| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | |
| Image Upright: | 0.8 |
| Awarded For: | Outstanding Performance by a Guest Actor in a Drama Series |
| Presenter: | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
| Country: | United States |
| Year: | 1975 |
| Holder: | Nick Offerman, The Last of Us (2023) |
| Website: | http://www.emmys.com |
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series 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 guest starring role on a television drama series for the primetime network season.
The award was first presented at the 27th Primetime Emmy Awards on May 19, 1975, to Patrick McGoohan for his performance on Columbo: By Dawn's Early Light. It has undergone several name changes, originally honoring leading and supporting actors in single appearances on drama and comedy series through 1978. The award was reintroduced at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards under the name Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series, honoring actors and actresses in guest starring roles on television drama series. In 1989, the category was split into categories for each gender, resulting in the name change to its current title.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 36 actors. Charles S. Dutton, John Lithgow, Ron Cephas Jones and Patrick McGoohan have won the most awards in this category with two each. Michael J. Fox has been nominated for the award on seven occasions, the most within the category.
Listed below are the winners of the award for each year, as well as the other nominees.
| Year | Actor | Program | Role | Submitted episode(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 [1] | |||||
| Patrick McGoohan | Columbo: By Dawn's Early Light | Col. Lyle C. Rumford | "By Dawn's Early Light" | NBC | |
| Kung Fu | Beaumont | "The Vanishing Image" | ABC | ||
| Police Story | Andrea Basic | "Fathers and Sons" | NBC | ||
| M*A*S*H | Maj. Gen. Bartford Hamilton Steele | "The General Flipped at Dawn" | CBS | ||
| 1976 | |||||
| Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series[2] | |||||
| Rich Man, Poor Man | Axel Jordache | "Parts I" | ABC | ||
| The Streets of San Francisco | Eric Doyle | "The Police Buff" | ABC | ||
| Medical Story | Dr. Paul Brandon | "The Quality of Mercy" | NBC | ||
| Medical Center | Dr. Pat Caddison | "John Quincy Adams, Diplomat" | CBS | ||
| Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Series[3] | |||||
| Upstairs, Downstairs | Hudson | "The Beastly Hun" | PBS | ||
| Rich Man, Poor Man | Willie Abbott | "Part VI" | ABC | ||
| Barney Miller | Charlie Jeffers | "The Escape Artist" | |||
| Rich Man, Poor Man | Smitty | "Part V" | |||
| Marsh Goodwin | "Parts VII" | ||||
| 1977 | |||||
| Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series[4] | |||||
| Roots | Fiddler | "Part IV" | ABC | ||
| John Amos | Roots | Toby | "Part V" | ABC | |
| "Part I" | |||||
| "Chicken" George Moore | "Part VI" | ||||
| Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Series[5] | |||||
| Roots | Capt. Davies | "Part 1" | ABC | ||
| Captains and the Kings | Billy Rice | "Chapter 2" | NBC | ||
| Moses Gunn | Roots | Kintango | "Part I" | ABC | |
| Dr. William Reynolds | "Part V" | ||||
| Third mate Slater | "Part I" | ||||
| 1978 | |||||
| Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series[6] | |||||
| Lou Grant | Judge Felix Rushman | "Judge" | CBS | ||
| Police Woman | Officer Dan Shay | "A Chance to Live" | NBC | ||
| The Love Boat | Franklyn Bootherstone | "The Old Man and the Runaway" | ABC | ||
| Rhoda | Mike Andretti | "Rhoda Likes Mike" | CBS | ||
| Family | Jeff Maitland | "And Baby Makes Three" | ABC | ||
| Police Woman | Ben Fletcher | "Good Old Uncle Ben" | |||
| Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Series[7] | |||||
| How the West Was Won | Satangkai | "Part I" | ABC | ||
| Eight is Enough | "Yes, Nicholas... There is a Santa Claus" | ABC | |||
| Barney Miller | Edward Sellers | "Goodbye, Mr. Fish" | |||
| Rhoda | Martin Morgenstern | "Happy Anniversary" | CBS | ||
| Barney Miller | Det. Phil Fish | "Goodbye, Mr. Fish" | ABC | ||
| Year | Recipient | Program | Role | Submitted episode(s) | Network | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series | ||||||
| 1986 (38th) [8] | ||||||
| John Lithgow | Amazing Stories | John Walters | "The Doll" | NBC | ||
| Moonlighting | Camille | "Camille" | ABC | |||
| St. Elsewhere | Father Joseph McCabe | "Time Heals" | NBC | |||
| Peggy McCay | Cagney & Lacey | Mrs. Carruthers | "Mothers and Sons" | CBS | ||
| Ted Peters | "The Gimp" | |||||
| 1987 (39th) [9] | ||||||
| Alfre Woodard | L.A. Law | Adrianne Moore | "Pilot" | NBC | ||
| St. Elsewhere | Lech Osoranski | "Visiting Daze" | NBC | |||
| L.A. Law | Gladys Becker | "Fry Me to the Moon" | ||||
| St. Elsewhere | Father Joseph McCabe | "Where There's Hope, There's Crosby" | ||||
| Olga Osoranski | "Visiting Daze" | |||||
| 1988 (40th) [10] | ||||||
| Shirley Knight | thirtysomething | Ruth Murdock | "The Parents Are Coming" | ABC | ||
| Moonlighting | Clara DiPesto | "Los Dos DiPietos" | ABC | |||
| St. Elsewhere | Frieda Fiscus | "The Abby Singer Show" | NBC | |||
| Magnum, P.I. | Catherine Peters | "Infinity And Jelly Doughnuts" | CBS | |||
| St. Elsewhere | Dr. Roxanne Turner | "The Abby Singer Show" | NBC | |||
| Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | ||||||
| 1989 (41st) [11] | ||||||
| Joe Spano | Midnight Caller | John Saringo | "The Execution Of John Saringo" | NBC | ||
| Midnight Caller | J.J. Kilian | "Fathers and Sins" | NBC | |||
| thirtysomething | The Old Gentleman | "The Mike Van Dyke Show" | ABC | |||
| The Equalizer | Wayne Virgil | "Starfire" | CBS | |||
| The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Drummond | "The Hunted" | USA | |||
| Year | Actor | Program | Role | Submitted episode(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 (42nd) [12] | |||||
| Patrick McGoohan | Columbo | Oscar Finch | "Agenda for Murder" | ABC | |
| thirtysomething | Peter Montefiore | "Strangers" | ABC | ||
| The Ray Bradbury Theatre | The Old Man | "To the Chicago Abyss" | USA | ||
| Tales from the Crypt | Carlton Webber | "The Switch" | HBO | ||
| Midnight Caller | Sgt. Ed Adderly | "Mercy Me" | NBC | ||
| 1991 (43rd) [13] | |||||
| David Opatoshu | Gabriel's Fire | Max Goldstein | "Prayers for the Goldsteins" | ABC | |
| Columbo | Hugh Creighton | "Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star" | ABC | ||
| Road to Avonlea | Romney Penhallow | "Old Quarrels, Old Love" | Disney | ||
| L.A. Law | Dr. Paul Kohler | "God Rest Ye Murray Gentleman" | NBC | ||
| 1992 (44th) | Road to Avonlea | Alistair Dimple | "Another Point of View" | Disney Channel | |
| Tales from the Crypt | General Calthrob | "Yellow" | HBO | ||
| The Ray Bradbury Theater | Doug Spaulding | "The Utterly Perfect Murder" | USA | ||
| Quantum Leap | Reverend Walters | "A Song for the Soul - April 7, 1963" | NBC | ||
| L.A. Law | Victor Sifuentes | "Steal It Again, Sam" | |||
| 1993 (45th) [14] | |||||
| Laurence Fishburne | TriBeCa | Martin McHenry | "The Box" | Fox | |
| Northern Exposure | Adam | "The Big Feast" | CBS | ||
| Crime & Punishment | Dennis Atwood | "Best Laid Plans" | NBC | ||
| Michael Jeter | Picket Fences | Peter Lebeck | "Frog Man" | CBS | |
| Hayden Langston | "Thanksgiving" | ||||
| 1994 (46th) [15] | |||||
| Richard Kiley | Picket Fences | Hayden Langston | "Buried Alive" | CBS | |
| Tales from the Crypt | Mother/Father/Sister/Daughter | "Death of Some Salesman" | HBO | ||
| NYPD Blue | Lou the Werewolf | "NYPD Lou" | ABC | ||
| Picket Fences | Attorney Bryant Thomas | "System Down" | CBS | ||
| Robert Ellison | "Bop Gun" | NBC | |||
| 1995 (47th) [16] | |||||
| Paul Winfield | Picket Fences | Judge Harold Nance | "Enemy Lines" | CBS | |
| Beverly Hills, 90210 | Saul Howard | "Sentenced to Life" | Fox | ||
| The Outer Limits | Simon Kress | "Sandkings" | Showtime | ||
| Vondie Curtis-Hall | ER | Rena | "ER Confidential" | NBC | |
| Sam Gasner | "Into That Good Night" | ||||
| 1996 (48th) [17] | |||||
| Peter Boyle | The X-Files | Clyde Bruckman | "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" | Fox | |
| Fallen Angels | Philip Marlowe | "Red Wind" | Showtime | ||
| Michael Jeter | Chicago Hope | Bob Ryan | "A Coupla Stiffs" | CBS | |
| Joe Springer | "Stand" | ||||
| Warren Schutt | "Hello Goodbye" | ||||
| 1997 (49th) [18] | |||||
| Pruitt Taylor Vince | Murder One | Clifford Banks | "Diary of a Serial Killer" | ABC | |
| Chicago Hope | Zoltan Karpathein | "The Son Also Rises" | CBS | ||
| Touched by an Angel | Anderson Walker | "Amazing Grace" | |||
| William H. Macy | ER | Dr. Morgenstern | NBC | ||
| Duncan Stewart | "The Long Way Around" | ||||
| 1998 (50th) [19] | |||||
| John Larroquette | The Practice | Joey Heric | "Betrayal" | ABC | |
| Touched by an Angel | Jake | "Elijah" | CBS | ||
| Vincent D'Onofrio | John Lange | "Subway" | NBC | ||
| Thomas Finnegan | "Finnegan's Wake" | ||||
| Millennium | Jose Chung | "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense" | Fox | ||
| 1999 (51st) [20] | |||||
| Edward Herrmann | The Practice | Atty. Anderson Pearson | ABC | ||
| The Practice | Tommy Silva | ABC | |||
| Oz | Alvah Case | "The Tip" | HBO | ||
| The Sopranos | "Nobody Knows Anything" | ||||
| Chicago Hope | Dr. Jeffery Geiger | "Curing Cancer" | CBS |
| Year | Actor | Program | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 (52nd) [21] | ||||
| James Whitmore | The Practice | Raymond Oz | ABC | |
| ER | Dr. Gabriel Lawrence | NBC | ||
| The Practice | Judge Philip Swackhein | ABC | ||
| Henry Olson | ||||
| Touched by an Angel | Ross Burger | CBS | ||
| 2001 (53rd) [22] | ||||
| Michael Emerson | The Practice | William Hinks | ABC | |
| ER | Bishop Lionel Stewart | NBC | ||
| The Practice | Judge Mantz | ABC | ||
| Once and Again | Aaron Brooks | |||
| The West Wing | Oliver Babish | NBC | ||
| 2002 (54th) [23] | ||||
| Charles S. Dutton | The Practice | Leonard Marshall | ABC | |
| The West Wing | Agent Simon Donovan | NBC | ||
| The Practice | Joey Heric | ABC | ||
| Tim Matheson | The West Wing | Vice President John Hoynes | ||
| Bruno Giannelli | ||||
| 2003 (55th) [24] | ||||
| Charles S. Dutton | Without a Trace | Chet Collins | CBS | |
| ER | Paul Nathan | NBC | ||
| Six Feet Under | George Sibley | HBO | ||
| The West Wing | Vice President John Hoynes | NBC | ||
| Joe Quincy | ||||
| Mister Sterling | Bill Sterling Sr. | |||
| 2004 (56th) [25] | ||||
| William Shatner | The Practice | Denny Crane | ABC | |
| Everwood | Will Cleveland | The WB | ||
| The West Wing | Joe Quincy | NBC | ||
| ER | Ben Hollander | |||
| Without a Trace | Frank Malone | CBS | ||
| 2005 (57th) [26] | ||||
| Ray Liotta | ER | Charlie Metcalf | NBC | |
| The L Word | Melvin Porter | Showtime | ||
| ER | Jules 'Ruby' Rubadoux | NBC | ||
| NCIS | Ernie Yost | CBS | ||
| Without a Trace | Frank Malone | |||
| 2006 (58th) [27] | ||||
| Christian Clemenson | Boston Legal | Jerry Espenson | ABC | |
| Grey's Anatomy | Dylan Young | ABC | ||
| Lost | Desmond Hume | |||
| Boston Legal | Daniel Post | |||
| ER | Dr. Nate Lennox | NBC | ||
| 2007 (59th) [28] | ||||
| John Goodman | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Judge Robert Bebe | NBC | |
| Boston Legal | Jerry Espenson | ABC | ||
| The Sopranos | HBO | |||
| House | Michael Tritter | Fox | ||
| Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Eli Weintraub | NBC | ||
| ER | Curtis Ames | |||
| 2008 (60th) [29] | ||||
| Glynn Turman | In Treatment | Alex Prince Jr. | HBO | |
| Rescue Me | John Gavin Sr. | FX | ||
| Mad Men | Bert Cooper | AMC | ||
| Nip/Tuck | Freddie Prune | FX | ||
| ER | Dr. Kevin Moretti | NBC | ||
| Merritt Rook | ||||
| 2009 (61st) [30] | ||||
| Michael J. Fox | Rescue Me | Dwight | FX | |
| Abraham Klein | CBS | |||
| ER | Paul Manning | NBC | ||
| Damages | Arthur Frobisher | FX | ||
| Dexter | Miguel Prado | Showtime |
| Year | Actor | Program | Role | Episode | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 (62nd) [31] | |||||
| John Lithgow | Dexter | Arthur Mitchell | "Road Kill" | Showtime | |
| The Good Wife | Colin Sweeney | "Bad" | CBS | ||
| The Closer | George Andrews | "Make Over" | TNT | ||
| The Good Wife | Eli Gold | "Fleas" | CBS | ||
| Damages | Arthur Frobisher | "The Next One's Gonna Go in Your Throat" | FX | ||
| 24 | "1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m." | Fox | |||
| Mad Men | Bert Cooper | "Shut the Door. Have a Seat." | AMC | ||
| 2011 (63rd) [32] | |||||
| Paul McCrane | Harry's Law | Josh Peyton | "With Friends Like These" | NBC | |
| Brothers & Sisters | Nicholas Brody | "Brody" | ABC | ||
| Justified | Dickie Bennett | "Reckoning" | FX | ||
| Big Love | Frank Harlow | "D.I.V.O.R.C.E." | HBO | ||
| The Good Wife | Louis Canning | "Real Deal" | CBS | ||
| Mad Men | Bert Cooper | "Blowing Smoke" | AMC | ||
| 2012 (64th) [33] | |||||
| Jeremy Davies | Justified | Dickie Bennett | "Coalition" | FX | |
| The Good Wife | Colin Sweeney | "Marthas and Caitlins" | CBS | ||
| Mad Men | Michael Ginsberg | "Dark Shadows" | AMC | ||
| The Good Wife | Louis Canning | "Parenting Made Easy" | CBS | ||
| Breaking Bad | Héctor "Tio" Salamanca | "Face Off" | AMC | ||
| Parenthood | Mark St. Cyr | "Politics" | NBC | ||
| 2013 (65th) [34] | |||||
| Dan Bucatinsky | Scandal | James Novak | "Nobody Likes Babies" | ABC | |
| The Good Wife | Louis Canning | "Boom De Ah Dah" | CBS | ||
| Homeland | Peter Quinn | "Q&A" | Showtime | ||
| Mad Men | Jim Cutler | "A Tale of Two Cities" | AMC | ||
| The Good Wife | Clarke Hayden | "I Fought the Law" | CBS | ||
| Mad Men | Bert Cooper | "For Immediate Release" | AMC | ||
| 2014 (66th) [35] | |||||
| Joe Morton | Scandal | Rowan Pope | "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" | ABC | |
| The Good Wife | Colin Sweeney | "Tying the Knot" | CBS | ||
| Masters of Sex | Barton Scully | "Manhigh" | Showtime | ||
| House of Cards | Freddy Hayes | "Chapter 22" | Netflix | ||
| Downton Abbey | Harold Levinson | "Chapter 8" | PBS | ||
| Mad Men | Bert Cooper | "Waterloo" | AMC | ||
| 2015 (67th) [36] | |||||
| Reg E. Cathey | House of Cards | Freddy Hayes | "Chapter 34" | Netflix | |
| Homeland | Dar Adal | "Long Time Coming" | Showtime | ||
| The Blacklist | Alan Fitch | "The Decembrist" | NBC | ||
| Masters of Sex | Barton Scully | "Parallax" | Showtime | ||
| The Good Wife | Louis Canning | "Red Zone" | CBS | ||
| Orange Is the New Black | George "Pornstache" Mendez | "40 Oz. of Furlough" | Netflix | ||
| 2016 (68th) [37] | |||||
| Hank Azaria | Ray Donovan | Ed Cochran | "One Night in Yerevan" | Showtime | |
| House of Cards | Remy Danton | "Chapter 44" | Netflix | ||
| Freddy Hayes | "Chapter 50" | ||||
| The Good Wife | Louis Canning | "Taxed" | CBS | ||
| House of Cards | Thomas Yates | "Chapter 49" | Netflix | ||
| Game of Thrones | The Three-Eyed Raven | "The Door" | HBO | ||
| 2017 (69th) | |||||
| Gerald McRaney | This Is Us | Dr. Nathan Katowski | "The Big Day" | NBC | |
| Ray Donovan | Ed Cochran | "Norman Saves the World" | Showtime | ||
| This Is Us | Ricky | "Memphis" | NBC | ||
| Bloodline | Danny Rayburn | "Part 32" | Netflix | ||
| This Is Us | Jessie | "Last Christmas" | NBC | ||
| Mr. Robot | Whiterose | "eps2.3_logic-b0mb.hc" | USA | ||
| 2018 (70th) | |||||
| Ron Cephas Jones | This Is Us | William Hill | "A Father's Advice" | NBC | |
| Homeland | Dar Adal | "All In" | Showtime | ||
| Mindhunter | "Episode 2" | Netflix | |||
| The Crown | "Matrimonium" | ||||
| This Is Us | Dr. Nathan Katowski | "The Car" | NBC | ||
| Westworld | William | "Reunion" | HBO | ||
| 2019 (71st) | |||||
| The Handmaid's Tale | Joseph Lawrence | "Postpartum" | Hulu | ||
| This Is Us | Nick Pearson | "Songbird Road: Part One" | NBC | ||
| William Hill | "A Philadelphia Story" | ||||
| Better Call Saul | "Winner" | AMC | |||
| The Twilight Zone | Samir Wassan | "The Comedian" | CBS All Access | ||
| How to Get Away with Murder | Nate Lahey, Sr. | "It Was the Worst Day of My Life" | ABC | ||
| Year | Actor | Program | Role | Episode | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 (72nd) | |||||
| This Is Us | William Hill | "After the Fire" | NBC | ||
| The Outsider | Terry Maitland | "Fish in a Barrel" | HBO | ||
| Succession | Ewan Roy | "Dundee" | |||
| The Mandalorian | "" | Disney+ | |||
| Black Mirror | Chris Gillhaney | "Smithereens" | Netflix | ||
| The Morning Show | Dick Lundy | "Chaos is the New Cocaine" | Apple TV+ | ||
| 2021 (73rd) | |||||
| Lovecraft Country | George Freeman | "Whitey's on the Moon" | HBO | ||
| The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | "New World Order" | Disney+ | |||
| The Crown | "Gold Stick" | Netflix | |||
| The Mandalorian | "" | Disney+ | |||
| "" | |||||
| 2022 (74th) | |||||
| Euphoria | Ali Muhammed | "Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys" | HBO | ||
| Succession | Josh Aaronson | "Lion in the Meadow" | HBO | ||
| Ewan Roy | "Retired Janitors of Idaho" | ||||
| Stewy Hosseini | |||||
| Ozark | Ben Davis | "You're the Boss" | Netflix | ||
| Succession | Lukas Matsson | "All the Bells Say" | HBO | ||
| 2023 (75th) | |||||
| The Last of Us | Bill | "Long, Long Time" | HBO | ||
| The Last of Us | Frank | "Long, Long Time" | HBO | ||
| Succession | Ewan Roy | "Church and State" | |||
| The Last of Us | Henry Burrell | "Endure and Survive" | |||
| Succession | Stewy Hosseini | "Honeymoon States" | |||
| The Last of Us | Sam Burrell | "Endure and Survive" | |||
| 2024 (76th) | |||||
| Shōgun | Vasco Rodrigues | "Anjin" | FX | ||
| Mr. & Mrs. Smith | Harris Materbach | "A Breakup" | Prime Video | ||
| "The New World" | HBO | ||||
| Slow Horses | David Cartwright | "Footprints" | Apple TV+ | ||
| Mr. & Mrs. Smith | Eric Shane | "Second Date" | Prime Video |