Laverne Cox
NOTE: Edited to reflect more gay characters.
When the Emmy Award nominations came out yesterday, it was nice to see some gay-popular nominations of the list. But when you counted through all of them, an amazing eight LGBT actors were nominated. There are 96 acting categories (more if you count the variety category), so that’s not exactly a majority, but if you add in those who appeared in “gay” shows, or played gay characters, it goes up.
Laverne Cox, of course, became the first (known) trans performer to be nominated for an Emmy (and for guest actress, which is awesome) for Orange is the New Black. But other openly gay performers include Sarah Paulson (best actress in a miniseries, American Horror Story: Coven), three of the five performers from the movie The Normal Heart (Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons and Joe Mantello), plus a second nomination for Parsons as lead actor/comedy for The Big Bang Theory; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, best supporting actor from Modern Family; and Nathan Lane, for his guest appearance on Modern Family. And wanna add Kevin Spacey for House of Cards? Let’s go ahead and call it nine.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Performers playing LGBT characters include Taylor Schilling, Natasha Lyonne and Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black; Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart; Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine; Fred Armisen (for some of the many characters he plays in Portlandia); Beau Bridges as the closeted provost as guest actor in Masters of Sex; Spacey also had a three-way in House of Cards which you can count if you wanna (I wanna). That gives 17 gay actors or gay characters in the race. Congrats!
And congrats especially to former Dallasite Allison Tolman, nominated for supporting actress in a miniseries for Fargo.
After the jump are the major nominees.
DRAMA
Series: Breaking Bad; Downton Abbey; Game of Thrones; House of Cards; Mad Men; True Detective.
Actor: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad; Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom; Jon Hamm, Mad Men; Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, True Detective; Kevin Spacey, House of Cards.
Actress: Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex; Claire Danes, Homeland; Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey; Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife; Kerry Washington, Scandal; Robin Wright, House of Cards.
Supporting Actor: Jim Carter, Downton Abbey; Josh Charles, The Good Wife; Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones; Mandy Patinkin, Homeland; Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad; Jon Voight, Ray Donovan.
Supporting Actress: Christine Baranski, The Good Wife Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey; Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad; Lena Headey, Game of Thrones; Christina Hendricks, Mad Men; Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey.
Guest Actor: Dylan Baker, The Good Wife; Beau Bridges, Masters of Sex; Reg E. Cathey, House of Cards; Paul Giamatti, Downton Abbey; Joe Morton, Scandal.
Guest Actress: Kate Burton, Scandal; Jane Fonda, The Newsroom; Allison Janney, Masters of Sex; Kate Mara, House of Cards; Margo Martindale, The Americans; Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones.
COMEDY
Series: The Big Bang Theory; Louie; Modern Family; Orange is the New Black; Silicon Valley; Veep.
Actor: Louis CK, Louie; Don Cheadle, House of Lies; Ricky Gervais, Derek; Matt LeBlanc, Episodes; William H. Macy, Shameless; Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory.
Actress: Lena Dunham, Girls; Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep; Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly; Amy Poehler, Parks & Recreation; Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black.
Supporting Actor: Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine; Ty Burrell and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family; Fred Armisen, Portlandia; Tony Hale, Veep; Adam Driver, Girls.
Supporting Actress: Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory; Anna Chlumsky, Veep; Allison Janney, Mom; Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live; Kate Mulgrew, Orange is the New Black.
Guest Actor: Steve Buscemi, Portlandia; Louis CK and Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live; Cary Cole, Veep; Nathan Lane, Modern Family; Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory.
Guess Actress: Uzo Aduba, Laverne Cox and Natasha Lyonne, Orange is the New Black; Joan Cusack, Shameless; Tina Fey and Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live.
Matt Bomer and Mark Ruffalo in ‘The Normal Heart’
Miniseries: American Horror Story: Coven Bonnie & Clyde; Fargo; Luther; Treme; The White Queen.
Movie: Killing Kennedy; Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight; The Normal Heart; The trip to Bountiful; Sherlock: His Last Vow.
Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock Holmes: His Last Vow; Idris Elba, Luther; Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dancing on the Edge; Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo; Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart.
Actress: Helena Bonham Cater, Burton & Taylor; Minnie Driver, Return to Zero; Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Coven; Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful; Kristin Wiig, Spoils of Babylon.
Supporting Actor: Matt Bomer, Joe Mantello and Jim Parsons, The Normal Heart; Martin Freeman, Sherlock: His Last Vow; Colin Hanks, Fargo; Alfred Molina, Return to Zero.
Supporting Actress: Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett and Frances Conroy, American Horror Story: Coven; Ellen Burstyn, Flowers in the Attic; Julia Roberts, The Normal Heart; Allison Tolman, Fargo.
