Mr and Mrs Brad Pitt are among the stars who’ll find out if they will be taking home a coveted Emmy award on Sunday night, with the Fight Club heart-throb up for a gong for his Friends guest spot, and wife Jennifer Aniston shortlisted in the best comedy actress category.
Brad is up against fellow big screen star – and one-half of a Hollywood couple himself – Michael Douglas, who played a one-shot role in the hit US programme Will And Grace. Oscar winners Susan Sarandon and Glenn Close are two more film stars nominated for Emmys, both in the outstanding guest actress prize.
There are several nods to some big UK names this year, including Channel 4 Shackleton star Kenneth Branagh, who’ll go head to head with fellow Brits Albert Finney and Michael Gambon in the best actor in a miniseries category. Also recognised for their work this year are The Gathering Storm star Vanessa Redgrave, nominated for lead actress in a miniseries, and Oscar winner Jim Broadbent, who is shortlisted for the category’s supporting actor gong.
Leading the Emmy pack with a whopping 23 nominations is Six Feet Under, a black comedy focused on a family-run funeral parlour, with White House hit The West Wing, last year’s Outstanding Drama winner, a close second with 21. The show’s star Martin Sheen, who has been nominated in the best actor category four years running, is trying to keep his sense of humour about his chances of finally winning this year. “You know the old saying,” says the actor. “Even a blind hog gets an acorn now and then.”
The Emmys, which will take place at LA’s Shrine Auditorium, are set to air live in the US on NBC this Sunday.