In the decades since a trio of “The Rockford Files” cast mates and two “Lou Grant” costars took up every slot in the 1979 Best Drama Supporting Actor Emmy lineup, the primetime category has seen 51 more battles concerning multiple same-program performers. Although the corresponding comedy category’s showdown total is significantly higher at 66, the drama cases have involved a greater number of individual series: 27 versus 21. Scroll through our chronological photo gallery to find out more about this category’s many instances of dual, triple, quadruple, or quintuple nominations.
The most sizable chunk of Best Drama Supporting Actor clashes is attributed to “L.A. Law,” for which four different combinations of cast members were recognized between 1987 and 1992, making for half a dozen distinct battles. Ranking behind the NBC show with four entries apiece are the same network’s “Hill Street Blues” and “The West Wing,” the former of which made history in 1982 as the first continuing series to earn five same-year, same-category acting notices. This remains the only such male occurrence in the Emmys record book.
This gallery excludes performers who were nominated in this category for series on which they only made single-episode guest appearances. A total of 21 men from 15 programs have prevailed here over one or more of their costars, beginning with Stuart Margolin’s 1979 defeat of his “The Rockford Files” cast mates Noah Beery Jr. and Joe Santos. Along with Margolin, who also won over Beery in 1980, the subgroup of actors who emerged victorious from more than one of these situations includes Michael Conrad (“Hill Street Blues,” 1981-1982), Larry Drake (“L.A. Law,” 1988-1989), and Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones,” 2018-2019).
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