Emmys Surprise: ‘The Pitt’ Star Shawn Hatosy Switches to Supporting Category After Winning Guest for Season 1
by Clayton Davis · VarietyDr. Abbott wants the Emmys to support him as a supporting actor.
“The Pitt” star Shawn Hatosy just delivered one of the Emmy season’s most notable curveballs, announcing that for his role as Dr. Jack Abbott in the HBO Max medical drama, he will submit in the supporting drama actor category for Season 2. The move comes despite the actor remaining eligible in guest drama actor category, where he won last year.
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Appearing in six of the season’s 15 episodes, Hatosy was an early frontrunner to repeat in guest drama actor, a path that could have placed him in a position to break a nearly 50-year Emmy record. No performer has ever won back-to-back guest drama actor Emmys for the same role. And only five actors have won the category more than once: Patrick McGoohan for “Columbo” (1975, 1990), Ed Asner for “Rich Man, Poor Man” (1976) and “Roots” (1977), John Lithgow for “Amazing Stories” (1987) and “Dexter” (2010), Charles S. Dutton for “The Practice” (2002) and “Without a Trace” (2003) and Ron Cephas Jones for “This Is Us” (2018, 2020).
Switching performer categories is hardly unusual, with more than 50 successful cases across all acting races in Emmy history.
Among recent examples, Alexander Skarsgård earned a guest drama actor nomination for “Succession” in 2022 before moving into supporting drama actor in 2023 after his role expanded substantially in the final season. Alexis Bledel and Bradley Whitford both made guest-to-supporting transitions for “The Handmaid’s Tale” at various points during its run. Christian Clemenson won the guest drama actor Emmy for “Boston Legal” in 2006 before landing a supporting nomination in 2009. Additional performers who have made similar moves include Giancarlo Esposito (“The Mandalorian”), Ben Mendelsohn (“Bloodline”), Jimmy Smits (“L.A. Law”), Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart (“24”), Ted Danson (“Damages”), Kathryn Joosten (“Desperate Housewives”), Sarah Niles (“Ted Lasso”), Amy Brenneman (“NYPD Blue”) and Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”).
No actor in Emmy history has won guest drama actor and then converted a supporting drama actor nom for the same role into a win. Whitford and Clemenson made similar guest-win-to-supporting-nom moves but neither won for their supporting recognized years.
There have also been reverse trajectories. Alec Baldwin made an unusual pivot within sketch comedy, winning an Emmy for supporting comedy actor for “Saturday Night Live” in 2017 before competing as a guest comedy actor in 2021. Cephas Jones followed a similar pattern on “This Is Us,” earning a supporting drama nomination in 2017 before pivoting to guest, winning the category in both 2018 and 2020.
Claire Foy is among the rare lead performers to transition to a guest role, following a departure from a series. She won lead drama actress for “The Crown” in 2018 and later took guest drama actress in 2021. Others who have followed similar paths include Mandy Patinkin for “Chicago Hope” and Shelley Long for “Cheers.”
Conversely, the shift from supporting to lead has also proven fruitful. Jon Cryer for “Two and a Half Men” and Allison Janney for “The West Wing” both successfully transitioned categories, ultimately winning at the top level.
Per Emmy rules updated in Jan. 2025, the move from guest to supporting is permitted, though it does carry a long-term risk. Once a performer is nominated or wins in a lead or supporting category, they are no longer eligible to submit in a guest category in subsequent Emmy years for the same role in the same series. In other words, if Hatosy lands a supporting nom this year, the door to guest drama actor closes on Dr. Abbott for good.
Hatosy’s exit from guest drama actor opens the field for other potential “Pitt” guests, including Jeff Kober as Robby’s motorcycle-riding buddy Duke and Ernest Harden Jr. as the lovable Louie, a fan-favorite who battles alcoholism and liver issues.
Hatosy will also appear on the Emmy ballot as a director, having helmed the episode “3:00 P.M.” — written by Cynthia Adarkwa — which marked his directorial debut.
Season 1 of the medical drama broke out in a major way in 2025, winning five Emmys, including outstanding drama series, lead actor for Noah Wyle, supporting actress for Katherine LaNasa, casting and Hatosy’s guest victory. It enters this year’s race as the clear show to beat.
Emmy submissions are due on May 7, with the nomination-round voting running from June 11 to June 22. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations will be announced on July 8.