When the Emmys fall for you, they fall hard. Many actors find that success in one role helps them pop up in other categories, namely guest acting. Some examples include Laurie Metcalf (Horace & Pete, Getting On), Bill Hader (Barry, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Sterling K. Brown (This is Us, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel). Receiving multiple nominations can also be a positive sign towards a potential win, as was the case for Julia Garner last year when she won for Ozark and was also nominated for Inventing Anna. As Sally Field once said “you like me, you really like me.”

Many famous and emerging faces have submitted themselves in multiple categories. Some will definitely get the double-dip treatment, likely on their way to a big win. Which actors have the best shot at double-dipping this year when the nominations are announced...?

Pedro Pascal hopes he can earn an SNL nomination in addition to a Lead Actor in a Drama Series nomination for The Last of Us.

Best Shot

The following actors are favored to receive multiple nominations in acting this year, either because they have done it before or they possess the necessary amount of heat to generate coattail nominations.

The most likely nomination will be listed first, with the coattail nomination(s) listed afterwards. Everyone is listed alphabetically.

One of the easiest paths to a coattails nomination is to host Saturday Night Live. Whether you are in drama or comedy, a buzzy hosting gig can be an easy place for Emmy voters to double down on supporting a key star. This year, six stars are hoping an SNL hosting Emmy nomination boosts their chances in other categories. Steve Martin and Martin Short are submitting together, a move that worked wonders for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in 2016. Elsewhere, Quinta Brunson and Pedro Pascal are both likely to receive nominations for their hosting jobs, which would be a boon to their lead acting campaigns. This might block other actors looking to employ a similar tactic, like Aubrey Plaza and Jenna Ortega.

A few members of this crew have double dipped in nominations before. Just last year, Harriet Walter achieved that feat with both series winners - Succession and Ted Lasso. Meanwhile, Giancarlo Esposito managed the same feat in 2020 with both series he is currently submitted for. Though she has not received dual nominations in a single year, Cherry Jones has won Guest Acting Emmys for both Succession and The Handmaid’s Tale. Add in a strong turn in Five Days in Memorial and we have a potential triple threat.

Overall, getting multiple nominations is a sign of career heat. This could be an easy way to crown new, exciting talent, such as Ayo Edebiri and Bowen Yang. Recent winners can build on momentum from the previous year, as is the case for White Lotus Emmy winners Murray Bartlett and Jennifer Coolidge. Sometimes, there are just actors who the Emmys are going crazy for that have felt omnipresent. People were still raving about the last season of Yellowjackets when Melanie Lynksey appeared for a short stint on the HBO hit The Last of Us. Once the second season of Yellowjackets started, Lynskey felt like she was reaching a new level of awards momentum. Speaking of omnipresent, Harrison Ford has been everywhere this year. Both 1923 and Shrinking were big television hits for the movie star. With Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny currently in theaters, the Emmys may want to reward the star for his prolific work this year.

My Picks: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Quinta Brunson, Pedro Pascal, Giancarlo Esposito, Cherry Jones, Melanie Lynskey

Christina Ricci will likely be nominated for Yellowjackets. Can she also get nominated for Wednesday on the comedy side?

Likely to Secure One Nomination

In order to get coattail nominations, one must be favored in at least one category. Voters know they need to pay attention to an actor in one show. If they like them in that performance and see them pop up in another show, they are often tempted to vote for them in that category. Unfortunately in these cases, the second submission they have are for roles a good bit out of normal Emmy scope. These actors are almost certainly getting one nomination. The question is, can they get a second?

The most likely nomination will be listed first, with the coattail nomination(s) listed afterwards. Everyone is listed alphabetically.

Will her recent Oscar nomination put Stephanie Hsu on the track for Emmy gold?

There's a Chance

These actors are definitely in the hunt for a nomination, but far from secured. In the case of Hong Chau and Stephanie Hsu, they’re included in this list due to recent Oscar nominations, which have helped catapult some stars to afterglow Emmy nominations (think Melissa McCarthy). Movie work also helps raise your television profile, and Ashley Park’s recent great work in Joy Ride could make people take more notice of her fun work in Beef. Some buzzy prospects include Alan Cumming’s delicious hosting job for The Traitors and James Marsden’s genre-defying work in Jury Duty. Both of these turns are far from guaranteed nominations, but could they amass enough support to surprise us? Finally, when the Emmys love a show, they really love it. That may change with the new voting system. Yet, new Crown cast members Jonathan Pryce and Lesley Manville hope to receive nominations for their work in the Netflix Royal juggernaut.

The most likely nomination will be listed first, with the coattail nomination(s) listed afterwards. Everyone is listed alphabetically.

Toheeb Jimoh was a great nominee last year for Ted Lasso. After a lackluster season three, does he have enough heat to earn a second nomination?

Turn Down The Heat

The Emmys are like bratty kids. Once they stop playing with a toy, they rarely come back to it. These actors have been nominees in the past and are definitely known by the Emmys. However, there does not seem to be the passion to get them one nomination, much less two or more. Either the show has fallen off the Emmys radar (like Westworld) or the actor was given less to do in more recent seasons (Toheeb Jimoh on Ted Lasso).

The most likely nomination will be listed first, with the coattail nomination(s) listed afterwards. Everyone is listed alphabetically.

There are many other longshots in play that were submitted multiple times this year. In the interest of time and space, we don’t have them listed. Still, it’s always fun to look through Emmy ballots and assess the scope of the field each year.

Which actors will the Emmys fall in love with this season?

 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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