Happy Emmy season, “you who watch the clock” – Logan Roy is still in the lead.
Brian Cox has submitted his performance as Logan Roy, the recently deceased CEO of Waystar Royco on HBO’s “Succession” in the Lead Actor (Drama) category. Cox’s team has exclusively confirmed Variety that the actor’s iconic turn as a bold father and media mogul will be seen alongside his two co-stars, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin, who opted to move into the category for the fourth and final season of the ‘issue.
Cox’s character died in this season’s third episode, “Connor’s Wedding,” which left many pundits to speculate the Scottish actor, who received two previous names in the field of lead drama actor, would be demoted to supporting actor or guest categories. It won’t, which puts the drama series in a unique position to make history in a number of ways.
With Cox, Culkin, and Strong opting for the same category, the show could go down in history as the first to land three main drama actor names in one year. Moreover, it would be the first for a top male category.
In every lead actress category, it’s happened three times already: NBC’s “The Golden Girls” did it in 1986-87 with Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Bea Arthur (who, coincidentally, won one prize each in their respective years); and in 2005, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” landed names for Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and eventual winner Felicity Huffman (and still incredibly amazing, not Eva Longoria).
Cox’s acclaimed performance received numerous accolades for the HBO drama, including two previous Emmy nominations for the second and third seasons, alongside co-star Strong as his eldest son Kendall. Strong won in 2020.
This news doesn’t confirm that Logan will appear in any of the remaining three episodes, though he did appear for a short flashback stint on last week’s “Living+.” However, if he appears in any of them, he would not be eligible to submit in the guest category, as eligibility states that an actor cannot appear in more than 50% of the episodes of a season. Cox has already appeared in four.
Limited screen time may not make a difference, with the aura of Cox’s presence being felt with every dramatic weekly outing. In Emmy history, actors have won lead actor statuettes for fewer television episodes, albeit during years when the guest categories were inactive. For example, Christopher Lloyd won the lead dramatic role for his one-off appearance in 1992 for Disney Channel’s “Road to Avonlea.” He was coincidentally nominated alongside Kirk Douglas for “Tales from the Crypt” and Harrison Page for “Quantum Leap,” which also had single-episode appearances.
This year’s Emmys are shaping up to be one of the most charged competitive races in modern memory. HBO’s “estate” is expected to dominate Emmy nominations this year, with many actors considered favorites in their respective categories.
In addition to Culkin’s master of zing, Roman Roy, who steps up to the lead actor role, Variety also exclusively reported that Sarah Snook’s political fixer Shiv (consolidating her day-to-day frontrunner status) is moving up to the lead drama actress race. (Her co-star J. Smith Cameron remains in support.)
Sunday night’s “Tailgate Party” episode marked Alexander Skarsgård’s fifth appearance this season as GoJo boss Lukas Mattson. That means the Emmy winner (“Big Little Lies”), who also picked up a 2022 guest drama actor nomination for “Succession,” will be vying to support the dramatic actor with Nicholas Braun, Alan Ruck and last year’s winner, Matthew Macfadyen.
“Succession” has been nominated for 48 Emmy Awards in the previous three seasons, winning 13 – including two for Outstanding Drama Series. Created by Jesse Armstrong, the series made history in 2022 by breaking the record for the most actor nominations in a year, with 14.