Tom Hanks
From Hanks’ first Emmy nomination and win — in 1998 for outstanding miniseries for HBO’s From the Earth to the Moon, which he co-produced and for which he received a nomination for directing — to his first narration nomination for NBC’s The Americas this year, he has racked up a total of 18 nods and seven wins. The movie star’s other Emmys also came for work behind the camera, five in the category of best limited series (formerly miniseries/movie) as a producer on the HBO projects Band of Brothers (2002), John Adams (2008), The Pacific (2010), Game Change (2012) and Olive Kitteridge (2015). He also won a directing Emmy for Band of Brothers.
For The Americas, Hanks introduces viewers to the natural wonders of creatures throughout North and South America, from the mating rituals of Chilean flamingos at Laguna Colorada in Bolivia to the reemergence of black bears from their den in the Atchafalaya Swamp of south central Louisiana in the spring. Production on the docuseries took more than five years and encompassed more than 180 expeditions.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
All three of Waller-Bridge’s Emmys were earned in 2019 for her work on Prime Video’s Fleabag, the TV adaptation of her one-woman show, first performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013. The TV version earned statuettes for best comedy series, best writing for a comedy series and best lead actress. Waller-Bridge’s narration of Prime Video’s Octopus!, which explores humans’ connection to the shape-shifting aquatic species, specifically through the eyes of a giant pacific octopus named Doris, could earn her a fourth.
Waller-Bridge received her first Emmy nod in 2018 for writing on BBC’s Killing Eve, for which she also earned an outstanding drama series nomination as executive producer in 2019 and 2020 — the same year she was nominated for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series when she hosted NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
Idris Elba
Elba’s narration nomination for National Geographic’s Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color marks his seventh. Each episode of the four-part docuseries, also executive produced by the British actor, unearths the previously overlooked contributions of Black and Indigenous soldiers in key World War II battles. Elba’s previous noms are all in acting categories, dating back to 2011, when he received a double nod for his guest appearance in Showtime’s The Big C and his titular role as John Luther in Luther on the BBC. An additional three Luther noms followed in 2012, 2014 and 2016, and in 2024, Elba received another lead actor nomination for his portrayal of Sam Nelson in Apple TV+’s Hijack.
This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.