NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series explained

This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. The award was first given in 1972. Not to be confused with the Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. Currently, LL Cool J holds the record for most wins in the category with four.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

1970s

Year	Actor	Series	Ref
1972
	Redd Foxx	Sanford and Son	[1]
1973 – 79

1980s

Year	Actor	Series	Ref
1980 – 81	colspan="3"
1982
	Paul Winfield	The Sophisticated Gents
1983
	Howard Rollins
1984 – 88	colspan="3"
1989
	Howard Rollins	In the Heat of the Night	[2]

1990s

Year	Actor	Series	Ref
1990
	Danny Glover	Mandela	[3]
1991	colspan="3"
1992
	Blair Underwood	Murder in Mississippi
1993
	James Earl Jones	Gabriel's Fire
	Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
1994
	Dorian Harewood	I'll Fly Away	[4]
1995
	Blair Underwood	L.A. Law	[5]
1996
	Malik Yoba	New York Undercover	[6]
	André Braugher
	Avery Brooks
	Yaphet Kotto
	Eriq La Salle	ER
1997
	Malik Yoba	New York Undercover	[7]
	André Braugher
	Avery Brooks
	Yaphet Kotto
	Eriq La Salle	ER
1998
	Malik Yoba	New York Undercover
	André Braugher
	Yaphet Kotto
	Eriq La Salle	ER
	Richard Roundtree	413 Hope St.
1999
	Eriq La Salle	ER	[8]
	André Braugher
	Rocky Carroll	Chicago Hope
	Steve Harris	The Practice
	Yaphet Kotto

2000s

Year	Actor	Series	Ref
2000
	Eriq La Salle	ER
	Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje	Oz
	Michael Beach	Third Watch
	Steve Harris	The Practice
	Jesse L. Martin	Law & Order
2001
	Blair Underwood	City of Angels
	André Braugher	Gideon's Crossing
	Steve Harris	The Practice
	Eriq La Salle	ER
	Jesse L. Martin	Law & Order
2002
	Eriq La Salle	ER
	André Braugher	Gideon's Crossing
	Steve Harris	The Practice
	Ving Rhames
	Courtney B. Vance
2003
	Michael Beach	Third Watch
	Bill Bellamy	Fastlane
	André Braugher	Hack
	Dennis Haysbert	24
	Mykelti Williamson	Boomtown
2004
	Steve Harris	The Practice	[9]
	Gary Dourdan
	Dennis Haysbert	24
	Jesse L. Martin	Law & Order
	Wendell Pierce	The Wire
2005
	Taye Diggs	Kevin Hill
	Gary Dourdan
	Hill Harper
	Steve Harris	The Practice
	Jesse L. Martin	Law & Order
2006
	Isaiah Washington	Grey's Anatomy
	Omar Epps	House
	Hill Harper
	Ice-T
	Jesse L. Martin	Law & Order
2007
	Isaiah Washington	Grey's Anatomy
	Hill Harper
	Dennis Haysbert	The Unit
	Jesse L. Martin	Law & Order
	Michael K. Williams	The Wire
2008
	Hill Harper
	Anthony Anderson	K-Ville
	Dennis Haysbert	The Unit
	Jesse L. Martin	Law & Order
	Jimmy Smits	Cane
2009
	Hill Harper
	Anthony Anderson	Law & Order
	Omar Epps	House
	Dennis Haysbert	The Unit
	Blair Underwood	In Treatment

2010s

Year	Actor	Series	Ref
2010
	Hill Harper
	Anthony Anderson	Law & Order
	Taye Diggs	Private Practice
	Laurence Fishburne
	LL Cool J
2011
	LL Cool J
	Anthony Anderson	Law & Order
	Laurence Fishburne
	Hill Harper
	Blair Underwood	The Event
2012
	LL Cool J
	André Braugher	Men of a Certain Age
	Taye Diggs	Private Practice
	Hill Harper
	Wendell Pierce	Treme
2013
	LL Cool J		[10]
	Michael Clarke Duncan	The Finder
	Hill Harper
	Dulé Hill	Psych
	Wendell Pierce	Treme
2014
	LL Cool J		[11]
	Michael Ealy	Almost Human
	Shemar Moore	Criminal Minds
	James Pickens Jr.	Grey's Anatomy
	Wendell Pierce	Treme
2015
	Shemar Moore	Criminal Minds	[12]
	Taye Diggs	Murder in the First
	Omar Epps	Resurrection
	Omari Hardwick	Being Mary Jane
	LL Cool J
2016
	Terrence Howard	Empire	[13]
	Morris Chestnut	Rosewood
	Omari Hardwick	Power
	LL Cool J
	Wesley Snipes	The Player
2017
	Sterling K. Brown	This Is Us	[14]
	Mike Colter	Marvel's Luke Cage
	Omari Hardwick	Power
	Terrence Howard	Empire
	Kofi Siriboe	Queen Sugar
2018
	Omari Hardwick	Power	[15]
	Kofi Siriboe	Queen Sugar
	Mike Colter	The Defenders
		This Is Us
	Terrence Howard	Empire
2019
	Omari Hardwick	Power	[16]
	Jason Mitchell	The Chi
	Keith David	Greenleaf
		Queen Sugar
	Sterling K. Brown	This Is Us

2020s

Year	Actor	Series	Ref
2020
	Omari Hardwick	Power	[17]
	Sterling K. Brown	This Is Us
	Billy Porter	Pose
	Kofi Siriboe	Queen Sugar
	Forest Whitaker	Godfather of Harlem
2021
	Regé-Jean Page	Bridgerton	[18]
	Sterling K. Brown	This Is Us
	Jonathan Majors	Lovecraft Country
	Keith David	Greenleaf
	Nicco Annan	P-Valley
2022
	Sterling K. Brown	This Is Us	[19]
	Damson Idris	Snowfall
	Billy Porter	Pose
	Kofi Siriboe	Queen Sugar
	Forest Whitaker	Godfather of Harlem
2023
	Nicco Annan	P-Valley	[20]
	Jabari Banks	Bel-Air
	Kofi Siriboe	Queen Sugar
	Sterling K. Brown	This Is Us
	Damson Idris	Snowfall

Multiple wins and nominations

Wins

4 wins

• LL Cool J

3 wins

• Hill Harper
• Eriq La Salle
• Blair Underwood
• Malik Yoba
• Omari Hardwick

2 wins

• Sterling K. Brown
• Isaiah Washington

Nominations

9 nominations

• Hill Harper

8 nominations

• André Braugher

7 nominations

• Eriq La Salle
• LL Cool J
• Jesse L. Martin

6 nominations

• Sterling K. Brown
• Steve Harris
• Omari Hardwick

5 nominations

• Dennis Haysbert
• Kofi Siriboe
• Blair Underwood

4 nominations

• Anthony Anderson
• Taye Diggs
• Yaphet Kotto
• Wendell Pierce

3 nominations

• Omar Epps
• Terrence Howard
• Malik Yoba

2 nominations

• Michael Beach
• Avery Brooks
• Mike Colter
• Keith David
• Gary Dourdan
• Laurence Fishburne
• Shemar Moore
• Billy Porter
• Isaiah Washington
• Forest Whitaker

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1972 Image Awards. IMDb. August 14, 2016.
2. Web site: Snow. Shauna. Nominees for 21st Image Awards Announced. Los Angeles Times. 21 January 2017. 11 November 1988.
3. Web site: 1990 Image Award Winners. IMDb. August 2, 2016.
4. Web site: 1994 Image Award Winners. IMDb. August 2, 2016.
5. Web site: 1995 Image Award Winners. IMDb. August 2, 2016.
6. Web site: Snow. Shauna. 5 Films Head Nominations for NAACP Image Awards. Los Angeles Times. 21 January 2017. 22 February 1996.
7. Web site: 1997 Image Award Winners. IMDb. August 2, 2016.
8. News: The Crisis. 21 January 2017. The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc.. 1 April 1999. en.
9. Web site: 2004 Image Award Winners. IMDb. August 2, 2016.
10. Web site: 2013 Image Winners. Couch. Aaron . February 1, 2013. The Hollywood Reporter. August 2, 2016.
11. Web site: 2014 Image Winners. Couch. Aaron. February 22, 2014. The Hollywood Reporter. August 2, 2016.
12. Web site: 2015 Image Winners. Washington. Arlene . February 6, 2015. The Hollywood Reporter. August 2, 2016.
13. Web site: 2016 Image Winners. Variety. August 2, 2016.
14. Web site: Ruth Negga, Angela Bassett and Taraji P. Henson nominated. Hipes. Patrick. December 13, 2016. Deadline. January 2, 2017.
15. Web site: NAACP Image Awards 2018: Ava DuVernay, black-ish among winners. Gettell. Oliver. January 15, 2018. Entertainment Weekly. February 27, 2018.
16. Web site: Lewis . Hilary . NAACP Image Awards: 'Black Panther' Tops Film Nominations . . April 4, 2021 . en . February 13, 2019.
17. Web site: NAACP Winners 2020: The Complete List . . April 4, 2021 . February 23, 2020.
18. Web site: 2021 NAACP Image Awards: The Complete Winners List . . April 4, 2021 . March 29, 2021.
19. Web site: NAACP Image Awards. NAACP Image Awards. February 26, 2022.
20. News: NAACP Image Awards: Abbott Elementary, P-Valley and The Best Man: Final Chapters Are TV’s Big Winners. Mitovich. Matt Webb. tvline.com. TVLine. February 25, 2023. 28 March 2024.