Emmy Predictions: This Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama Are a Lock!

Check out which nominees are the biggest locks of the night

By Kristin Dos Santos Sep 20, 2012 7:00 PMTags
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Spoiler Alert: Don't read unless you really want to know who will win the Emmys for Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama on Sunday night!

OK, so maybe we are talking about 99 percent certainty here. But still, according to nearly every single Emmy expert out there, these lead acting races on the drama side are the surest locks of the night, and we agree...

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA

SHOULD WIN: Bryan Cranston. The undefeated heavyweight champ of this category is back! And with all due respect, fellow contenders Jon Hamm, Damien Lewis, Michael C. Hall, Hugh Bonneville and Steve Buscemi really may as well just stay home Sunday night in their footie PJ's and weep over a gallon of Häagen-Dazs together. The Breaking Bad writers gave Cranston such a diverse range of emotions on the show's fourth season, and he nailed every single one of them. Outrageously delicious evil cackle? You got it. Emotional breakdown? Sure, he'll do that flawlessly for you too.

WILL WIN: Bryan Cranston. Honestly, as talented and convincing as all of his competition may be, it's tough to imagine anyone but Cranston holding that trophy on Sunday night. His acting kick-assery aside, the best of Breaking Bad's episodes aired right during the Emmy voting period, which is huge. And by the way, when...OK, fine, if Cranton really does win on Sunday night, he will tie Dennis Franz for the most wins in this category. And then we predict he will set a new record for the show's final year in 2013. Deal with it, ice cream crew.

Paul Drinkwater/NBC

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA

SHOULD WIN: Claire Danes. All. The. Awards. Right. Now. As the indisputable breakout female performance of the year, Claire Danes knocked it out of the park with her expert portrayal of a CIA operative suffering from bipolar disorder on Homeland. And the fan favorite TV actress is no dummy: Danes submitted the episode ("The Vest") in which she has a manic breakdown, recovers softly and then sobs hysterically as she receives some bad news. All. The. Awards! But we'll take just this one.

WILL WIN: Claire Danes. Do a Google search and try to find a single Emmy expert predicting anyone other than Danes. If Claire Danes doesn't win on Sunday, it will be the biggest upset of the night. Our condolences to the (obviously incredibly talented) competition: Kathy Bates, Glenn Close, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth Moss and Julianna Margulies.

Check back tomorrow for our final Emmy predictions! And a dose of Reality...