Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emmy Awards, leading actors in drama have competed alone. However, these dramatic performances included actors from miniseries, telefilms, and guest performers competing against main cast competitors. Such instances are marked below: # – Indicates a performance in a Miniseries or Television film, before the category's creation § – Indicates a performance as a guest performer, before and after the category's creation Winners and nominations 1950s