Five seasons into its original run, Fox’s “24” made a long-awaited splash at the 2006 Emmys by conquering three major drama categories: Series, Directing, and Actor. Until that point, the political thriller’s biggest Emmy win had been a writing one for its pilot episode. Its Best Drama Series victory made it the third show to first be given that particular award for its fifth season or beyond, after “Law & Order” (1997) and “The Sopranos” (2004). “Breaking Bad” and “Game of Thrones” were added to the list in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
“24” star Kiefer Sutherland accepted the Best Drama Actor prize for the season five premiere episode entitled “Day 5: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.,” in which his character, Jack Bauer, comes out of hiding when the people closest to him become assassination targets. At 39, he was the eighth youngest victor in the category’s history, and now ranks 10th on the list.
Since 1959, a total of 41 actors have won for their lead roles on continuing drama programs, beginning with Raymond Burr (“Perry Mason”). Including Burr, 11 of the winners have bagged two or more trophies.
Scroll through our photo gallery to find out who ranks ahead of Sutherland on the list of 10 youngest Best Drama Actor Emmy winners.
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10. Kiefer Sutherland (’24,’ 2006)
Image Credit: Fox Age: 39
Role: Jack Bauer
Sutherland triumphed on his fifth of seven nominations for playing this action hero. The final one came outside of this category for the TV movie “24: Redemption.”
Other nominees:
Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under”)
Denis Leary (“Rescue Me”)
Christopher Meloni (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”)
Martin Sheen (“The West Wing”) -
9. Tom Selleck (‘Magnum, P.I.,’ 1984)
Image Credit: CBS Age: 39
Role: Thomas Magnum
Selleck earned five consecutive notices for this role between 1982 and 1986 and prevailed on his third outing.
Other nominees:
William Daniels (“St. Elsewhere”)
Ed Flanders (“St. Elsewhere”)
John Forsythe (“Dynasty”)
Daniel J. Travanti (“Hill Street Blues”) -
8. Michael Chiklis (‘The Shield,’ 2002)
Image Credit: FX Age: 39
Role: Vic Mackey
Chiklis reaped a win for his work on the first season of this series and earned an additional bid for the second.
Other nominees:
Michael C. Hall (“Six Feet Under”)
Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under”)
Martin Sheen (“The West Wing”)
Kiefer Sutherland (“24”) -
7. James Gandolfini (‘The Sopranos,’ 2000)
Image Credit: HBO Age: 38
Role: Tony Soprano
Gandolfini garnered six bids for this role between 1999 and 2007. This was his first win, and he prevailed again in 2001 and 2003.
Other nominees:
Dennis Franz (“NYPD Blue”)
Jerry Orbach (“Law & Order”)
Martin Sheen (“The West Wing”)
Sam Waterston (“Law & Order”) -
6. Andre Braugher (‘Homicide: Life on the Street,’ 1998)
Image Credit: NBC Age: 36
Role: Frank Pembleton
Braugher received two nominations during his six-season run as Pembleton, the first of which came in 1996. His work on “Gideon’s Crossing” brought him a third bid in this category in 2001.
Other nominees:
David Duchovny (“The X-Files”)
Anthony Edwards (“ER”)
Dennis Franz (“NYPD Blue”)
Jimmy Smits (“NYPD Blue”) -
5. Rami Malek (‘Mr. Robot,’ 2016)
Image Credit: USA Network Age: 35
Role: Elliot Alderson
Malek succeeded on his first and only Emmy outing to date. His five challengers were between six and 21 years older than him.
Other nominees:
Kyle Chandler (“Bloodline”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”)
Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan”)
Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”) -
4. Bruce Willis (‘Moonlighting,’ 1987)
Image Credit: ABC Age: 32
Role: David Addison
Months after his first credited acting appearance on “Miami Vice,” Willis took on this series’ lead role and collected two Emmy bids, the first of which came in 1986.
Other nominees:
Corbin Bernsen (“L.A. Law”)
William Daniels (“St. Elsewhere”)
Ed Flanders (“St. Elsewhere”)
Edward Woodward (“The Equalizer”) -
3. Josh O’Connor (‘The Crown,’ 2021)
Image Credit: Alex Bailey/Netflix Age: 31
Role: Charles, Prince of Wales
O’Connor’s tenure as the heir to the British throne lasted for two seasons, covering the prince’s life from ages 15 to 41. He has now passed the role to Dominic West, who is 20 years his senior.
Other nominees:
Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”)
Jonathan Majors (“Lovecraft Country”)
Regé-Jean Page (“Bridgerton”)
Billy Porter (“Pose”)
Matthew Rhys (“Perry Mason”) -
2. Bill Cosby (‘I Spy,’ 1966)
Image Credit: NBC Age: 28
Role: Alexander Scott
Cosby also bagged trophies for this role in 1967 and 1968. He was the only three-time consecutive winner in this category until Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”) matched the feat between 2008 and 2010.
Other nominees:
Richard Crenna (“Slattery’s People”)
Robert Culp (“I Spy”)
David Janssen (“The Fugitive”)
David McCallum (“The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”) -
1. Richard Thomas (‘The Waltons,’ 1973)
Image Credit: CBS Age: 21
Role: John-Boy Walton
Thomas played this role for five seasons and earned notices for the first two. After a decade and a half, he returned to the role in three TV movies during the mid-1990s.
Other nominees:
David Carradine (“Kung Fu”)
Mike Connors (“Mannix”)
William Conrad (“Cannon”)
Peter Falk (“Columbo”)
