The 17 Best Lead Performances in a TV Drama

Careers built on a single role, and one or two actors nobody expected to carry an hour of television. Every name here changed what the job looks like.

1

Bryan Cranston

Walter White in Breaking Bad, winner of four Lead Actor Emmys for the same role.

2

James Gandolfini

Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, the performance every prestige drama since has been measured against.

3

Jon Hamm

Don Draper in Mad Men, holding a whole decade behind a still face.

4

Edie Falco

Carmela Soprano, the other half of the marriage and never the smaller performance.

5

Elisabeth Moss

Offred in The Handmaid's Tale, carrying long stretches of the show on one held shot.

6

Michael K. Williams

Omar Little in The Wire, whistling through a Baltimore that got out of his way.

7

Claire Foy

Elizabeth II in The Crown, a young queen learning to disappear into the job.

8

Bob Odenkirk

Jimmy McGill in Better Call Saul, a comic actor turning a spin-off into a tragedy.

9

Brian Cox

Logan Roy in Succession, terrifying a boardroom without raising his voice much.

10

Keri Russell

Elizabeth Jennings in The Americans, a spy whose marriage is also her cover.

11

Sterling K. Brown

Randall Pearson in This Is Us, panic attacks and all, across three timelines.

12

Jodie Comer

Villanelle in Killing Eve, switching accents and moods inside a single scene.

13

Cillian Murphy

Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders, a gangster played almost entirely in the eyes.

14

Julianna Margulies

Alicia Florrick in The Good Wife, a political spouse rebuilt as a litigator.

15

Rhea Seehorn

Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul, the show's moral centre and its biggest surprise.

16

Andre Braugher

Frank Pembleton in Homicide: Life on the Street, the interrogation-room standard.

17

Noah Wyle

Dr. Robby in The Pitt, an emergency-room lead played across one continuous shift.