Meet the 8 ‘Star Wars’ actors who could be nominated for Emmys this year
A galaxy far, far away keeps getting bigger and bigger thanks to Disney+ expanding the “Star Wars” franchise with several TV shows, such as “The Mandalorian” and “Ahsoka,” to go alongside their film output. As such, “Star Wars” fans have gotten used to seeing actors from the franchise popping up at various awards shows — either for “Star Wars” projects or for other works. Giancarlo Esposito was Emmy-nominated for his villainous work in “The Mandalorian,” for example,” while last year’s Best Drama Actor Emmys lineup included Mando himself, Pedro Pascal, who was cited for “The Last of Us.” With this in mind, here are eight “Star Wars” actors who could be nominated at this year’s Emmys.
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Rosario Dawson — “Ahsoka”
Dawson will be looking to secure a nomination for her work in “Star Wars” itself. She plays the live-action version of Ahsoka Tano, a fan-favorite character who originated in the animated series “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels.” Disney’s live-action show “Ahsoka” follows on from “Rebels” as Ahsoka tries to find the missing Ezra Bridger. Dawson will be looking for her first-ever Emmy nomination, although our predicted lineup for Best Drama Actress is Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”), Imelda Staunton (“The Crown”), Anna Sawai (“Shōgun”), Emma Stone (“The Curse”), Carrie Coon (“The Gilded Age”), and Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”).
Laura Dern — “Palm Royale”
Dern played Vice-Admiral Holdo in “The Last Jedi,” an officer in the resistance who takes charge of the rebel fleet. The iconic Dern could be nominated for Comedy Supporting Actress this year thanks to her work in Apple TV’s “Palm Royale,” which follows an outsider trying to attain a place in high society via Palm Beach’s most exclusive country club. However, our current predicted nominees in this category are Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”), Meryl Streep (“Only Murders in the Building”), Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), Abby Elliott (“The Bear”), Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”), Liza Colon-Zayas (“The Bear”), and Dern’s “Palm Royale” co-star Allison Janney. Dern has racked up nine Emmy nominations so far. She was first nominated in 1992 for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress for “Afterburn.” She then picked up two guest acting bids — Best Drama Guest Actress in 1994 for “Fallen Angels” and Best Comedy Guest Actress in 1997 for “Ellen.” Eleven years later, Dern snagged her fourth Emmy citation — this time for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actress for “Recount.” In 2013, she was nominated for Best Comedy Actress for “Enlightened” before she won her first Emmy in 2017 — for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actress for “Big Little Lies.” A year later she contended up in lead for the telefilm “The Tale.” She then picked up a second bid for “Big Little Lies” in 2020 — this time for Best Drama Supporting Actress.
Giancarlo Esposito — “Parish” and “The Gentlemen”
The aforementioned Esposito has a good Emmys record himself, amassing five nominations in total. Three of those bids came for Drama Supporting Actor — for “Breaking Bad” in 2012 and for “Better Call Saul” in 2019 and 2020. He then secured two further nominations for his work in “Star Wars.” He played bad guy Moff Gideon in “The Mandalorian,” reaping a Drama Guest Actor citation in 2020 and a Drama Supporting Actor bid in 2021. He has never won, although he does have two opportunities this year. The first is for AMC’s “Parish,” in which he stars as a family man with a past full of crime who goes on a quest for vengeance after his son is murdered. He’ll compete for Drama Actor for that, although he isn’t in our predicted, aforementioned lineup. His second opportunity is Netflix’s “The Gentlemen,” a spin-off of the 2019 Guy Ritchie movie that follows an aristocrat who is drawn into a world of drugs and crime after realizing that his family estate is home to a weed empire. Esposito plays an American billionaire who tries to buy the estate. He will compete for another Drama Supporting Actor bid, although our predicted lineup is Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”), Jon Hamm (“The Morning Show”), Jonathan Pryce (“The Crown”), Tadanobu Asano (“Shōgun”), Khalid Abdalla (“The Crown”), Nathan Lane (“The Gilded Age”), Takehiro Hira (“Shōgun”), and Ke Huy Quan (“Loki”).
Donald Glover — “Mr. And Mrs. Smith”
Glover already has 11 Emmy nominations to his name and won two in 2017 for directing and starring in “Atlanta.” He’s back in contention this year for his new show “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” which he stars in, writes, directs, and co-created with Francesca Sloane. The show is a reboot of the iconic 2005 movie and stars Glover and Maya Erskine as secret agents who have to pose as a couple. As a result, he could well pick up nominations in four categories this year. We are predicting that he will be nominated for Best Drama Series as the creator and producer of the Amazon Prime Video show. Our other predicted nominees for Best Drama Series are “The Crown,” “Shōgun,” “The Morning Show,” “The Gilded Age,” “Slow Horses,” “The Curse,” and “Fallout.” We also think that Glover will be nominated for Best Drama Actor alongside Gary Oldman (“Slow Horses”), Hiroyuki Sanada (“Shōgun”), Dominic West (“The Crown”), Cosmo Jarvis (“Shōgun”), and Colin Farrell (“Sugar”). He played the young version of Lando Calrissian in the spin-off movie “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” Glover was touted to reprise his role as Lando in an upcoming TV series, but who knows if that will even happen now.
Ewan McGregor — “A Gentleman in Moscow”
Winstead features in “A Gentleman in Moscow” alongside her real-life partner McGregor, who plays the Russian aristocrat. McGregor, of course, played Obi-Wan Kenobi in all three prequel movies before he reprised the role in the Disney+ limited series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which earned him a Best Limited Series Emmy nomination as a producer. That was one of McGregor’s five Emmy nominations. His first came in 1997 for Drama Guest Actor for “ER” before he was nominated for Best Narrator in 2017 for “Highlands: Scotland’s Wild Heart.” That same year, he was nominated for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor for “Fargo.” He won that category (his only victory) in 2021 for “Halston.” He will be hoping for a nomination in that category this year, although we are predicting that Hamm (“Fargo”), Andrew Scott (“Ripley”), Richard Gadd (“Baby Reindeer”), Tom Hollander (“Feud: Capote vs the Swans”), Matt Bomer (“Fellow Travelers”), and Tony Shalhoub (“Mr. Monk’s Last Case”) will be nominated instead.
Ben Mendelsohn — “The New Look”
Glover could be joined in the Best Drama Actor lineup by Ben Mendelsohn, who shined in the villainous role of Director Orson Krennic, one of the key men responsible for creating the Death Star. Mendelsohn will be looking for a nomination in this category for Apple TV’s “The New Look,” which follows Christian Dior trying to create his fashion line in post-WWII Paris. Mendelsohn himself plays Dior. The Australian actor currently has three Emmy nominations to his name — all for “Bloodline.” He was nominated for Drama Guest Actor in 2017 after he picked up two Drama Supporting Actor bids in 2015 and 2016. He won in 2016.
David Oyelowo — “Lawmen: Bass Reeves”
Oyelowo is actually right on the precipice of breaking into the Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor category himself thanks to his work in Paramount’s “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” which is based on the life of the first African-American Deputy US Marshal west of the Mississippi River, Bass Reeves (portrayed by Oyelowo himself). Oyelowo has two Emmy nominations to his name — both for “Nightingale” in 2015. He was nominated for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor as well as Best Limited Series as a producer. In the “Star Wars” universe, Oyelowo voiced Agent Kallus, a key member of the Imperial team who is the rebel gang’s most persistent enemy until he joins the rebel cause himself.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead — “Ahsoka” and “A Gentleman in Moscow”
Like Esposito, Mary Elizabeth Winstead has two chances of a nomination this year. Firstly, she could be nominated for Drama Supporting Actress for her role as Hera Syndulla in “Ahsoka.” Like Dawson, Winstead plays the live-action version of a character who originated in “Rebels.” She will compete in Drama Supporting Actress here, although our predicted nominees at the moment are Elizabeth Debicki (“The Crown”), Lesley Manville (“The Crown”), Christine Baranski (“The Gilded Age”), Greta Lee (“The Morning Show”), Moeka Hoshi (“Shōgun”), Cynthia Nixon (“The Gilded Age”), Kristin Scott Thomas (“Slow Horses”), and Holland Taylor (“The Morning Show”). Her other, perhaps more likely chance of a nomination is for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress for Paramount’s “A Gentleman in Moscow,” which follows a Russian aristocrat who returns to Russia from Paris only to find himself banished to an attic hotel following the October Revolution. Winstead plays silent film actress Anna Urbanova, who has an affair with the aristocrat. Our current predicted nominees for this category are Jodie Foster (“True Detective: Night Country”), Brie Larson (“Lessons in Chemistry”), Juno Temple (“Fargo”), Sofia Vergara (“Griselda”), Kate Winslet (“The Regime”), and Naomi Watts (“Feud: Capote vs the Swans”). Winstead is on the hunt for her first-ever Emmy nomination.
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