Is 17-year-old Asante Blackk the youngest Emmy Award nominee of all time?
- Young actors are rarely nominated for an Emmy Award, but can the star of Netflix’s When They See Us follow in the footsteps of Kristy McNichol and Roxana Zal?
Asante Blackk isn’t only the youngest Emmy nominee this year, he’s one of the youngest of all time.
The 17-year-old star of Netflix’s When They See Us is nominated for best supporting actor in a limited series or movie. He joins a small group of actors who are 18 years old or younger who have been nominated in the Emmys’ 71-year history.
Millie Bobby Brown, who is 15, has been nominated twice for her role as Eleven on the hit Netflix show Stranger Things, but the series wasn’t eligible this year. Recently leaving her teens behind, the 20-year-old Joey King was nominated for her work in Hulu’s The Act.
It’s proved historically rare for the Emmys to highlight young talent, despite so many child actors getting their start on the small screen throughout television history. There have only been 12 actors 18 years of age or younger nominated for an Emmy, and only two actors in that age group have won since the award show began in 1949.
The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards air live on Sunday, September 22 at 5pm Pacific Time – which is 8am on Monday, September 23 in Hong Kong and much of East Asia, including China Standard Time.
Read on for the youngest Emmy nominees and winners of all time:
Patty Duke, 18 years old
Duke was 18 in 1964 when she received an Emmy nomination for her work in The Patty Duke Show.