The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series was an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was given annually from 1985 to 2019 to honor a young actor below the age of 25, who had delivered an outstanding performance in a role while working within the daytime drama industry.
At the 12thDaytime Emmy Awards held in 1985, Brian Bloom was the first winner of this award for his portrayal of Dusty Donovan on As the World Turns. The awards ceremony had not been aired on television for the prior two years, having been criticized for voting integrity. The award category was originally called Outstanding Young Man or Outstanding Juvenile Male in a Drama Series, and began using its current title in 1991. Years before this category was introduced, networks declined to broadcast the show during a time of voting integrity rumors and waning interest. Confusion rose around the criteria of the new category due to the varying ages of the nominees. Within the first set of nominees, Bloom became the youngest actor nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award at the time at age 15, while the other actors nominated in the category were over 25. The criteria were later altered, requiring that the actor be aged 25 or below.
The following individuals received two or more wins in this category:
Wins
Actor
3
Jonathan Jackson
Chandler Massey
2
Bryan Craig
Michael E. Knight
Kevin Mambo
Tom Pelphrey
Jonathan Jackson is the actor to have received the most nominations in this category, and one of the actors to have the most wins, with a total of three for his portrayal of Lucky Spencer on General Hospital.Chandler Massey is the first actor to receive the award for portraying a gay character in this category. He won the award three times, consecutively from 2012 to 2014 for his role of Will Horton on Days of Our Lives.
The following individuals received two or more nominations in this category:
