Just two years after becoming the 12th Best Comedy Actor Emmy nominee for multiple series (��House of Lies”; “Black Monday”), Don Cheadle achieved a similar feat as a dramatic guest performer. With nominations for “ER” (2003) and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021), he was welcomed into a club that previously consisted of 21 members. Scroll through our photo gallery to learn who else is in this exclusive group.
Nine of the entrants on this list were lauded for at least one of their nominated roles. The newest member of that subset is Michael J. Fox, whose 2009 victory for “Rescue Me” occurred between his one bid for “Boston Legal” and five for “The Good Wife.” The three actors who won for multiple shows each are Ed Asner (“Rich Man, Poor Man”; “Roots”), Charles S. Dutton (“The Practice”; “Without a Trace”), and John Lithgow (“Amazing Stories”; “Dexter”).
Although the Best Drama Guest Actor award has only been bestowed on an annual basis since 1993, qualifying contenders from previous years (as early as 1975) are factored in here. The specific program represented by each performer’s photo is indicated in italics.
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Bill Bixby
Image Credit: ABC “Rich Man, Poor Man” (1976)
“The Streets of San Francisco” (1976)Results:
1976 – lost to Ed Asner, “Rich Man, Poor Man” and Gordon Jackson, “Upstairs, Downstairs” -
Ed Asner
Image Credit: ABC “Rich Man, Poor Man” (1976)
“Roots” (1977)
“CSI: NY” (2009)Results:
1976-1977 – won
2009 – lost to Michael J. Fox, “Rescue Me” -
Robert Reed
Image Credit: ABC “Medical Center” (1976)
“Roots” (1977)Results:
1976 – lost to Ed Asner, “Rich Man, Poor Man”
1977 – lost to Ed Asner, “Roots” -
Harold Gould
Image Credit: USA “Police Story” (1975)
“Rhoda” (1978)
“The Ray Bradbury Theatre” (1990)Results:
1975; 1990 – lost to Patrick McGoohan, “Columbo”
1978 – lost to Ricardo Montalban, “How the West Was Won” -
John Glover
Image Credit: Imageworks “L.A. Law” (1991)
“Crime & Punishment” (1993)Results:
1991 – lost to David Opatoshu, “Gabriel’s Fire”
1993 – lost to Laurence Fishburne, “Tribeca” -
Peter Boyle
Image Credit: Fox “Midnight Caller” (1989)
“The X-Files” (1996)Results:
1989 – lost to Joe Spano, “Midnight Caller”
1996 – won -
Michael Jeter
Image Credit: CBS “Picket Fences” (1993)
“Chicago Hope” (1996)Results:
1993 – lost to Laurence Fishburne, “Tribeca”
1996 – lost to Peter Boyle, “The X-Files” -
Louis Gossett Jr.
Image Credit: ABC “Roots” (1977)
“Touched by an Angel” (1997)Results:
1977 – won
1997 – lost to Pruitt Taylor Vince, “Murder One” -
Charles Durning
Image Credit: FX “Captains and the Kings” (1977)
“Homicide: Life on the Street” (1998)
“NCIS” (2005)
“Rescue Me” (2008)Results:
1977 – lost to Ed Asner, “Roots”
1998 – lost to John Larroquette, “The Practice”
2005 – lost to Ray Liotta, “ER”
2008 – lost to Glynn Turman, “In Treatment” -
Edward Herrmann
Image Credit: ABC “St. Elsewhere” (1986-1987)
“The Practice” (1999)Results:
1986 – lost to John Lithgow, “Amazing Stories”
1987 – lost to Alfre Woodard, “L.A. Law”
1999 – won -
Charles S. Dutton
Image Credit: HBO “Oz” (1999)
“The Practice” (2002)
“Without a Trace” (2003)Results:
1999 – lost to Edward Herrmann, “The Practice”
2002-2003 – won -
James Cromwell
Image Credit: Graeme Hunter/HBO “ER” (2001)
“Six Feet Under” (2003)
“Succession” (2020; 2022-2023)Results:
2001 – lost to Michael Emerson, “The Practice”
2003 – lost to Charles S. Dutton, “Without a Trace”
2020 – lost to Ron Cephas Jones, “This Is Us”
2022 – lost to Colman Domingo, “Euphoria”
2023 – lost to Nick Offerman, “The Last of Us” -
James Whitmore
Image Credit: NBC “The Practice” (2000)
“Mister Sterling” (2003)Results:
2000 – won
2003 – lost to Charles S. Dutton, “Without a Trace” -
James Earl Jones
Image Credit: CBS “Picket Fences” (1994)
“Everwood” (2004)Results:
1994 – lost to Richard Kiley, “Picket Fences”
2004 – lost to William Shatner, “The Practice” -
Oliver Platt
Image Credit: NBC “The West Wing” (2001)
“Nip/Tuck” (2008)Results:
2001 – lost to Michael Emerson, “The Practice”
2008 – lost to Glynn Turman, “In Treatment” -
Robin Williams
Image Credit: NBC “Homicide: Life on the Street” (1994)
“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (2008)Results:
1994 – lost to Richard Kiley, “Picket Fences”
2008 – lost to Glynn Turman, “In Treatment” -
Michael J. Fox
Image Credit: CBS “Boston Legal” (2006)
“Rescue Me” (2009)
“The Good Wife” (2011-2013; 2015-2016)Results:
2006 – lost to Christian Clemenson, “Boston Legal”
2009 – won
2011 – lost to Paul McCrane, “Harry’s Law”
2012 – lost to Jeremy Davies, “Justified”
2013 – lost to Dan Bucatinsky, “Scandal”
2015 – lost to Reg E. Cathey, “House of Cards”
2016 – lost to Hank Azaria, “Ray Donovan” -
Beau Bridges
Image Credit: Michael Desmond/ABC “The Outer Limits” (1995)
“The Closer” (2010)
“Brothers & Sisters” (2011)
“Masters of Sex” (2014-2015)Results:
1995 – lost to Paul Winfield, “Picket Fences”
2010 – lost to John Lithgow, “Dexter”
2011 – lost to Paul McCrane, “Harry’s Law”
2014 – lost to Joe Morton, “Scandal”
2015 – lost to Reg E. Cathey, “House of Cards” -
John Lithgow
Image Credit: Showtime “Amazing Stories” (1986)
“Dexter” (2010)Results:
1986; 2010 – won -
Alan Alda
Image Credit: NBC “ER” (2000)
“The Blacklist” (2015)Results:
2000 – lost to James Whitmore, “The Practice”
2015 – lost to Reg E. Cathey, “House of Cards” -
Glynn Turman
Image Credit: HBO “In Treatment” (2008)
“How to Get Away with Murder” (2019)Results:
2008 – won
2019 – lost to Bradley Whitford, “The Handmaid’s Tale” -
Don Cheadle
Image Credit: Disney+ “ER” (2003)
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021)Results:
2003 – lost to Charles S. Dutton, “Without a Trace”
2021 – lost to Courtney B. Vance, “Lovecraft Country”
