Tramell Tillman could make Emmy history as the first Black Best Drama Supporting Actor winner

In 2015, Viola Davis won the Best Drama Actress Emmy for How to Get Away with Murder, becoming the category's first Black winner. That left one acting category that had yet to produce a Black champ: Best Drama Supporting Actor. Ten years later, that remains the case — even the short form acting categories, which were created in 2016 and consolidated into one in 2024, have awarded Black performers — but that could finally change in September with Severance star Tramell Tillman.
Tillman is currently in third place in Gold Derby's Best Drama Supporting Actor odds, trailing Walton Goggins (The White Lotus) and Severance costar John Turturro. Tillman is the only Black performer in the top seven. Jason Isaacs (The White Lotus), Jack Lowden (Slow Horses), Sam Rockwell (The White Lotus), and Patrick Schwarzenegger (The White Lotus) round out the predicted field.
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Tillman was not nominated for the first season in 2022, not surprising for an unknown actor on a new show. Severance received 14 nominations for Season 1 and the Best Drama Series frontrunner is expected to expand this year. If Tillman makes the cut amid a possible deluge by White Lotus dudes, a win — and a historic one at that — is certainly not out of the question. The Apple TV+ drama was bigger than ever in Season 2, and Tramell got to shine even brighter as his Lumon stooge Seth Milchick faced a crisis of confidence, leading to his instantly viral line, "Devour feculence." Oh, and there was the whole Choreography and Merriment marching band dance. It also doesn't hurt that the actor has brought his unique line deliveries to Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.
SEE The ultimate oral history of Severance Season 2
It's not surprising Turturro is ahead of Tillman in the odds. He's a bigger name and a past winner who was nominated for Season 1 and had meaty material early in Season 2 before a diminished presence in the back half. Tillman had a consistent presence and arc throughout the season, ending with a bang with the aforementioned dance sequence (Turturro was MIA in the finale). And voters have shown through the years that when they're paying attention to a show — and there's no reason to think they're not paying attention to Severance — the underdog can topple the "obvious" frontrunner or bigger name (see: Jodie Comer beating her heavily predicted Killing Eve co-star Sandra Oh). Of course, Goggins is the frontrunner, not Turturro. And taking down The White Lotus, an acting branch fave, will be tougher.
Formally established in 1970, Best Drama Supporting Actor has seen 13 Black actors receive 23 nominations over the years. 2021 was the last year with a Black nominee — and there were a record three: Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian), O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid's Tale), and Michael K. Williams (Lovecraft Country), who died shortly after voting ended. They lost to Tobias Menzies (The Crown). There have been POC nominees since then, however, with Squid Game stars Park Hae-soo and O Yeong-su in 2022, The White Lotus' Will Sharpe, who is half-Japanese, in 2023, and Shōgun duo Tadanobu Asano and Takehiro Hira in 2024.
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