How Matthew Rhys and Jason Bateman made Emmys history

Matthew Rhys and Jason Bateman made history when the Emmy nominations were announced on last week — becoming the first two male performers to be nominated for all three lead acting categories: drama, comedy, and limited/movie.

Female performers have achieved this feat before, including Susan Saint James (Kate & Allie, McMillan & Wife), Laura Linney (The Big C, Ozark, Wild Iris/John Adams), and Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie, The Sopranos, Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders).

Several men have been recognized for their lead performances in two acting races, including James Garner, Alan Alda, John Lithgow, John Goodman, Idris Elba, Andre Braugher, Ed Harris, Don Cheadle, Jeff Bridges, Michael Douglas, Ted Danson, Matthew Perry, Kiefer Sutherland, Michael Douglas, Bryan Cranston, Jon Hamm, Steve Carell, and Jeff Daniels.

But until this year, no male performer has ever gotten the trifecta for all three lead races.

Rhys received double nominations for his Apple TV comedy series Widow’s Bay and his Netflix limited series The Beast in Me, while Bateman was acknowledged for the Netflix limited series Black Rabbit. (Bateman is also an Emmy contender for DTF St. Louis, but in the supporting category.)

Rhys is best known for his iconic role as Philip Jennings on The Americans, for which he was nominated for Best Drama Actor three times for the latter half of the spy drama’s six seasons, winning for the final installment in 2018. He subsequently received bids in the same category for Perry Mason in 2021 and for his guest performance in the comedy series Girls in 2017. This year, he is hoping to garner double lead nominations for the Netflix limited series The Beast in Me and for the Apple TV comedy horror Widow’s Bay.

For Bateman, his first citation came for Best Comedy Actor for Arrested Development in 2005, for which he was nominated again in 2013 for the first of two revivals. Five years later, he earned recognition for Best Drama Actor for each of Ozark’s four seasons, as well as directing and producing bids. Along with his nods for The Outsider and Lessons in Chemistry, he had a total of 14 Emmy nominations coming into this year, and received four more last week (his additional nods were for producing DTF St. Louis and directing Black Rabbit).

Per the current Gold Derby odds, Rhys has the best shot of winning comedy acting, leading the field with an 85% chance to win. Both Rhys and Bateman trailer prohibitive favorite Oscar Isaac (Beef) in the limited/movie acting race; Isaac has a 73% chance, while to Rhys is in second place with 21% and Bateman trails in fifth with just over 1%.