Great Actors Who've Been Nominated For Ludicrous Amounts Of Emmys And Never Won

Angela Lansbury may be the unluckiest actor in Emmy history, suffering 18 losses with no wins during her illustrious career. The legendary actress was nominated 12 years in a row, from 1985 to 1996, for Murder, She Wrote, but never won. Throughout this period, she lost to the likes of Picket Fences's Kathy Baker, Cagney & Lacey's Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless, Sisters's Sela Ward, and thirtysomething's Patricia Wettig. Lansbury has also been nominated for various TV movies and specials. In 2005, she was nominated for guest starring in Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Lansbury bluntly quipped in 2016 that being without an Emmy "bothers the hell out of me." She received an honorary award in 1996.

Don Cheadle earned four Emmy nominations for his performance as Marty Kaan House of Lies - as well as his nominations for producing the decorated Showtime comedy - but lost each time. Actors who beat Cheadle from 2012-15 include Two and a Half Men's Jon Cryer, The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons, and Transparent's Jeffrey Tambor. He was previously nominated for a variety of projects, including three TV movies (A Lesson Before Dying, The Rat Pack, and Things Behind the Sun), and a guest spot on ER. In 2019 and 2020 he was once again nominated in the lead actor category for Black Monday. The following year he was nominated for continuing to play his Marvel Cinematic Universe character James “Rhodey” Rhodes in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Steve Carell's beloved portrayal of Michael Scott on The Office earned him exactly zero Emmys. The actor was first nominated for Comedy Lead Actor for The Office's second season, in 2006, and received five subsequent nominations, with no wins. Carell lost to 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin, Extras's Ricky Gervais, The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons, and Monk's Tony Shalhoub throughout this run. Carell became a producer for Season 4 of The Office, and was nominated alongside fellow producers when the show was nominated for Best Comedy Series from 2009-11, but the show never won during that stretch. In 2020 he was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for his portrayal of a disgraced news anchor in The Morning Show.

Hugh Laurie never took home an Emmy for his most famous role, Dr. Gregory House in House. The British actor was nominated six times for Lead Actor (Drama), but lost to the likes of Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), and James Spader (Boston Legal). He was nominated as a producer on House when it was nominated for Best Drama Series in 2009. In 2016, Laurie was double-nominated for The Night Manager for Limited Series/Movie Supporting Actor and in Best Limited Series as a producer. A year later, he was nominated for his guest role on Veep.

The Emmys loved Kristen Wiig on Saturday Night Live, but not enough to give her an award. She was nominated for four consecutive seasons, from 2009-12, as a main cast member, but lost to actresses such as Modern Family's Julie Bowen, Pushing Daisies's Kristin Chenoweth, and Glee's Jane Lynch. She was also nominated for lending her voice to The Looney Tunes Show in 2012, and for her comedic role in The Spoils of Babylon in 2014. She was nominated for hosting SNL in 2013, 2017, and 2021.

Lena Dunham racked up several Emmy nominations over the course of three years, earning four in 2012 alone for Girls (for Best Comedy Series, Comedy Lead Actress, Comedy Directing, and Comedy Writing). She earned three more in 2013 for Series, Actress, and Directing, then one more for Actress in 2014. Dunham lost to Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus every year she was nominated for Comedy Lead Actress. Multiple Girls actors picked up nominations after the Emmys dropped Dunham, including Adam Driver, Gaby Hoffmann, Peter Scolari, Becky Ann Baker, Riz Ahmed, and Matthew Rhys.

The Television Academy nominated Jason Alexander's hilarious, self-deprecating performance as George Costanza on Seinfeld for seven years but, much like his character, he always came up short. From 1992-98, Alexander lost to Seinfeld co-star Michael Richards, Evening Shade's Michael Jeter, Frasier's David Hyde Pierce, and The Larry Sanders Show's Rip Torn. Additionally, he was nominated in 1994 for a guest role on Dream On. Alexander referenced his past Emmy losses on Twitter in 2016, joking, "Dammit! Seven losses! I KNEW the Emmys were rigged!" Apparently even he forgot how many times he was nominated?

The Emmys have said "how you doin'" to Matt LeBlanc many times over the years, but never fully committed. LeBlanc was nominated three times for playing Joey Tribbiani on Friends, but lost to fellow funny guys like Frasier's Kesley Grammer, Everybody Loves Raymond's Ray Romano, and Monk's Tony Shalhoub. He was nominated four times for playing himself on Showtime's Episodes. However, like Don Cheadle, he lost every year to either The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons or Transparent's Jeffrey Tambor. Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow are the only Friends stars to win Emmys. In 2021, he was nominated as a producer of Friends: The Reunion in the Outstanding Variety Special category.

Robin Wright has racked up numerous nominations for House of Cards but still has not won a single Emmy. She has been nominated six years in a row for her performance as Claire Underwood in House of Cards in the Drama Lead Actress race. She became a producer on the show starting with the fourth season and thus received nominations for Best Drama Series in 2016 and 2017, but the show didn't land the top prize.

Michael C. Hall's two most notable roles earned him several Emmy nominations, but no wins. He was first nominated in 2002, for playing David Fisher in Six Feet Under, and later earned five nominations for portraying Dexter Morgan in Dexter. He also received a nomination as a producer on Dexter, which was nominated for Best Drama Series in 2011. Hall earned many awards for his performance in Dexter, including a Golden Globe, a SAG Award and a Television Critics' Association Award, but never the Emmy.

Most of the Emmy losers on this list happened in the '90s or later, but the Television Academy has been snubbing stars for decades. Hal Linden is a prime example, receiving seven nominations in a row from 1976-82 as the titular star of Barney Miller. He never won. Barney Miller won the Emmy for Best Comedy Series for its final season in 1982, but voters didn't extend a goodbye hug to the show's star. The actor lost to Chico and the Man's Jack Albertson, M*A*S*H's Alan Alda, Taxi's Judd Hirsch, Soap's Richard Mulligan, and All in the Family's Carroll O'Connor.

Jane Kaczmarek received seven Emmy nominations in a row for playing Lois on Malcolm in the Middle, but it was never her year. From 2000-06, she lost to actresses like Friends's Jennifer Aniston, Everybody Loves Raymond's Patricia Heaton, Desperate Housewives's Felicity Huffman, The New Adventures of Old Christine's Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Will & Grace's Debra Messing, and Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker. She is the most nominated star in the history of the Comedy Lead Actress category to never win an Emmy. Bryan Cranston, Kaczmarek's Malcolm in the Middle co-star, was also never rewarded for that show, but went on to win six Emmys for Breaking Bad as lead actor and producer.