Maurice Benard earned his eighth Best Actor nomination at the Daytime Emmys this year for his role as Sonny Corinthos on “General Hospital.” That ties him with Eric Braeden (“The Young and the Restless”) and Larry Bryggman (“As the World Turns”) as the third most nominated actor in the history of the category. Now he’s the front-runner to win according to the combined predictions of Gold Derby users. If we’re right he would join another exclusive club as one of the few soap stars who have won the category three or more times.
To date only four actors have claimed that many Best Actor trophies. Benard’s former “GH” co-star Anthony Geary is far and away the record holder with eight victories, more than any soap actor or actress has won in any categories. He’s followed by the late David Canary, who prevailed five times for “All My Children.” Then two “Y&R” stars are tied with three victories apiece: Peter Bergman (who holds the record for the most nominations with a whopping 22) and Christian LeBlanc (who achieved his triple play across just seven nominations).
Benard earned his first Best Actor nomination in 1996, but he’s been hit-and-miss with voters ever since. He wasn’t nominated again in the category until 2003, but that was the year he won for the first time. The academy would make him wait before giving him another trophy, though. He was nominated again in 2004 and 2006, had a drought of five years before returning in 2011 and 2012, and then there was another seven-year gap before he was finally nominated and won again in 2019. He was snubbed in 2020, but now he’s back in the driver’s seat for 2021. Do you agree with our odds that he’ll win again, or will voters make him wait another 16 years between victories?
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
