Emmy nominee profile: Keivonn Montreal Woodard (‘The Last of Us’) smashes multiple records

When the nominations for the 1959 Primetime Emmys were revealed, 13-year-old supporting candidate Johnny Crawford (“The Rifleman”) became the youngest male acting contender in TV academy history and then retained the title for the next six and a half decades. After so many years of his record appearing to be unbreakable, it was finally shattered this summer by Best Drama Guest Actor nominee Keivonn Montreal Woodard, who turned 10 this February. His historic bid for HBO’s “The Last of Us” makes him not only a credit to child actors but also to deaf performers, as no male one had ever earned Emmy recognition before.

Woodard appears in two first-season episodes of “The Last of Us” as Sam Burrell, a survivor of both leukemia and a pandemic-induced apocalypse who lives under the guardianship of his adult brother, Henry (Lamar Johnson). In his submitted episode, “Endure and Survive,” his comic book-loving character forms a fast friendship with protagonist Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as Henry leads her and her traveling companion, Joel (Pedro Pascal), on a perilous journey through Kansas City. All the while, the group remains leery of resistance leader Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey), who blames Henry for her brother’s death and has kept him and Sam on the run for weeks.

SEE Pedro Pascal (‘The Last of Us’): Emmys 2023 episode submission revealed

“The Last of Us,” which is based on the PlayStation game of the same name, has set a new drama series record for most first-season Emmy nominations. Its total of 25 bids, including one for Best Drama Series and eight more for acting, puts it in second place on this year’s general list of most-recognized programs, behind only “Succession” (27). Woodard is joined in his guest lineup by three other actors from the show: Johnson, Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman. This marks only the second instance of a series receiving four notices at once in this category, after “Succession” did so last year.

Woodard follows Crawford as only the second child actor ever nominated in any drama male Emmy category. On the comedy side, the only male examples are Malcolm-Jamal Warner (15, “The Cosby Show,” 1986), Fred Savage (13-14, “The Wonder Years,” 1989-1990) and Frankie Muniz (15, “Malcolm in the Middle,” 2001). Regardless of gender, Woodard ranks as the third youngest acting nominee ever, after seven-year-old actresses Keshia Knight Pulliam (comedy supporting, “The Cosby Show,” 1986) and Evelyn Rudie (movie/limited lead, “Eloise,” 1957). He also follows Knight Pulliam, Warner and Asante Blackk (17, movie/limited supporting actor, “When They See Us,” 2019) as the fourth Black child actor to compete for an Emmy.

SEE Bella Ramsey (‘The Last of Us’): Emmys 2023 episode submission revealed

In addition to Bartlett, Johnson and Offerman, Woodard’s competitors include returning “Succession” nominees James Cromwell and Arian Moayed. He and Johnson are the only Emmy first-timers in the group, but all four “The Last of Us” actors are new to this category. Offerman has three hosting bids to his name for “Making It,” while Bartlett won Best Movie/Limited Supporting Actor for “The White Lotus” last year and could soon be honored in the same category for “Welcome to Chippendales.” Cromwell won that same award for “American Horror Story: Asylum” in 2013 after picking up his first drama guest mentions for “ER” and “Six Feet Under.”

This article is part of Gold Derby’s “Emmy nominee profile” series spotlighting the 2023 acting contenders.

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