Dr. Abbott is seeking support from the Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor.
“The Pit’s” Sean Hatosy delivered one of the most notable curveballs of Emmy season, announcing that he will be in the Supporting Drama Actor category for Season 2 for his role as Dr. Jack Abbott on the HBO Max medical drama. This move was made despite the fact that the actor still qualified for the Guest Drama Actor category, which he won last year.
Hatosy, who appeared in six of the season’s 15 episodes, was an early favorite to reprise his role as a guest drama actor, and could have broken the nearly 50-year Emmy record if he went that route. No performer has ever won consecutive Emmy Awards as a guest actor in a drama for the same role. And only five actors have won this category more than once: Patrick McGoohan for Columbo (1975, 1990), Ed Asner for Rich, Poor Man (1976) and Roots (1977), and Amazing John Lithgow in ‘George Stories’ (1987) and ‘Dexter’ (2010), Charles S. Dutton in ‘The Practice’ (2002) and ‘Without a Trace’ (2003), and ‘This Ron Cephas Jones in “Is Us” (2018, 2020).
Changing performer categories is not uncommon, with over 50 successful examples across all acting races in Emmy history.
A recent example is Alexander Skarsgård, who was nominated for Guest Drama Actor on Succession in 2022 and moved to Supporting Drama Actor in 2023 after his role expanded significantly in the final season. Alexis Bledel and Bradley Whitford transitioned from guest roles to supporting roles at various points during The Handmaid’s Tale’s run. Christian Clemenson won the Guest Drama Actor Emmy Award for “Boston Legal” in 2006 and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 2009. Other cast members include Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian), Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline), Jimmy Smits (L.A. Law), Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart (24), and Ted Danson. (“Damages”), Kathryn Joosten (“Desperate Housewives”), Sarah Niles (“Ted Lasso”), Amy Brenneman (“NYPD Blue”), and Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”).
There was also a reverse trajectory. Alec Baldwin has made an unusual turn in sketch comedy, winning an Emmy for supporting comedy actor on Saturday Night Live in 2017 and competing as a guest comedy actor in 2021. Cephas Jones followed a similar pattern with This Is Us, where he was nominated for Best Supporting Drama in 2017 before pivoting to guest roles, winning in both 2018 and 2020.
Claire Foy is one of the rare leading actors to turn to guest roles after leaving the series. She won Lead Drama Actress in 2018 for “The Crown” and then won Guest Drama Actress in 2021. Others who have followed a similar path include Mandy Patinkin of “Chicago Hope” and Shelley Long of “Cheers.”
Conversely, the transition from support to lead has also been fruitful. Jon Cryer of “Two and a Half Men” and Allison Janney of “The West Wing” both successfully transitioned categories and ultimately won at the top level.
According to the Emmy Rules updated in January 2025, transitioning from guest to support status is allowed, but it comes with long-term risks. Once a performer is nominated or wins in the lead or supporting category, they are no longer eligible to apply in the guest category for the same role in the same series at subsequent Emmy Awards. In other words, if Hatosy is nominated for Best Supporting Role this year, the door to guest drama actors on Dr. Abbott will be permanently closed.
Hatosy’s departure as a guest actor on the drama opens the door for other potential “Pit” guests, including Jeff Kober, who plays Robbie’s biker buddy Duke, and Ernest Harden Jr., who plays the lovable Louis, a fan favorite battling alcoholism and liver problems.
Hatosy will also be participating in the Emmy voting as director for the episode “3:00 PM,” written by Cynthia Adarkwa, which marked her directorial debut.
Season 1 of this medical drama was a breakout hit in 2025, winning five Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Best Actor for Noah Wyle, Best Supporting Actress for Katherine LaNasa, Casting, and Guest Award for Hatosy. We will enter this year’s race as a show that is sure to win.
The deadline for submissions to the Emmy Awards is May 7th, and voting for the nomination round will take place from June 11th to June 22nd. Nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced on July 8th.
