Daytime 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 and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 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 25 actors. General Hospital has the most awarded actors in this category with a total of eleven 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 22 occasions, more than any other actor. As of the 2020 ceremony, Jason Thompson is the most recent winner in this category for his portrayal of Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless.
Winners and nominees
Listed below are the winners of the award for each year, as well as the other nominees.| Indicates the winner |
Multiple wins and nominations
The following individuals received two or more wins in this category:| Wins | Actor |
| Anthony Geary | |
| David Canary | |
| 3 | Peter Bergman |
| 3 | Christian LeBlanc |
| 2 | Maurice Benard |
| 2 | Larry Bryggman |
| 2 | Macdonald Carey |
| 2 | Justin Deas |
| 2 | Michael Park |
| 2 | Douglass Watson |
has the most wins in this category, with a total of eight, for his role as Luke Spencer on General Hospital.
The following individuals received two or more nominations in this category:
| Nominations | Actor |
| Peter Bergman | |
| David Canary | |
| Anthony Geary | |
| 8 | - |
| 8 | Eric Braeden |
| 8 | Larry Bryggman |
| 7 | - |
| 7 | Maurice Benard |
| 7 | A Martinez |
| 7 | James Mitchell |
| 7 | Robert S. Woods |
| 7 | Christian LeBlanc |
| Thorsten Kaye | |
| 4 | Doug Davidson |
| 4 | Terry Lester |
| 4 | Jason Thompson |
| 4 | Michael Zaslow |
| 3 | - |
| 3 | Grant Aleksander |
| 3 | John Beradino |
| 3 | Macdonald Carey |
| 3 | Nicolas Coster |
| 3 | Stuart Damon |
| 3 | Ricky Paull Goldin |
| 3 | Michael Levin |
| 3 | Jon Lindstrom |
| 3 | Michael Park |
| 3 | John McCook |
| 3 | Douglass Watson |
| 2 | - |
| 2 | Scott Bryce |
| 2 | Steve Burton |
| 2 | Joel Crothers |
| 2 | Tyler Christopher |
| 2 | Justin Deas |
| 2 | Billy Flynn |
| 2 | Bill Hayes |
| 2 | Roger Howarth |
| 2 | Vincent Irizarry |
| 2 | Charles Keating |
| 2 | Larry Keith |
| 2 | Billy Miller |
| 2 | Robert Newman |
| 2 | Thaao Penghlis |
| 2 | James Pritchett |
| 2 | James Scott |
| 2 | Kristoff St. John |
| 2 | Darnell Williams |
| 2 | - |
Series with most awards
| Wins | Program |
| General Hospital | |
| The Young and the Restless | |
| All My Children | |
| As the World Turns | |
| 3 | Another World |
| 3 | Days of our Lives |
| 3 | Guiding Light |
| 2 | One Life to Live |
| 2 | Search for Tomorrow |
| 1 | The Bold and the Beautiful |
| 1 | The Doctors |
| 1 | Santa Barbara |