Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

For the Primetime Emmy Awards, see Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role while working within the daytime drama industry.

The 1st Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony was held in 1974 with Macdonald Carey receiving the award for his portrayal of Tom Horton on Days of Our Lives. The award has undergone several name changes, originally honoring actors in leading and supporting roles. Following the introduction of a new category in 1979, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, the award's name was altered to Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series before changing once again, to its current title, years later. The awards ceremony was not aired on television in 1983 and 1984, having been criticized for lack of integrity. In 1985, another category was introduced, Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series, one criterion for this category was altered, requiring all actors to be age 26 or younger.

Since its inception, the award has been given to 26 actors. General Hospital has the most awarded actors in this category with a total of twelve wins. In 1979, Al Freeman, Jr. became the first African-American to have garnered the award, winning for his role as Ed Hall on One Life to Live. In 2008, Anthony Geary became the actor with the most wins in the category when he won for a sixth time, surpassing David Canary's previous record. Geary went on to win again in 2012 and 2015, thus far winning on eight occasions. Peter Bergman has been nominated on 23 occasions, more than any other actor. As of the 2024 ceremony, Thorsten Kaye is the most recent winner in this category for his portrayal of Ridge Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.

Winners and nominees

Listed below are the winners of the award for each year, as well as the other nominees.

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Macdonald Carey won two from three nominations for his role as Tom Horton on Days of Our Lives.
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John Beradino was nominated three times for his role as Steve Hardy on General Hospital.
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Val Dufour won in 1977 for his role as John Wyatt on Search for Tomorrow.
Photo of Al Freeman, Jr. in Hot L Baltimore in 1975
Al Freeman, Jr. won in 1979 for his role as Ed Hall on One Life to Live.
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Douglass Watson received two consecutive wins for his role as Mac Cory in 1980 and 1981 on Another World.
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Nicolas Coster was nominated three times for his role as Lionel Lockridge on Santa Barbara.
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David Canary was nominated 16 times and won five times for his work on All My Children.
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Stuart Damon was nominated three times for his role as Alan Quartermaine on General Hospital.
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Eric Braeden was nominated eight times, winning once in 1998 for his role as Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless.
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Jon Hensley was nominated in 2001 for his role as Holden Snyder on As the World Turns.
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John McCook has been nominated four times (2001, 2012, 2018, 2022) for his role as Eric Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.
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Robert Newman has been nominated twice for his role as Joshua Lewis on Guiding Light.
Jack Wagner was nominated in 2005 for his role as Nick Marone on The Bold and the Beautiful.
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Christian LeBlanc won three (2005, 2007, and 2009) from seven nominations for his role as Michael Baldwin on The Young and the Restless.
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Ron Raines was nominated in 2006 for his role as Alan Spaulding on Guiding Light.
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Thaao Penghlis received two nominations (2008 and 2020) for his work on Days of Our Lives.
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Jon Lindstrom was nominated once for his role as Craig Montgomery on As the World Turns (2011) and twice for playing dual roles on General Hospital, in 2019 and 2020.
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James Scott received two consecutive nominations (2010 and 2011) for his role as EJ DiMera on Days of Our Lives..
Billy Miller won in 2014 for his role as Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless.
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Michael Muhney earned a nomination in 2014, for his role as Adam Newman on The Young and the Restless.
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Justin Hartley, as the third actor, who played Adam Newman, received a nomination in 2016 for the role on The Young and the Restless.
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Kristoff St. John received two consecutive nominations (2016 and 2017) for his role as Neil Winters on The Young and the Restless.
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Scott Clifton won in 2017 for his role as Liam Spencer on The Bold and the Beautiful.
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James Reynolds won in 2018 for his role as on Days of Our Lives.

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple wins and nominations

Series with most awards

References

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