10 Actors Who Gave 2 Emmy-Worthy Performances This Season

The 74th annual Primetime Emmy Award nominations are drawing near, and there are a handful of actors who have played not one but two recent roles—both of which have a shot at scoring a nod. While we wait for the announcement on July 12, here are 10 performers who twice over delivered powerhouse performances that kept us glued to our TVs.

Julia Garner (“Ozark” and “Inventing Anna”)

Garner has already won back-to-back Emmys for playing Ruth Langmore on Netflix’s harrowing cartel drama “Ozark,” and Season 4 features some of the character’s most visceral, haunting scenes yet. She also led another Netflix original this year: “Inventing Anna,” in which she takes on the titular role of Anna Delvey, a real-life swindler who posed as a New York socialite to con the city’s wealthy.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Mr. Corman” and “Super Pumped”)

Courtesy Apple TV+/Showtime

Gordon-Levitt returned to his status as a leading man on two recent series. On Apple TV+’s “Mr. Corman” (which he also created and executive produced), the actor puts the monotony of day-to-day working life under a microscope. By contrast, his portrayal of the rise and fall of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick on Showtime’s “Super Pumped” has a smirky charisma that becomes intriguingly erratic as the series goes on.

Fred Hechinger (“The White Lotus” and “Pam & Tommy”)

Courtesy HBO/Hulu

Hechinger is a wunderkind on HBO’s dark satire “The White Lotus.” As Quinn, the youngest member of the highly dysfunctional Mossbacher family, he fights to be taken seriously amid the angst and awkwardness of teenhood. He does a 180 for Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” as Seth Warshavsky, the infamous media mogul who got rich off Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s scandalous sex tape.

Lily James (“Pam & Tommy” and “The Pursuit of Love”)

Courtesy Hulu/BBC One

In what is one of the most transformative television performances of the year, James completely disappears into the role of Pamela Anderson. At times, it’s easy to forget we’re not watching the ’90s icon herself. It’s quite a switch from James’ 2021 turn on Emily Mortimer’s “The Pursuit of Love,” in which she brings a buzzy spontaneity to the role of Linda Radlett, a young woman on a quest for romance in prewar England.

Zosia Mamet (“Dickinson” and “The Flight Attendant”)

Courtesy Apple TV+/HBO

Ever since she wrapped up her six seasons playing the bubbly Shoshanna on HBO’s “Girls,” Mamet has been pursuing roles that let Hollywood know she’s capable of something different. She steals every scene in her guest appearances as a foul-mouthed Louisa May Alcott on Apple TV+’s “Dickinson.” Meanwhile, she grounds the wackiness of HBO’s “The Flight Attendant” as the no-nonsense, fiercely loyal Annie Mouradian. Both roles prove that Mamet is not only capable—she is a force.

Audra McDonald (“The Good Fight” and “The Gilded Age”)

Courtesy Paramount+/HBO

McDonald’s Liz Reddick has been a highlight of Paramount+’s “The Good Fight” ever since the actor became a series regular on Season 2, and it’s easy to see why; she commands the screen with her sharp intelligence and wit. McDonald is no less effective on HBO’s “The Gilded Age.” As Dorothy Scott, she seamlessly balances strength and vulnerability as she fights to reforge a relationship with her estranged daughter.

Cynthia Nixon (“And Just Like That…” and “The Gilded Age”)

Courtesy HBO

Just as she was on the original “Sex and the City,” Nixon’s Miranda Hobbes is sarcastic, complicated, and hilarious in the show’s much-talked- about follow-up series. On her other starring vehicle on HBO, “The Gilded Age,” she plays another New York singleton—this time in the 19th century. Her character, Ada Brook, who is a spinster by choice, maintains a warm demeanor that counters Miranda’s spiky cynicism. 

Molly Shannon (“The Other Two” and “I Love That for You”)

Courtesy HBO Max/Showtime

Veteran funny lady Shannon’s knack for playing gut-bustingly hilarious mothers is on full display in her turn as Pat Dubek on “The Other Two.” She balances note-perfect delivery with a generous amount of heart. She carries these attributes over to fellow “SNL” alum Vanessa Bayer’s “I Love That for You” on Showtime, in which she portrays a home shopping channel superstar. 

Phillipa Soo (“Dopesick” and “Shining Girls”)

Courtesy Hulu/Apple TV+

Best known for her Tony-nominated turn in Broadway’s “Hamilton,” Soo has shown an entirely different side of her talent on the small screen in 2021 and 2022. First, she played ruthless pharmaceutical sales rep Amber on Hulu’s “Dopesick,” conveying a moral ambiguity that captures the tragedy of the opioid crisis. Her role as one of the women being hunted by the time-traveling serial killer of Apple TV+’s “Shining Girls” is equally compelling.

Michael Stuhlbarg (“Dopesick” and “The Staircase”)

Courtesy Hulu/HBO Max

Undeniably one of the highlights of “Dopesick,” Stuhlbarg plays Purdue Pharma’s notorious Richard Sackler. His unhinged, unnerving depiction leaves no room for redemption. Meanwhile, on HBO Max’s “The Staircase,” he portrays David Rudolf, the real-life attorney who defended novelist Michael Peterson after he was charged with the murder of his wife in 2001.

This story originally appeared in the Jun. 2 issue of Backstage Magazine.