The 2026 Emmy nominations are here, and as usual, there are some surprises and snubs. It feels weird to say either applies to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, given it scored nine nominations ahead of the big award show on the 2026 TV schedule. However, I can't help but be shocked that Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell were left out of Outstanding Actor and Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Ser Duncan and Prince Aegon, or "Egg," made for an odd pairing in the latest Game of Thrones series, but it's Claffey and Ansell's chemistry that made the series so amazing. As such, I'm shocked they didn't even get a nomination in either category, despite Claffey getting a push for Lead Actor and Ansell for Supporting.
Dexter Sol Ansell Could've Won Best Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Dexter Sol Ansell is one of the best parts of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and I feel pretty confident he'll win at some point. I have to believe that any kid who is passionate enough about their character that they'll dress up as them for school will put everything into their performances and get that nod eventually. Plus, if I'm an Emmy voter, I would vote for this kid over any adult, because he's that good.
In fairness, no child actor on Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon has won an Emmy to date. In fact, the only actor to ever win an Emmy for the show was Peter Dinklage, who won Best Supporting Actor four times. Ansell will have to step up his game to beat that record, but HBO campaigning for him in that category is a good start.
Peter Claffey Probably Wouldn't Have Won Best Actor In A Drama Series, But He Deserved A Nomination
I love Peter Claffey and all he's brought to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms so far as Ser Duncan, but it'd be disingenuous for me to say I think he'd win Best Actor In A Drama Series this year.
Paradise's Sterling K. Brown, The Pitt's Noah Wyle, and Task's Mark Ruffalo are all former Emmy winners, with Wyle being the most recent winner in this category for Season 1 of The Pitt. And then there are The Diplomat's Rufus Sewell, who has been nominated once before, and three-time nominee Gary Oldman, who was nominated again for Slow Horses. That category is going to be a dogfight, and I'm genuinely unsure who is going to win.
Maybe the actors got the short end of the stick in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms because of its shorter length, which gives them less time than others to really sell the gravitas of their scenes. It's also possible the fact that the series features more levity and humor than the usual Game of Thrones show, or any drama for that matter, could've impacted nominations for this category as well.
Fortunately, it seems the show will have plenty more opportunities for both actors to get nominated. It's even being suggested A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms could go beyond the books, so maybe we'll see both of them capture individual Emmy accolades as the years pass.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 is available to stream with an HBO Max subscription. We'll see if it ends up winning any accolades at the Emmys, which will air live on NBC on September 14th.
