Besides nominees Idris Elba and Lily Gladstone, history favors the winners of shows with more nominations

What do Robert Downey Jr., Idris Elba, Lily Gladstone and Maya Rudolph have in common?

Not only are these four stars nominated for this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards, but they’re also the sole representatives from their respective shows: Downey (supporting actor in a limited series for “The Sympathizer”), Elba (lead actor in a drama for “Hijack”), Gladstone (supporting actor in a limited series for “Under the Bridge”) and Rudolph (lead actress in a comedy for “Loot”). While each of these talented actors has a shot at winning, history shows that it’s rare for someone to take home an Emmy if their show doesn’t have any other nominations.

In the past four decades, only six actors have won an Emmy as the sole nominee for their show: Louie Anderson (supporting actor in comedy for "Baskets" in 2016), Richard Kiley (lead actor in drama for "A Year in the Life" in 1987), Regina King (limited role lead actress for "Seven Seconds" in 2018), Helen Mirren (limited role lead actress for "Prime Suspect: The Scent of Darkness" in 1996), Tatiana Maslany (dramatic lead actress for "Orphan Black" in 2016) and Mark Ruffalo (limited role lead actress for "I Know This Much Is True" in 2020).