Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role on a television limited series or television movie for the primetime network season.

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Awarded for	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Country	United States
Presented by	Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
First award	1955
Currently held by	Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer (2024)
Website	emmys.com

The award was first presented at the 7th Primetime Emmy Awards on March 7, 1955, to Robert Cummings, for his performance as Juror #8 on the Studio One episode "Twelve Angry Men". It has undergone several name changes, with the category split into two categories at the 25th Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy; and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series. By the 31st Primetime Emmy Awards, the categories were merged into one, and it has since undergone several name changes, leading to its current title.

Since its inception, the award has been given to 59 actors. Richard Gadd is the current recipient of the award, for his portrayal of Donny Dunn on Baby Reindeer. Laurence Olivier has won the most awards in this category, with four, while Hal Holbrook has received the most nominations for the award, on seven occasions.

Winners and nominations

Robert Cummings was the first recipient of this award for his performance in Studio One (1955).

Lloyd Nolan won for Ford Star Jubilee (1956).

Jack Palance won for Playhouse 90 (1957).

Peter Ustinov won thrice for Omnibus (1958), Hallmark Hall of Fame (1967), and A Storm in Summer (1975).

Fred Astaire won twice for An Evening with Fred Astaire (1959) and A Family Upside Down (1978).

Laurence Olivier won four times for The Moon and Sixpence (1959), Long Day's Journey into Night (1973), Love Among the Ruins (1975), and King Lear (1983).

Peter Falk won twice for The Dick Powell Show (1962) and Columbo (1975).

Jack Klugman won for The Defenders (1964).

Cliff Robertson won for Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1966).

Melvyn Douglas won for CBS Playhouse (1968).

Keith Mitchell won for The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1972).

George C. Scott won for The Price (1973).

William Holden won for The Blue Knight (1974).

Hal Holbrook won for Pueblo (1974) and Sandburg's Lincoln (1976).

Christopher Plummer won for The Moneychangers (1977).

Sir Anthony Hopkins won twice for The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976) and The Bunker (1981).

Powers Boothe won for Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980).

Mickey Rooney won for Bill (1981)

Tommy Lee Jones won for The Executioner's Song (1983).

Dustin Hoffman won for Death of a Salesman (1985).

James Woods won twice for Promise (1986) and My Name Is Bill W. (1989).

Jason Robards won for Inherit the Wind (1988).

Sir John Gielgud won for Summer's Lease (1991)

Beau Bridges won for Without Warning: The James Brady Story (1992).

Robert Morse won for Tru (1993).

Alan Rickman won for Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996).

Gary Sinise won for George Wallace (1998).

Stanley Tucci won for Winchell (1999).

Jack Lemmon won for Tuesdays with Morrie (2000).

Kenneth Branagh won for Conspiracy (2001).

William H. Macy won for Door to Door (2003).

Al Pacino won twice for Angels in America (2004) and You Don't Know Jack (2010).

Geoffrey Rush won for The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2005).

Andre Braugher won for Thief (2006)

Robert Duvall won for Broken Trail (2007).

Paul Giamatti won for John Adams (2008).

Kevin Costner won for Hatfields & McCoys (2012).

Michael Douglas won for Behind the Candelabra (2013).

Benedict Cumberbatch won for Sherlock: His Last Vow (2014).

Richard Jenkins won for Olive Kitteridge (2015).

Courtney B. Vance won for The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016).

Riz Ahmed won for The Night Of (2017).

Darren Criss won for The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018).

Mark Ruffalo won for I Know This Much Is True (2020).

Ewan McGregor won for Halston (2021).

Michael Keaton won for Dopesick (2022).

Steven Yeun won for Beef (2023).

Table key

	Indicates the winner

1950s

Year	Actor	Role	Program	Episode	Network
Best Actor in a Single Performance
1955 (7th)
	Robert Cummings	Juror #8	Studio One	"Twelve Angry Men"	CBS
	Frank Lovejoy	Walter Neff	Lux Video Theatre	"Double Indemnity"	CBS
	Fredric March	Tony Cavendish	The Best of Broadway	"The Royal Family"
		Ebenezer Scrooge	Shower of Stars	"A Christmas Carol"
	Thomas Mitchell	Father Devlin	Ford Theatre	"The Good of His Soul"	NBC
	David Niven	Deacon	Four Star Playhouse	"The Answer"	CBS
1956 (8th)
	Lloyd Nolan	Capt. Queeg	Ford Star Jubilee	"The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial"	CBS
	Ralph Bellamy	Father	The United States Steel Hour	"The Fearful Decision"	CBS
	José Ferrer	Cyrano de Bergerac	Producers' Showcase	"Cyrano de Bergerac"	NBC
	Everett Sloane	President	Kraft Television Theatre	"Patterns"
	Barry Sullivan	Defense Attorney Greenwald	Ford Star Jubilee	"The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial"	CBS
1957 (9th)
	Jack Palance	Harlan "Mountain" McClintock	Playhouse 90	"Requiem for a Heavyweight"	CBS
	Lloyd Bridges	Alec Beggs	The Alcoa Hour	"Tragedy in a Temporary Town"	NBC
	Fredric March	Sam Dodsworth	Producers' Showcase	"Dodsworth"
	Sal Mineo	Dino Minetta	Studio One	"Dino"	CBS
	Red Skelton	Buddy McCoy	Playhouse 90	"The Big Slide"
Best Single Performance by an Actor - Lead or Support
1958 (10th)
	Peter Ustinov	Dr. Samuel Johnson	Omnibus	"The Life of Samuel Johnson"	NBC
	Lee J. Cobb	Dr. Joseph Pearson	Studio One	"No Deadly Medicine"	CBS
	Mickey Rooney	Sammy Hogarth	Playhouse 90	"The Comedian"
	David Wayne	James Mennick	Suspicion	"Heartbeat"	NBC
	Ed Wynn	Gramps Northrup	On Borrowed Time
Best Single Performance by an Actor
1959 (11th)
	Fred Astaire	Himself	An Evening with Fred Astaire		NBC
	Robert L. Crawford Jr.	Tanguy	Playhouse 90	"Child of Our Time"	CBS
	Paul Muni	Sam Arlen		"Last Clear Chance"
	Christopher Plummer	Kenneth Boyd	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Little Moon of Alban"	NBC
	Mickey Rooney	Eddie	Alcoa Theatre	"Eddie"
	Rod Steiger	Harvey Denton	Playhouse 90	"A Town Has Turned to Dust"	CBS

1960s

Year	Actor	Role	Program	Episode	Network
Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor (Lead or Support)
1960 (12th)
	Laurence Olivier	Charles Strickland	The Moon and Sixpence		NBC
	Lee J. Cobb	Dr. Lawrence Doner	Playhouse 90	"Project Immortality"	CBS
	Alec Guinness	Jebal Deeks	Startime	"The Wicked Scheme of Jebal Deeks"	NBC
Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
1961 (13th)
	Maurice Evans	Macbeth	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Macbeth"	NBC
	Cliff Robertson	Charlie Gordon	The United States Steel Hour	"The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon"	CBS
	Ed Wynn	Himself	Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse	"The Man in the Funny Suit"
1962 (14th)
	Peter Falk	Aristede Fresco	The Dick Powell Theatre	"The Price of Tomatoes"	NBC
	Milton Berle	Eddie Doyle	The Dick Powell Theatre	"Doyle Against the House"	NBC
	James Donald	Albert, Prince Consort	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Victoria Regina"
	Lee Marvin	Hughes	Alcoa Premiere	"People Need People"	ABC
	Mickey Rooney	Augie Miller	The Dick Powell Theatre	"Somebody's Waiting"	NBC
1963 (15th)
	Trevor Howard	Benjamin Disraeli	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Invincible Mr. Disraeli"	NBC
	Bradford Dillman	Charlie Pont	Premiere, Presented by Fred Astaire	"The Voice of Charlie Pont"	ABC
	Don Gordon	Joey Tassili	The Defenders	"The Madman"	CBS
	Walter Matthau	Meredith	The DuPont Show of the Week	"Big Deal in Laredo"	NBC
	Joseph Schildkraut	Rabbi Gottlieb	Sam Benedict	"Hear the Mellow Wedding Bells"
1964 (16th)
	Jack Klugman	Joe Larch	The Defenders	"Blacklist"	CBS
	James Earl Jones	Joe	East Side/West Side	"Who Do You Kill?"	CBS
	Roddy McDowall	Paul LeDoux	Arrest and Trial	"Journey Into Darkness"	ABC
	Jason Robards	Abraham Lincoln	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Abe Lincoln in Illinois"	NBC
	Rod Steiger	Mike Kirsch	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	"A Slow Fade to Black"	NBC
	Harold J. Stone	Elihu Kaminsky	The Doctors and the Nurses	"Nurse Is a Feminine Noun"	CBS
Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment - Actors and Performers
1965 (17th)
	Alfred Lunt	Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"The Magnificent Yankee"	NBC
Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama
1966 (18th)
	Cliff Robertson	Quincey Parke	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	"The Game"	NBC
	Ed Begley	Matthew Harrison Brady	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Inherit the Wind"	NBC
	Melvyn Douglas	Henry Drummond
	Trevor Howard	Napoleon		"Eagle in a Cage"
	Christopher Plummer	Hamlet	Hamlet		Syndicated
1967 (19th)
	Peter Ustinov	Socrates	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Barefoot in Athens"	NBC
	Alan Arkin	Barney Kempinski	ABC Stage 67	"The Love Song of Barney Kempinski"	ABC
	Lee J. Cobb	Willy Loman	Death of a Salesman		CBS
	Ivan Dixon	Olly Winter	CBS Playhouse	"The Final War of Olly Winter"
	Hal Holbrook	Mark Twain	Hal Holbrook: Mark Twain Tonight!
1968 (20th)
	Melvyn Douglas	Peter Schermann	CBS Playhouse	"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"	CBS
	Raymond Burr	Robert T. Ironside	Ironside	"Pilot"	NBC
	Van Heflin	Robert Sloane	A Case of Libel		ABC
	George C. Scott	John Proctor	The Crucible		CBS
	Eli Wallach	Douglas Lambert	CBS Playhouse	"Dear Friends"
Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
1969 (21st)
	Paul Scofield	Emlyn Bowen	Prudiential's On Stage	"Male of the Species"	NBC
	Ossie Davis	Charles Carter	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Teacher, Teacher"	NBC
	David McCallum	Hamilton Cade
	Bill Travers	Crichton		"The Admirable Crichton"

1970s

Year	Actor	Role	Program	Network
Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
1970 (22nd)
	Peter Ustinov	Abel Shaddick	A Storm in Summer	NBC
	Al Freeman Jr.	Charles Roberts	My Sweet Charlie	NBC
	Laurence Olivier	Mr. Creakle	David Copperfield
1971 (23rd)
	George C. Scott	Victor Franz	The Price	NBC
	Jack Cassidy	Otis Baker	The Andersonville Trial	PBS
	Hal Holbrook	Hays Stowe	A Clear and Present Danger	NBC
	Richard Widmark	Paul Roudebush	Vanished
	Gig Young	Jones	The Neon Ceiling
1972 (24th)
	Keith Michell	Henry VIII	The Six Wives of Henry VIII	CBS
	James Caan	Brian Piccolo	Brian's Song	ABC
	Richard Harris	Philip Rhayadar	The Snow Goose	NBC
	George C. Scott	Edward Rochester	Jane Eyre
	Billy Dee Williams	Gale Sayers	Brian's Song	ABC
1973 (25th)
	Laurence Olivier	James Tyrone, Sr.	Long Day's Journey Into Night	ABC
	Henry Fonda	Carl Tiflin	The Red Pony	NBC
	Hal Holbrook	Doug Salter	That Certain Summer	ABC
	Telly Savalas	Theo Kojak	Kojak: The Marcus-Nelson Murders	CBS
	Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Drama/Comedy - Limited Episodes)
	Anthony Murphy	Tom Brown	Tom Brown's Schooldays	PBS
	John Abineri	Chingachgook	The Last of the Mohicans	PBS
	Philippe Leroy	Leonardo da Vinci	The Life of Leonardo da Vinci	CBS
1974 (26th)	Best Lead Actor in a Drama
	Hal Holbrook	Lloyd Bucher	Pueblo	ABC
	Alan Alda	Paul Friedman	6 Rms Riv Vu	CBS
	Laurence Olivier	Shylock	The Merchant of Venice	ABC
	Martin Sheen	Eddie Slovik	The Execution of Private Slovik	NBC
	Dick Van Dyke	Charlie Lester	The Morning After	ABC
	Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series
	William Holden	Bumper Morgan	The Blue Knight	NBC
	Peter Falk	Columbo	Columbo	NBC
	Dennis Weaver	Sam McCloud	McCloud
1975 (27th)	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy
	Laurence Olivier	Arthur Glanville-Jones	Love Among the Ruins	ABC
	Richard Chamberlain	Edmond Dantès	The Count of Monte Cristo	NBC
	William Devane	John F. Kennedy	The Missiles of October	ABC
	Charles Durning	Al Green	Queen of the Stardust Ballroom	CBS
	Henry Fonda	Clarence Darrow	Clarence Darrow	NBC
	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series
	Peter Falk	Columbo	Columbo	NBC
	Dennis Weaver	Sam McCloud	McCloud	NBC
1976 (28th)	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy
	Anthony Hopkins	Richard Hauptmann	The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case	NBC
	William Devane	John Henry Faulk	Fear on Trial	CBS
	Edward Herrmann	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Eleanor and Franklin	ABC
	Jack Lemmon	Archie Rice	The Entertainer	NBC
	Jason Robards	James Tyrone, Jr.	A Moon for the Misbegotten	ABC
	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series
	Hal Holbrook	Abraham Lincoln	Sandburg's Lincoln	NBC
	George Grizzard	John Adams	The Adams Chronicles	PBS
	Nick Nolte	Thomas Jordache	Rich Man, Poor Man	ABC
	Peter Strauss	Rudolph Jordache
1977 (29th)	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy
	Ed Flanders	Harry S. Truman	Harry S. Truman: Plain Speaking	PBS
	Peter Boyle	Joseph McCarthy	Tail Gunner Joe	NBC
	Peter Finch (post-humously)	Yitzhak Rabin	Raid on Entebbe
	Edward Herrmann	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years	ABC
	George C. Scott	The Beast	Beauty and the Beast	NBC
	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series
	Christopher Plummer	Roscoe Heyward	The Moneychangers	NBC
	Stanley Baker	Gwilym Morgan	How Green Was My Valley	PBS
	Richard Jordan	Joseph Armagh	Captains and the Kings	NBC
	Steven Keats	Jay Blackman	Seventh Avenue
1978 (30th)	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special
	Fred Astaire	Ted Long	A Family Upside Down	NBC
	Alan Alda	Caryl Chessman	Kill Me If You Can	NBC
	Hal Holbrook	Stage Manager	Our Town
	Martin Sheen	Taxi Driver	Taxi!!!
	James Stacy	Kenny Briggs	Just a Little Inconvenience
	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series
	Michael Moriarty	Erik Dorf	Holocaust	NBC
	Hal Holbrook	Portius Wheeler	The Awakening Land	NBC
	Jason Robards	Richard Monckton	Washington: Behind Closed Doors	ABC
	Fritz Weaver	Josef Weiss	Holocaust	NBC
	Paul Winfield	Martin Luther King, Jr.	King
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special
1979 (31st)
	Peter Strauss	Larry Murphy	The Jericho Mile	ABC
	Ned Beatty	Gene Mullen	Friendly Fire	ABC
	Louis Gossett Jr.	Levi Mercer	Backstairs at the White House	NBC
	Kurt Russell	Elvis Presley	Elvis	ABC

1980s

Year	Actor	Role	Program	Network
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special
1980 (32nd)
	Powers Boothe	Jim Jones	Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones	CBS
	Tony Curtis	David O. Selznick	The Scarlett O'Hara War	NBC
	Henry Fonda	Clarence Earl Gideon	Gideon's Trumpet	CBS
	Jason Robards	Franklin D. Roosevelt	F.D.R.: The Last Year	NBC
1981 (33rd)
	Anthony Hopkins	Adolf Hitler	The Bunker	CBS
	Richard Chamberlain	John Blackthorne / "Anjin-san"	Shōgun	NBC
	Toshiro Mifune	Lord Yoshi Toranaga
	Peter O'Toole	Cornelius Flavius Silva	Masada	ABC
	Peter Strauss	Eleazar Ben Yair
1982 (34th) [1]
	Mickey Rooney	Bill Sackter	Bill	CBS
	Anthony Andrews	Sebastian Flyte	Brideshead Revisited	PBS
	Philip Anglim	John Merrick	The Elephant Man	ABC
	Anthony Hopkins	Quasimodo	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	CBS
	Jeremy Irons	Charles Ryder	Brideshead Revisited	PBS
1983 (35th) [2]
	Tommy Lee Jones	Gary Gilmore	The Executioner's Song	NBC
	Robert Blake	Jimmy Hoffa	Blood Feud	OPT
	Richard Chamberlain	Ralph de Bricassart	The Thorn Birds	ABC
	Alec Guinness	George Smiley	Smiley's People	Syndicated
	Roger Rees	Nicholas Nickleby	The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
1984 (36th)
	Laurence Olivier	King Lear	King Lear	Syndicated
	Ted Danson	Steven Bennett	Something About Amelia	ABC
	Louis Gossett Jr.	Anwar al-Sadat	Sadat	OPT
	Mickey Rooney	Bill Sackter	Bill: On His Own	CBS
	Daniel J. Travanti	John Walsh	Adam	NBC
1985 (37th)
	Richard Crenna	Richard Beck	The Rape of Richard Beck	ABC
	Richard Chamberlain	Raoul Wallenberg	Wallenberg: A Hero's Story	NBC
	James Garner	Harold Lear	Heartsounds	ABC
	Richard Kiley	George Hollis	Do You Remember Love	CBS
	George C. Scott	Ebenezer Scrooge	A Christmas Carol
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special
1986 (38th)
	Dustin Hoffman	Willy Loman	Death of a Salesman	CBS
	Kirk Douglas	Amos Lasher	Amos	CBS
	Ben Gazzara	Nick Pierson	An Early Frost	NBC
	John Lithgow	Maj. Kendall Laird	Resting Place	CBS
	Aidan Quinn	Michael Pierson	An Early Frost	NBC
1987 (39th)
	James Woods	D. J.	Promise	CBS
	Alan Arkin	Leon Feldhendler	Escape from Sobibor	CBS
	James Garner	Bob Beuhler	Promise
	Louis Gossett Jr.	Mathu	A Gathering of Old Men
	Randy Quaid	Lyndon B. Johnson	LBJ: The Early Years	NBC
1988 (40th)
	Jason Robards	Henry Drummond	Inherit the Wind	NBC
	Hume Cronyn	Hector Nations	Foxfire	CBS
	Danny Glover	Nelson Mandela	Mandela	HBO
	Stacy Keach	Ernest Hemingway	Hemingway	Syndicated
	Jack Lemmon	John M. Slaton	The Murder of Mary Phagan	NBC
1989 (41st)
	James Woods	Bill Wilson	My Name Is Bill W.	ABC
	Robert Duvall	Gus McCrae	Lonesome Dove	CBS
	John Gielgud	Aaron Jastrow	War and Remembrance	ABC
	Tommy Lee Jones	Woodrow F. Call	Lonesome Dove	CBS
	Ben Kingsley	Simon Wiesenthal	Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story	HBO

1990s

Year	Actor	Role	Program	Network
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special
1990 (42nd)
	Hume Cronyn	Cooper	Age-Old Friends	HBO
	Michael Caine	Dr. Henry Jekyll / Harry Hyde	Jekyll & Hyde	ABC
	Art Carney	The Father	Where Pigeons Go to Die	NBC
	Albert Finney	Jason Cromwell	The Image	HBO
	Tom Hulce	Michael Schwerner	Murder in Mississippi	NBC
1991 (43rd)
	John Gielgud	Haverford Downs	Summer's Lease	PBS
	James Garner	Albert Sidney Finch	Decoration Day	NBC
	Dennis Hopper	Paris Trout	Paris Trout	Showtime
	Sidney Poitier	Thurgood Marshall	Separate but Equal	ABC
	Christopher Walken	Jacob Witting	Sarah, Plain and Tall	CBS
1992 (44th) [3]
	Beau Bridges	James Brady	Without Warning: The James Brady Story	HBO
	Rubén Blades	Ernesto Ontiveros	Crazy from the Heart	TNT
	Hume Cronyn	Cleveland Merriweather	Christmas on Division Street	CBS
	Brian Dennehy	John Wayne Gacy	To Catch a Killer	Syndicated
	Maximilian Schell	Mordechai Weiss	Miss Rose White	NBC
1993 (45th)
	Robert Morse	Truman Capote	Tru	PBS
	Robert Blake	John List	Judgment Day: The John List Story	CBS
	Robert Duvall	Joseph Stalin	Stalin	HBO
	James Garner	F. Ross Johnson	Barbarians at the Gate
	James Woods	Roy Cohn	Citizen Cohn
1994 (46th)
	Hume Cronyn	Sam Peek	To Dance with the White Dog	CBS
	Michael Caine	Joseph Stalin	World War II: When Lions Roared	NBC
	James Garner	Ira Moran	Breathing Lessons	CBS
	Matthew Modine	Don Francis	And the Band Played On	HBO
	Sam Waterston	Forrest Bedford	I'll Fly Away: Then and Now	PBS
1995 (47th)
	Raul Julia (post-humously)	Chico Mendes	The Burning Season	HBO
	Charles S. Dutton	Boy Willie Charles	The Piano Lesson	CBS
	John Goodman	Huey P. Long	Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long	TNT
	John Lithgow	Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley	My Brother's Keeper	CBS
	James Woods	Danny Davis	Indictment: The McMartin Trial	HBO
1996 (48th)
	Alan Rickman	Grigori Rasputin	Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny	HBO
	Alec Baldwin	Stanley Kowalski	A Streetcar Named Desire	CBS
	Beau Bridges	Richard Nixon	Kissinger and Nixon	TNT
	Laurence Fishburne	Hannibal Lee	The Tuskegee Airmen	HBO
	Gary Sinise	Harry S. Truman	Truman
1997 (49th)
	Armand Assante	John Gotti	Gotti	HBO
	Beau Bridges	Bill Januson	Hidden in America	Showtime
	Robert Duvall	Adolf Eichmann	The Man Who Captured Eichmann	TNT
	Laurence Fishburne	Caleb Humphries	Miss Evers' Boys	HBO
	Sidney Poitier	Nelson Mandela	Mandela and de Klerk	Showtime
1998 (50th) [4]
	Gary Sinise	George Wallace	George Wallace	TNT
	Jack Lemmon	Juror #8	12 Angry Men	Showtime
	Sam Neill	Merlin	Merlin	NBC
	Ving Rhames	Don King	Don King: Only in America	HBO
	Patrick Stewart	Captain Ahab	Moby Dick	USA
1999 (51st)
	Stanley Tucci	Walter Winchell	Winchell	HBO
	Don Cheadle	Grant Wiggins	A Lesson Before Dying	HBO
	Ian Holm	King Lear	King Lear	PBS
	Jack Lemmon	Henry Drummond	Inherit the Wind	Showtime
	Sam Shepard	Dashiell Hammett	Dash and Lilly	A&E

2000s

Year	Actor	Role	Program	Network
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
2000 (52nd)
	Jack Lemmon	Morrie Schwartz	Tuesdays with Morrie	ABC
	Beau Bridges	P. T. Barnum	P. T. Barnum	A&E
	Brian Dennehy	Willy Loman	Death of a Salesman	Showtime
	William H. Macy	Terry Thorpe	A Slight Case of Murder	TNT
	Liev Schreiber	Orson Welles	RKO 281	HBO
2001 (53rd)
	Kenneth Branagh	Reinhard Heydrich	Conspiracy	HBO
	Andy García	Arturo Sandoval	For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story	HBO
	Gregory Hines	Bill "Bojangles" Robinson	Bojangles	Showtime
	Ben Kingsley	Otto Frank	Anne Frank: The Whole Story	ABC
	Barry Pepper	Roger Maris	61*	HBO
2002 (54th)
	Albert Finney	Winston Churchill	The Gathering Storm	HBO
	Kenneth Branagh	Ernest Shackleton	Shackleton	A&E
	Beau Bridges	Michael Mulvaney	We Were the Mulvaneys	Lifetime
	James Franco	James Dean	James Dean	TNT
	Michael Gambon	Lyndon B. Johnson	Path to War	HBO
2003 (55th)
	William H. Macy	Bill Porter	Door to Door	TNT
	Brad Garrett	Jackie Gleason	Gleason	CBS
	Paul Newman	Stage Manager	Our Town	Showtime
	Tom Wilkinson	Roy Applewood	Normal	HBO
	James Woods	Rudy Giuliani	Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story	USA
2004 (56th)
	Al Pacino	Roy Cohn	Angels in America	HBO
	Antonio Banderas	Pancho Villa	And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself	HBO
	James Brolin	Ronald Reagan	The Reagans	Showtime
	Mos Def	Vivien Thomas	Something the Lord Made	HBO
	Alan Rickman	Dr. Alfred Blalock
2005 (57th)
	Geoffrey Rush	Peter Sellers	The Life and Death of Peter Sellers	HBO
	Kenneth Branagh	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Warm Springs	HBO
	Ed Harris	Miles Roby	Empire Falls
	William H. Macy	Charles Gigot	The Wool Cap	TNT
	Jonathan Rhys Meyers	Elvis Presley	Elvis	CBS
2006 (58th)
	Andre Braugher	Nick Atwater	Thief	FX
	Charles Dance	Mr. Tulkinghorn	Bleak House	PBS
	Ben Kingsley	Dr. Herman Tarnower	Mrs. Harris	HBO
	Donald Sutherland	Bill Meehan	Human Trafficking	Lifetime
	Jon Voight	Pope John Paul II	Pope John Paul II	CBS
2007 (59th)
	Robert Duvall	Prentice "Prent" Ritter	Broken Trail	AMC
	Jim Broadbent	Lord Longford	Longford	HBO
	William H. Macy	Det. Clyde Umney / Sam Landry	Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King: Umney's Last Case	TNT
	Matthew Perry	Ron Clark	The Ron Clark Story
	Tom Selleck	Jesse Stone	Jesse Stone: Sea Change	CBS
2008 (60th)
	Paul Giamatti	John Adams	John Adams	HBO
	Ralph Fiennes	Bernard Lafferty	Bernard and Doris	HBO
	Ricky Gervais	Andy Millman	Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale
	Kevin Spacey	Ron Klain	Recount
	Tom Wilkinson	James Baker
2009 (61st)
	Brendan Gleeson	Winston Churchill	Into the Storm	HBO
	Kevin Bacon	Michael Strobl	Taking Chance	HBO
	Kenneth Branagh	Kurt Wallander	Wallander: One Step Behind	PBS
	Kevin Kline	Cyrano de Bergerac	Cyrano de Bergerac
	Ian McKellen	King Lear	King Lear
	Kiefer Sutherland	Jack Bauer	24: Redemption	Fox

2010s

Year	Actor	Role	Program	Network
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
2010 (62nd) [5]
	Al Pacino	Dr. Jack Kevorkian	You Don't Know Jack	HBO
	Jeff Bridges	Jon Katz	A Dog Year	HBO
	Ian McKellen	Number Two / Curtis	The Prisoner	AMC
	Dennis Quaid	Bill Clinton	The Special Relationship	HBO
	Michael Sheen	Tony Blair
2011 (63rd) [6]
	Barry Pepper	Robert F. Kennedy	The Kennedys	Reelz
	Idris Elba	John Luther	Luther	BBC America
	Laurence Fishburne	Thurgood Marshall	Thurgood	HBO
	William Hurt	Henry Paulson	Too Big to Fail
	Greg Kinnear	John F. Kennedy	The Kennedys	Reelz
	Édgar Ramírez	Ilich Ramírez Sánchez	Carlos	Sundance
2012 (64th) [7]
	Kevin Costner	Devil Anse Hatfield	Hatfields & McCoys	History
	Benedict Cumberbatch	Sherlock Holmes	Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia	PBS
	Idris Elba	John Luther	Luther	BBC America
	Woody Harrelson	Steve Schmidt	Game Change	HBO
	Clive Owen	Ernest Hemingway	Hemingway & Gellhorn
	Bill Paxton	Randolph McCoy	Hatfields & McCoys	History
2013 (65th) [8]
	Michael Douglas	Liberace	Behind the Candelabra	HBO
	Benedict Cumberbatch	Christopher Tietjens	Parade's End	HBO
	Matt Damon	Scott Thorson	Behind the Candelabra
	Toby Jones	Alfred Hitchcock	The Girl
	Al Pacino	Phil Spector	Phil Spector
2014 (66th) [9]
	Benedict Cumberbatch	Sherlock Holmes	Sherlock: His Last Vow	PBS
	Chiwetel Ejiofor	Louis Lester	Dancing on the Edge	Starz
	Idris Elba	John Luther	Luther	BBC America
	Martin Freeman	Lester Nygaard	Fargo	FX
	Mark Ruffalo	Ned Weeks	The Normal Heart	HBO
	Billy Bob Thornton	Lorne Malvo	Fargo	FX
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
2015 (67th) [10]
	Richard Jenkins	Henry Kitteridge	Olive Kitteridge	HBO
	Adrien Brody	Harry Houdini	Houdini	History
	Ricky Gervais	Derek Noakes	Derek: The Special	Netflix
	Timothy Hutton	Russ Skokie	American Crime	ABC
	David Oyelowo	Peter Snowden	Nightingale	HBO
	Mark Rylance	Thomas Cromwell	Wolf Hall	PBS
2016 (68th) [11]
	Courtney B. Vance	Johnnie Cochran	The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story	FX
	Bryan Cranston	Lyndon B. Johnson	All the Way	HBO
	Benedict Cumberbatch	Sherlock Holmes	Sherlock: The Abominable Bride	PBS
	Idris Elba	John Luther	Luther	BBC America
	Cuba Gooding Jr.	O. J. Simpson	The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story	FX
	Tom Hiddleston	Jonathan Pine	The Night Manager	AMC
2017 (69th) [12]
	Riz Ahmed	Nasir "Naz" Khan	The Night Of	HBO
	Benedict Cumberbatch	Sherlock Holmes	Sherlock: The Lying Detective	PBS
	Robert De Niro	Bernie Madoff	The Wizard of Lies	HBO
	Ewan McGregor	Ray Stussy / Emmit Stussy	Fargo	FX
	Geoffrey Rush	Albert Einstein	Genius	Nat Geo
	John Turturro	John Stone	The Night Of	HBO
2018 (70th) [13]
	Darren Criss	Andrew Cunanan	The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story	FX
	Antonio Banderas	Pablo Picasso	Genius: Picasso	Nat Geo
	Benedict Cumberbatch	Patrick Melrose	Patrick Melrose	Showtime
	Jeff Daniels	John O'Neill	The Looming Tower	Hulu
	John Legend	Jesus Christ	Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert	NBC
	Jesse Plemons	Captain Robert Daly	USS Callister (Black Mirror)	Netflix
2019 (71st)
	Jharrel Jerome	Korey Wise	When They See Us	Netflix
	Mahershala Ali	Wayne Hays	True Detective	HBO
	Benicio del Toro	Richard Matt	Escape at Dannemora	Showtime
	Hugh Grant	Jeremy Thorpe	A Very English Scandal	Prime Video
	Jared Harris	Valery Legasov	Chernobyl	HBO
	Sam Rockwell	Bob Fosse	Fosse/Verdon	FX

2020s

Year	Actor	Role	Program	Network
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
2020 (72nd) [14]
	Mark Ruffalo	Dominick & Thomas Birdsey	I Know This Much Is True	HBO
	Jeremy Irons	Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias	Watchmen	HBO
	Hugh Jackman	Frank Tassone	Bad Education
	Paul Mescal	Connell Waldron	Normal People	Hulu
	Jeremy Pope	Archie Coleman	Hollywood	Netflix
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
2021 (73rd) [15]
	Ewan McGregor	Halston	Halston	Netflix
	Paul Bettany	Vision	WandaVision	Disney+
	Hugh Grant	Jonathan Fraser	The Undoing	HBO
	Lin-Manuel Miranda	Alexander Hamilton	Hamilton	Disney+
	Leslie Odom Jr.	Aaron Burr
2022 (74th) [16]
	Michael Keaton	Dr. Samuel Finnix	Dopesick	Hulu
	Colin Firth	Michael Peterson	The Staircase	HBO Max
	Andrew Garfield	Detective Jeb Pyre	Under the Banner of Heaven	FX
	Oscar Isaac	Jonathan Levy	Scenes from a Marriage	HBO
	Himesh Patel	Jeevan Chaudhary	Station Eleven	HBO Max
	Sebastian Stan	Tommy Lee	Pam & Tommy	Hulu
2023 (75th) [17]
	Steven Yeun	Danny Cho	Beef	Netflix
	Taron Egerton	Jimmy Keene	Black Bird	Apple TV+
	Kumail Nanjiani	Somen "Steve" Banerjee	Welcome to Chippendales	Hulu
	Evan Peters	Jeffrey Dahmer	Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story	Netflix
	Daniel Radcliffe	"Weird Al" Yankovic	Weird: The Al Yankovic Story	Roku
	Michael Shannon	George Jones	George & Tammy	Showtime
2024 (76th) [18]
	Richard Gadd	Donny Dunn	Baby Reindeer	Netflix
	Matt Bomer	Hawkins "Hawk" Fuller	Fellow Travelers	Showtime
	Jon Hamm	Sheriff Roy Tillman	Fargo	FX
	Tom Hollander	Truman Capote	Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
	Andrew Scott	Tom Ripley	Ripley	Netflix
2025 (77th) [19]
	Colin Farrell	Oswald "Oz" Cobb	The Penguin	HBO
	Stephen Graham	Eddie Miller	Adolescence	Netflix
	Jake Gyllenhaal	Rusty Sabich	Presumed Innocent	Apple TV+
	Brian Tyree Henry	Ray Driscoll	Dope Thief
	Cooper Koch	Erik Menendez	Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story	Netflix

Programs with multiple wins

2 wins

• American Crime Story

Performers with multiple wins

4 wins Laurence Olivier 3 wins Peter Ustinov

2 wins Fred Astaire Hume Cronyn Peter Falk Hal Holbrook Anthony Hopkins Al Pacino James Woods

Programs with multiple nominations

13 nominations Hallmark Hall of Fame 7 nominations Playhouse 90 4 nominations Fargo Luther Sherlock 3 nominations American Crime Story CBS Playhouse The Dick Powell Theatre Studio One

2 nominations An Early Frost Behind the Candelabra Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre Brian's Song Brideshead Revisited Columbo The Defenders Ford Star Jubilee Genius Hamilton Hatfields & McCoys Holocaust The Kennedys Lonesome Dove Masada McCloud Monster The Night Of Producers' Showcase Promise Recount Rich Man, Poor Man Shōgun Something the Lord Made The Special Relationship The United States Steel Hour

Performers with multiple nominations

7 nominations Hal Holbrook 6 nominations Benedict Cumberbatch Laurence Olivier

5 nominations Beau Bridges James Garner Jack Lemmon Jason Robards Mickey Rooney George C. Scott James Woods 4 nominations Kenneth Branagh Richard Chamberlain Hume Cronyn Robert Duvall Idris Elba William H. Macy

3 nominations Lee J. Cobb Laurence Fishburne Peter Falk Henry Fonda Louis Gossett, Jr. Anthony Hopkins Ben Kingsley Fredric March Al Pacino Christopher Plummer Peter Strauss Peter Ustinov

2 nominations Alan Alda Alan Arkin Fred Astaire Antonio Banderas Robert Blake Michael Caine Brian Dennehy William Devane Melvyn Douglas Albert Finney Ricky Gervais John Gielgud Hugh Grant Alec Guinness Edward Herrmann Trevor Howard

Jeremy Irons Tommy Lee Jones John Lithgow Ewan McGregor Ian McKellen Barry Pepper Sidney Poitier Alan Rickman Cliff Robertson Mark Ruffalo Geoffrey Rush Martin Sheen Gary Sinise Rod Steiger Dennis Weaver Tom Wilkinson Ed Wynn

See also

• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
• TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
• Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries
• Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie