2026 Daytime Emmy Award Nominations for Lead Actor Revealed
The 2026 Daytime Emmy Award competition for Outstanding Lead Actor is officially underway. The nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor at the 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards have been revealed ahead of Tuesday’s full nominations announcement. The category, first unveiled by Extra, features performers from General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful — and every nominee is already a Daytime Emmy winner.
Here are the nominees — and don’t forget to check out the nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress, too!
Outstanding Lead Actor
Eric Braeden (Victor Newman, Y&R)
Steve Burton (Jason Morgan, GH)
Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer, B&B)
Thorsten Kaye (Ridge Forrester, B&B)
Christian Jules LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin, Y&R)
Braeden has been nominated for Lead Actor nine times for his work as Victor and won once, in 1998. He was last nominated in 2024 — and that nod was his first one in 20 years.
Burton is a two-time Daytime Emmy winner, both times for Outstanding Supporting Actor (one for GH and one for his work as Dylan McAvoy on Y&R). This is his 10th nomination overall, his third in the Lead Actor category.
Clifton scores his 8th nomination overall. He previously won Lead Actor as Liam in 2017, adding to a trophy collection that already boasted two wins as Liam, one for Younger Actor in 2011and the other for Supporting Actor in 2013.
Kaye is a two-time Lead Actor winner for his work on B&B, scoring back-to-back victories in 2023 and 2024.
LeBlanc’s nomination is his first in a decade. That 2016 nod was also for Lead Actor, and he has won in the category three times (in 2005, 2007 and 2009) for his Y&R work.
The other acting and creative arts categories will be announced on Tuesday, July 14, and Soap Opera Digest will publish the full list of all of the Daytime Drama nominees then. The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are scheduled to be held on Friday, October 30, but no information about where the ceremony will take place or how fans will be able to watch has been shared yet.
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