BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2026: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Today's award is Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series!

Past Awards in This Category: 2025   2024   2023   2022   2021   2020

This year's nominees are...














ETHAN HAWKE as Lee Raybon in The Lowdown (FX)
TOM PELPHREY as Robbie Prendergrast in Task (HBO)
MARK RUFFALO as Tom Brandis in Task (HBO)
RUFUS SEWELL as Hal Wyler in The Diplomat (Netflix)
BILLY BOB THORNTON as Tommy Norris in Landman (Paramount+)
JEREMY ALLEN WHITE as Carmy Berzatto in The Bear (FX/Hulu)
NOAH WYLE as Dr. Michael Robinavitch in The Pitt (HBO Max)

And the Winner Is...
ETHAN HAWKE
The Lowdown (FX)
It's hard to not give this award to Noah Wyle for a second year in a row but Ethan Hawke completely captivated me in The Lowdown. It was an outrageous performance that was somehow grounded at the same time. Despite it being a new show, Hawke gave the character of Lee Raybon such a rich personality that I felt like I had been watching this character for years. There were many great supporting performances in The Lowdown and Hawke played off of each of them so well. Whether a familiar relationship, a buddy or an adversary, he was impressive to watch in every scene. This show was Ethan Hawke and between that and Blue Moon, my appreciation for Hawke leveled up big time in 2025.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
As mentioned above, it was very hard not to give this award to Wyle after another great season on The Pitt. I think I just leaned to Hawke because The Lowdown's success was more dependent on Hawke than the second season of The Pitt was on Wyle now that the supporting cast is so strong on The Pitt. There were other great performances too. Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey each carried their respective stories on Task well and their scenes together were electric. Rufus Sewell continues to bring a weird and fun energy to The Diplomat. Landman isn't a great show but Billy Bob Thornton is rock solid in it. Finally, Jeremy Allen White has maybe gotten to a point where his work on The Bear is actually a bit underrated.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series!

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