Posted 29 minutes agoSubscribe to Screen Time NewsletterCaret Down25 Actors Who Never Won An Emmy Award For These Iconic Roles (And Some Were Never Even Nominated)"It's one of the single greatest TV performances ever, and it somehow still wasn't enough."by Nora DominickBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink It's no secret that the Emmy Awards are the biggest and most notable awards show when it comes to television. So many iconic series and performances have been immortalized as Emmy winners over the past 70-plus years. However, for every well-deserved win an actor has received, there are always the snubs. The performances that somehow never, ever earned an actor an Emmy, despite it being such an iconic role and part of TV history. So, below are just 25 TV performances that never won these actors an Emmy Award (or some even a nomination), and it's a crime: Note: The actors listed below are for either shows that have ended or the actors have left the series. I'm still holding out hope for actors like Caitríona Balfe for Outlander and Jacob Anderson for Interview with the Vampire to somehow snag a win or at least be nominated. 1. First, Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang in Grey's Anatomy ABC Sandra Oh has a permanent spot on my Mt. Rushmore of favorite TV performances. No one else could've played Cristina Yang but Oh. In fact, Grey's Anatomy simply would not have been the same without her as Cristina. It's no secret that Grey's was not the same after Oh left because she was one of the beating hearts of the series. Cristina's humor and ability to gift us so many quintessential quotes - like her "He's not the sun. You are" speech - make her a TV character for the ages, and it's all thanks to Oh. She was nominated five times back-to-back from 2005 to 2009, during the peak years of Grey's, and she never secured a win. A tragedy.
Number of nominations for the role: Five 2. Martin Sheen as President Jed Bartlet in The West Wing NBC It's one of the single greatest TV performances ever, and it somehow still wasn't enough to secure Martin Sheen an Emmy Award for his work on The West Wing. "Tow Cathedrals" in Season 2, where Bartlet monologues inside the church, should've been enough of a reason to hand Sheen an Emmy. His work as Bartlet is stoic, entrancing, and one of the best parts about the stacked ensemble The West Wing assembled. Sheen works well with every actor he comes in contact with on this show - from someone who is only there for one episode to the actors who were there for all seven seasons. Sheen's work as President Jed Bartlet deserved to be immortalized with a win.
Number of nominations for the role: Six 3. Sofía Vergara as Gloria Pritchett in Modern Family ABC Sofía Vergara was always incredible as Gloria on Modern Family, but somehow, when you do a rewatch of the series, her performance just gets funnier and funnier. That's the hallmark of award-worthy and timely work. While a lot of her costars walked away with well-deserved Emmys for their work on the show, I think Vergara deserved to be one of them. I mean, it's hard to name just one of the best Gloria scenes because her quick wit and one-liners are one of the many reasons Modern Family is an incredible comedy series. In my book, Vergara has an Emmy for this performance.
Number of nominations for the role: Four 4. Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope in Scandal ABC Shonda Rhimes has been responsible for creating so many memorable TV characters, and one of the best is Olivia Pope, played perfectly by Kerry Washington. You know an acting performance is good when it's hard to imagine anyone else playing the role, and that's exactly the case with Washington as Olivia. Her historic work on the show - she was the first Black woman to lead a network TV drama since 1976 - will easily go down in TV history, and it's a shame there isn't an Emmy to add to that, too. Number of nominations for the role: Two 5. Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul AMC I'm not sure a show has ever been so egregiously snubbed by the Emmys as Better Call Saul. Over the course of six seasons, the show racked up 53 nominations in numerous categories and won ZERO. While I could talk forever about why the show deserved at least one Outstanding Drama Series win, Bob Odenkirk never winning for Jimmy/Saul is one of the worst Emmy snub offenses. The character growth Odenkirk can portray in Jimmy as he goes from who we meet in Season 1 to who he becomes when we meet him in Breaking Bad is extraordinary. It's easily one of the best TV performances in the last 10 years. Number of nominations for the role: Six 6. Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul AMC "TWO?!" I shockingly shouted into the void of my apartment after looking up how many Emmy nominations Rhea Seehorn got for Better Call Saul. TWO. You simply cannot explain this show's impact on dramatic TV without mentioning both Bob Odenkirk and Seehorn. While Odenkirk delivers incredible performances over the course of the s