Every Asian Acting Emmy Nominee Ever
Tonight at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, Phillipa Soo, Max Minghella, and Bowen Yang could make history. If any of these three strike gold, they would be the first winner of Asian descent in their respective categories.
Astonishingly, this year’s trio make up more than 10% of acting nominations given to Asian performers. Thankfully, Asian representation has been on the rise on television and, in turn, at the Emmys. Let’s take a look at the 26 Asian actors to ever be nominated for an acting Emmy.
Beulah Quo
Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series — 1978
Tz’u-Hsi, Meeting of Minds, PBS
In 1978, Beulah Quo became the first Asian nominated for their acting performance. In what is now known as the Outstanding Guest Actress category, Quo was celebrated for her portrayal of historical figure Empress Dowager T’zu-hsi in the PBS series Meeting of Minds.
Yūki Meguro
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special — 1981
Toshiro Mifune
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special — 1981
Yoko Shimada
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special — 1981
This 5-part miniseries — based off the James Clavell novel of the same name — was a huge success for NBC. It became NBC’s most watched program and would go on to receive 14 Emmy nominations including nods towards actors Yūki Meguro, Toshiro Mifune, and Yoko Shimada. To this day, it is the only program to earn acting nominations for multiple Asian actors in a single year.
Pat Morita
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special — 1986
Shortly after receiving an Academy Award nomination for his iconic role of Mr. Myagi, Pat Morita earned an Emmy nomination for his role as Tommy Tanaka in the CBS tv movie Amos.
Ben Kingsley
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special — 1989
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special — 1995
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie — 2001
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie — 2006
It is no surprise when a star of stage and film is able to translate their gift to television. Over the years, Sir Ben Kingsley picked up four Emmy nominations for his work on TV movies (Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story, Mrs. Harris) and miniseries (Joseph, Anne Frank: The Whole Story).In fact, he was the first actor of Asian descent to earn multiple Emmy nominations.
Lucy Liu
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series — 1999
Before becoming one of Charlie’s Angels, Lucy Liu was the first Asian nominated in a comedy category. In fact, she just barely became the only Asian woman in the 90s to be nominated for an acting Emmy. She was nominated for her role as Ling Woo in the second season of the FOX hit series, Ally McBeal.
Naveen Andrews
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series — 2005
In 2005, ABC’s Lost captured audiences around the country and that buzz translated into awards galore. The show’s freshman season received 12 nominations including a nomination for Naveen Andrews as Sayid Jarrah. He was the first Asian performer nominated in the drama categories.
Sandra Oh
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series — 2005–2009
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series — 2018–2020
Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series — 2019
Throughout the years, Sandra Oh has made a number of firsts. Five consecutive nominations for her performance as Dr. Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy was the first time an Asian received multiple Emmy nominations for the same role.
Her 2018 nomination for the titular role in Killing Eve was the first time an Asian woman received a nomination for Lead Actress In A Drama Series.
And her nomination for hosting Saturday Night Live made her the first Asian woman nominated for performing in three different shows.
Including her nominations for producing Killing Eve and her Golden Globes hosting stint, Sandra Oh has amassed 12 Emmy nominations. Shockingly, she has yet to win an award.
Masi Oka
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series — 2007
Like Lost before it, NBC’s Heroes melded genre with tight storytelling to create a sensation in its first season. On Emmy nominations morning, the show received eight nominations including Masi Oka as the titular(?) Hiro.
Archie Panjabi
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series — 2010–2012
In 2010, Archie Panjabi made history by becoming the first Asian actor to ever win an Emmy. Her performance as Kalinda Sharma on The Good Wife would garner the show’s only win of its first season’s eight nominations. She would go on to receive two more nominations during the show’s run. Panjabi is still the only Asian woman to ever win an acting Emmy.
Margaret Cho
Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series — 2012
Tina Fey’s showbiz satire 30 Rock was an Emmy behemoth, earning 103 nominations in its 7 seasons. This includes a career first nomination for Asian comedy legend Margaret Cho iin her role as Kim Jong-il.
Fred Armisen
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series — 2014
SNL alum Fred Armisen received an acting nomination for his own sketch series, Portlandia. Including his nomination for producing and/or writing on Saturday Night Live, Portlandia, and Drunk History, Fred Armisen has received 14 Emmy nominations. He is still looking for that first win.
Michelle Ang
Outstanding Actress In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series — 2016
2016 marked the introduction of the Short Form Emmy categories. In its inaugural year, Michelle Ang received a nomination for her work in the Walking Dead spinoff webseries, Fear The Walking Dead: Flight 462.
Lou Diamond Phillips
Outstanding Actor In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series — 2016
Veteran actor Lou Diamond Phillips also picked up a short form acting nomination in the categories’ first year for his performance in The Crossroads of History.
Aziz Ansari
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series — 2016–2017
As director, writer, producer, and lead actor, Aziz Ansari garnered seven nominations for his work on Master of None. Although he lost his two acting bids, Aziz Ansari won consecutive awards for writing on the show with co-writers Alan Yang (2016) and Lena Waithe (2017).
Riz Ahmed
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie — 2017
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series — 2017
Riz Ahmed has slowly turned into one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood. Although he recently earned the title “Academy Award nominee,” Ahmed really broke through in 2017 when he broke a number of firsts at the Emmys. With his role in The Night Of, he became the first male Asian actor and the first Muslim to win a lead acting Emmy. And his guest stint in Girls made Ahmed the first actor of Asian descent to get two acting nominations in one year.
BD Wong
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series — 2017
The Tony winner is still in search of his Emmy. But BD Wong got close to the gold when he received his first Emmy nomination for his work as Whiterose in the USA series Mr. Robot.
Darren Criss
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie — 2018
Darren Criss swept every televised award for his performance in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Criss’s turn as Andrew Cunanan would make him the third Asian actor and first Filipino to win an acting Emmy. He was previously nominated in the category of Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics for his work on Glee.
Kumail Nanjiani
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series — 2019
Kumail Nanjiani was a permenant fixture on television for six seasons on the HBO comedy Sillicon Valley. But is was Nanjiani’s appearance on the first episode of the Twilight Zone reboot that garnered the actor/comedian his first Emmy noination.
Punam Patel
Outstanding Actress In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series — 2019
For her work on the Netflix series Special, Punam Patel received an acting nomination for Outstanding Actress In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series.
Dev Patel
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series — 2020
Before he was The Green Knight, Dev Patel was falling in love. For his performance in the Prime Video romantic comedy anthology Modern Love, Patel received a Guest Acting Emmy nom.
Rain Valdez
Outstanding Actress In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series — 2020
Rain Valdez became the first transgender Asian nominated for an acting Emmy for her work on the YouTube webseries Razor Tongue. Valdez served as creator, writer, producer, and lead actress of the series.
Max Minghella
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series — 2021
Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale is an award season favorite. In four seasons, the dystopian drama has amassed 27 acting nominations. This year, Max Minghella has joined as one of the show’s newest nominees.
Phillipa Soo
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie — 2021
Following her Tony nomination and Grammy win for the original production, Phillipa Soo received an acting nomination for her role as Eliza Hamilton in the filmed stage production of the Broadway sensation Hamilton.
Bowen Yang
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series — 2021
In two seasons as a cast member, Bowen Yang has already put himself in the Saturday Night Live history books. He is the first Chinese-American cast member and first featured played to receive an Emmy nomination.
Note: This article does not cover Daytime Emmy nominations. It covers Primetime nominees in the Lead, Supporting, Guest, and Short Form categories.