Throughout TV history, many original series leads who left their posts have later returned for guest spots, including Farrah Fawcett (“Charlie’s Angels”), Ron Howard (“Happy Days”), and Steve Carell (“The Office”). While these special appearances typically delight fans, they rarely capture the attention of Emmy voters. To date, only four previously nominated stars have received guest bids for reprising their roles, with Claire Foy (“The Crown”) having just added her name to the list this year. If she is successful on this outing, she will be the first winner of both lead and guest acting prizes for the same role.
Three decades ago, Alfre Woodard became the first performer to be recognized for her return to a once lead-nominated role. Her 1986 Best Drama Actress bid for her portrayal of Dr. Roxanne Turner on “St. Elsewhere” was her third overall and represented the series’ first and only showing in the category. One year after ending her two-season tenure as a regular cast member, she appeared on the penultimate episode and subsequently scored her sixth career nomination as part of 1988’s Best Drama Guest Actress lineup. She went home empty-handed both times, first losing to Sharon Gless (“Cagney & Lacey”) and then to Shirley Knight (“Thirtysomething”).
In 1993, Shelley Long followed in Woodard’s footsteps when she received a Best Comedy Guest Actress nomination for her appearance on the series finale of “Cheers.” Unlike Woodard, who joined her show’s cast in its fourth season, Long was a “Cheers” regular from the get-go. Her original five-season performance as Diane Chambers resulted in four Best Comedy Actress bids, the first of which led to a win in 1983. She came up short in the guest race as Tracey Ullman (“Love & War”) emerged victorious instead. Three years later, she was recognized for reviving the character again on the spinoff series “Frasier"; she lost then to Betty White who played an exaggerated version of herself on "The John Laroquette Show."
Four years after bagging a Best Drama Actor trophy as Dr. Jeffrey Geiger on “Chicago Hope” and three years after stepping down as a main cast member, Mandy Patinkin was given a shot at the 1999 Best Drama Guest Actor award for showing up on the program’s fifth season closer. This appearance signaled his return to regular status for the sixth and final season, which remains an exceptionally rare move for a TV performer. He ended up losing to Edward Herrmann (“The Practice”).
PREDICT the 2021 Emmy winners through September 19
Foy portrayed central character Queen Elizabeth II on the first two seasons of the Netflix hit “The Crown” and took home the Best Drama Actress award in 2018. The part was then aged up and reassigned to Olivia Colman, who recently finished her own two-year stint and passed the baton to Imelda Staunton. Foy, who returned for a five-minute flashback scene that opened the fourth season’s eighth episode, is now the first actress to earn a guest bid for the Netflix series. There is potential for her to return again, as more flashbacks may occur as the three most recent decades of the monarch’s life are covered during the upcoming final two seasons.
According to our odds, a win for Foy is the third most likely outcome. She currently ranks behind Mckenna Grace and Alexis Bledel (both from “The Handmaid’s Tale”) but ahead of Sophie Okonedo (“Ratched”) and Phylicia Rashad (“This Is Us”). Grace and Okonedo are both first-time Emmy nominees, while Bledel and Rashad have each already been recognized here twice for these roles. Bledel won on her first outing in 2017 and competed once as a supporting player a year later before reverting to guest status.
This year’s guest acting winners will be revealed on September 12 during the second and final part of the 73rd Creative Arts Emmys ceremony. Both parts will then be shown on September 18 on FXX, one day before the main primetime ceremony airs on CBS and Paramount+.
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