Emmy nominee profile: Lamar Johnson (‘The Last of Us’) would be his category’s youngest winner

Just one year after HBO’s “Succession” broke new ground as the first drama series to ever receive four male guest acting Emmy nominations at once, the same network’s “The Last of Us” has matched the impressive feat. Included among those currently recognized for their special appearances on the post-apocalyptic video game adaptation is Lamar Johnson, who has built an extensive acting resume over the past 15 years. Having just turned 29 in July, he ranks as the fourth youngest Best Drama Guest Actor nominee ever and has a shot at becoming the category’s all-time youngest victor.

Johnson’s very first Emmy notice comes for his portrayal of Henry Burrell, a one-time government informant attempting to evade capture by ruthless resistance leader Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey). The actor’s episode submission, “Endure and Survive,” shows that Henry never has much time to dwell on his dire situation as an apocalypse survivor since his primary responsibility is to take care of his eight-year-old deaf brother, Sam (Keivonn Montreal Woodard). After coming into contact with lead characters Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal), Henry helps them escape his dangerous city, not knowing he is heading straight toward his final showdown with Kathleen and even greater tragedy.

SEE Bella Ramsey (‘The Last of Us’): Emmys 2023 episode submission revealed

“The Last of Us” received 25 Emmy nominations for its inaugural season, which is more than any freshman drama series ever has. This makes it the second most-recognized program of the year, behind only “Succession,” which achieved a final-season total of 27. In addition to bids for series, writing and directing, “The Last of Us” racked up nine acting mentions, including its other three male guest ones for Woodard, Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman.

Aside from 10-year-old Woodard, the only actors who were younger than Johnson when they competed for this award were Ewan McGregor (26, “ER,” 1997) and David Cassidy (28, “Police Woman,” 1978). Considering winners from both male guest categories, he would only be outpaced by comedy champ Justin Timberlake (28, “Saturday Night Live,” 2009). In terms of Black acting Emmy recipients, he would be the fourth youngest overall, after Jharrel Jerome (21, movie/limited actor, “When They See Us,” 2019), Zendaya (24 and 26, drama actress, “Euphoria,” 2020 and 2022) and Bill Cosby (28, drama actor, “I Spy,” 1966).

Johnson’s remaining two challengers in this race are returning 2022 “Succession” nominees James Cromwell and Arian Moayed, the former of whom was recognized here for the same show in 2020 and for “ER” and “Six Feet Under” two decades ago. All four “The Last of Us” actors are new to this category, but Offerman has been nominated three times for hosting “Making It” and Bartlett took home last year’s Best Movie/Limited Supporting Actor prize for “The White Lotus.” He now also has a chance to be honored again in that same category (which Cromwell conquered in 2013 as an “American Horror Story” cast member) for “Welcome to Chippendales.”

This article is part of Gold Derby’s “Emmy nominee profile” series spotlighting the 2023 acting contenders.

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