Stellan and Alexander Skarsgard could be first parent and child to face off at Emmys

After earning a 2022 Emmy nomination for guest starring on HBO’s “Succession,” Alexander Skarsgard could land in this year’s Best Drama Supporting Actor lineup as a member of the same show’s main cast. This might put him in direct competition with his own father, Stellan Skarsgard, who is seeking TV academy recognition for his featured turn on Disney Plus’ “Andor.” If both men do end up on the final ballot, they will make history as the first parent and child to ever compete against each other for any acting Emmy.

Both Skarsgards enter this race as past Emmy nominees, with the younger having won Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor for “Big Little Lies” (2017) and the elder having received a notice in that category for “Chernobyl” (2019) against eventual victor Ben Whishaw (“A Very English Scandal”). The former’s potential new “Succession” bid would make him the fourth male actor to earn guest and supporting nominations (in that order) for a single dramatic role, after Christian Clemenson (“Boston Legal”), Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”) and Bradley Whitford (“The Handmaid’s Tale”).

Alexander Skarsgard helps close out the fourth and final season of “Succession” as Lukas Matsson, a tech mogul who clashes with the children of recently deceased Waystar Royco CEO Logan Roy (Brian Cox) over an unfinished merger. As the series reaches its end, he forms an especially close connection with Logan’s only daughter, Shiv (Sarah Snook).

In the debut season of “Andor,” Stellan Skarsgard plays the part of Luthen Rael, an experienced rebel spy who develops a complex advisory relationship with amateur smuggler Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). Andor, who first appeared in the 2016 theatrical film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” spends this prequel series growing into a full-fledged Rebel Alliance leader, largely under the mentorship of Rael.

Although no parent-child acting pairs have ever faced off at the Emmys, eight have received concurrent nominations in separate categories. The first such case involved mother-son duo Jeanne Cooper (guest) and Corbin Bernsen (lead) of the drama series “L. A. Law,” who lost their 1987 races to Alfre Woodard (“L. A. Law”) and Bruce Willis (“Moonlighting”).

Next came 1994 guest nominees Diane Ladd (comedy, “Grace Under Fire”) and Laura Dern (drama, “Fallen Angels”), who lost to Eileen Heckart (“Love & War”) and Faye Dunaway (“Columbo”). Three years later, the mother and daughter earned bids in the opposite categories for “Touched by an Angel” and “Ellen” and were bested by Dianne Wiest (“Road to Avonlea”) and Carol Burnett (“Mad About You”).

The first of the three remaining multi-program instances involved 2005 drama guest winner Amanda Plummer (“Law & Order: SVU”) and her father, movie/limited supporting nominee Christopher Plummer (“Our Fathers”; lost to Paul Newman, “Empire Falls”). They were followed in 2006 by drama lead champ Kiefer Sutherland (“24”) and his father, movie/limited lead contender Donald Sutherland (“Human Trafficking”; lost to Andre Braugher, “Thief”), and then in 2020 by the winning father-daughter team of Ron Cephas Jones (drama guest, “This Is Us”) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (short form, “#FreeRayshawn”).

Cooper and Bernsen’s precedent of being simultaneously recognized for the same series has since been emulated by three sets of fathers and sons. They were Alan Arkin (drama guest) and Adam Arkin (drama supporting) of “Chicago Hope” (1997), Martin Sheen (comedy guest) and Charlie Sheen (comedy lead) of “Two and a Half Men” (2006) and Eugene Levy (comedy lead) and Dan Levy (comedy supporting) of “Schitt’s Creek” (2020). Both Levys prevailed, while the Arkins lost to Pruitt Taylor Vince (“Murder One”) and Hector Elizondo (“Chicago Hope”) and the Sheens were beaten by Leslie Jordan (“Will & Grace”) and Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”). As the star of “The West Wing,” Martin Sheen also went up against Kiefer Sutherland in the 2006 drama actor contest.

If this year’s drama supporting actor race ends in a victory for Stellan Skarsgard, he and his son will be the fourth father-son pair to have both won acting Emmys. Those already on the list are comedy supporting champs Carl Reiner (“Caesar’s Hour,” 1957-1958) and Rob Reiner (“All in the Family,” 1974 and 1978), the Sutherlands (the elder took the movie/limited supporting prize for 1995’s “Citizen X”) and the Levys.

Both Skarsgards are in good positions to at least receive their historic nominations, as Gold Derby’s odds show Alexander running 10th in the race with Stellan right behind him in 11th. The former has his past “Succession” bid and the series’ massive popularity on his side, while the latter can take comfort in the fact that another “Star Wars” show, “The Mandalorian,” has amassed five acting notices, including one in this category for Giancarlo Esposito. Given the way the Skarsgards have tirelessly built up their resumes over the last decade or so, they were bound to start breaking records at some point.

PREDICT the 2023 Emmy nominees through July 12

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions