NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special

This article lists the winners and nominees for the

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. Currently Blair Underwood

holds the record for most wins in this category with four.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

1980s

Year	Actor	Movie / Series	Ref
1982
1982	Paul Winfield	The Sophisticated Gents	^[1]
1983 – 89	—

1990s

Year	Actor	Movie / Series	Ref
1990
1990	Danny Glover	Mandela	^[2]
1991	—
1992
1992	Blair Underwood	Murder in Mississippi	^[3]
1993			^[3]
	James Earl Jones	Gabriel's Fire	^[4]
	Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs	The Jacksons: An American Dream	^[4]
1994
1994	Dorian Harewood	I'll Fly Away	^[5]
1995			^[5]
1995	Danny Glover	Alex Haley's Queen	^[6]
1996			^[6]
	Laurence Fishburne	The Tuskegee Airmen	^[7]
	Andre Braugher	The Tuskegee Airmen
	Charles S. Dutton	The Piano Lesson
	Cuba Gooding Jr.	The Tuskegee Airmen
	Sidney Poitier	Children of the Dust
1997
	Wesley Snipes	America's Dream	^[8]
	Don Cheadle	Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
	Louis Gossett Jr.	Captive Heart: The James Mink Story
	Delroy Lindo	Soul of the Game
	Blair Underwood	Soul of the Game
1998
	Laurence Fishburne	Miss Evers' Boys	^[9]
	Danny Glover	Buffalo Soldiers
	Carl Lumbly	Buffalo Soldiers
	Sidney Poitier	Mandela and de Klerk
	Ving Rhames	Don King: Only in America
1999
	Blair Underwood	Mama Flora's Family	^[10]
	Don Cheadle	The Rat Pack
	Laurence Fishburne	Always Outnumbered
	Leon	The Temptations
	Charles Malik Whitfield	The Temptations

2000s

Year	Actor	Movie / Series	Ref
2000
	Sidney Poitier	The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn	^[11]
	Obba Babatundé	Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
	Andre Braugher	Passing Glory
	Don Cheadle	A Lesson Before Dying
	Mekhi Phifer	A Lesson Before Dying
2001
	Danny Glover	Freedom Song	^[12]
	T. K. Carter	The Corner
	Charles S. Dutton	Deadlocked
	Leon	Littler Richard
	Sean Nelson	The Corner
2002
	Gregory Hines	Bojangles	^[13]
	Terrence Howard	Boycott
	Roger Guenveur Smith	A Huey P. Newton Story
	Isaiah Washington	Dancing in September
	Jeffrey Wright	Boycott
2003
	Charles S. Dutton	10,000 Black Men Named George	^[14]
	Andre Braugher	10,000 Black Men Named George
	Omar Epps	Conviction
	Harry Lennix	Keep the Faith, Baby
	Ving Rhames	Sins of the Father
2004
	Charles S. Dutton	D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear	^[15]
	Ossie Davis	Deacons for Defense
	Danny Glover	Good Fences
	Louis Gossett Jr.	Jasper, Texas
	Forest Whitaker	Deacons for Defense
2005
	Jamie Foxx	Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story	^[16]
	Flex Alexander	Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story
	Yasiin Bey	Something the Lord Made
	Wayne Brady	Going to the Mat
	Dulé Hill	10.5
2006
	Terrence Howard	Lackawanna Blues	^[17]
	Michael Ealy	Their Eyes Were Watching God
	Idris Elba	Sometimes in April
	Ruben Santiago-Hudson	Their Eyes Were Watching God
	Jeffrey Wright	Lackawanna Blues
2007
	Kadeem Hardison	Life Is Not a Fairy Tale	^[18]
	Andre Braugher	Thief
	Michael Ealy	Sleeper Cell
	Chiwetel Ejiofor	Tsunami: The Aftermath
	Clarence Williams III	Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery
2008
	Wendell Pierce	Life Support	^[19]
	Adam Beach	Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
	Wayne Brady	The List
	Evan Ross	Life Support
	Daniel Sunjata	The Bronx Is Burning
2009
	Sean Combs	A Raisin in the Sun	^[20]
	Andre Braugher	The Andromeda Strain
	Charles S. Dutton	Racing for Time
	Sean Patrick Thomas	A Raisin in the Sun
	Ben Vereen	Accidental Friendship

2010s

Year	Actor	Movie / Series	Ref
2010
	Cuba Gooding Jr.	Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story	^[21]
	Jaishon Fisher	Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
	Gus Hoffman	Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
	Philip Johnson	America
	Eriq La Salle	Relative Stranger
2011
	Idris Elba	Luther	^[22]
	Mahershala Ali	The Wronged Man
	Benito Martinez	Lies in Plain Sight
	Jon Seda	The Pacific
	Michael Jai White	One Angry Juror
2012
	Laurence Fishburne	Thurgood	^[23]
	Idris Elba	Luther
	Louis Gossett Jr.	The Least Among You
	Samuel L. Jackson	The Sunset Limited
	Esai Morales	We Have Your Husband
2013
	Cuba Gooding Jr.	Firelight	^[24]
	Rockmond Dunbar	Raising Izzie
	Tory Kittles	Steel Magnolias
	Afemo Omilami	Steel Magnolias
	Michael Jai White	Somebody's Child
2014
	Idris Elba	Luther	^[25]
	Chiwetel Ejiofor	Dancing on the Edge
	Danny Glover	Muhammad Ali's Greatest
	Malik Yoba	Betty & Coretta
	Omari Hardwick	Being Mary Jane
2015
	Blair Underwood	The Trip to Bountiful	^[26]
	Charles S. Dutton	Comeback Dad
	Mekhi Phifer	A Day Late and a Dollar Short
	Ving Rhames	A Day Late and a Dollar Short
	Larenz Tate	Gun Hill
2016
	David Alan Grier	The Wiz Live!	^[27]
	Idris Elba	Luther
	Cuba Gooding Jr.	The Book of Negroes
	David Oyelowo	Nightingale
	Michael Kenneth Williams	Bessie
2017
	Courtney B. Vance	The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story	^[28]
	Sterling K. Brown	The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
	Cuba Gooding Jr.	The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
	Malachi Kirby	Roots
	Jeffrey Wright	Confirmation
2018
	Idris Elba	Guerrilla	^[29]
	Laurence Fishburne	Madiba
	Bryshere Gray	The New Edition Story
	Woody McClain	The New Edition Story
	Mack Wilds	Shots Fired
2019
	Michael B. Jordan	Fahrenheit 451	^[30]
	Brandon Victor Dixon	Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
	John Legend	Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
	Russell Hornsby	Seven Seconds
	Woody McClain	The Bobby Brown Story

2020s

Year	Actor	Movie / Series	Ref
2020
	Jharrel Jerome	When They See Us	^[31]
	Mahershala Ali	True Detective
	Idris Elba	Luther
	Caleel Harris	When They See Us
	Ethan Henry Herisse	When They See Us
2021
	Blair Underwood	Self Made	^[32]
	Chris Rock	Fargo
	Daveed Diggs	Hamilton
	Leslie Odom Jr.	Hamilton
	Nnamdi Asomugha	Sylvie's Love
2022
	Kevin Hart	True Story	^[33]
	William Jackson Harper	Love Life
	Anthony Mackie	Solos
	Jaden Michael	Colin in Black & White
	Wesley Snipes	True Story
2023
	Morris Chestnut	The Best Man: The Final Chapters	^[34]
	Samuel L. Jackson	The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
	Terrence Howard	The Best Man: The Final Chapters
	Trevante Rhodes	Mike
	Wendell Pierce	Don't Hang Up
2024	Brian Tyree Henry	Class of “09”	^[35]
	Courtney B. Vance	Heist 88
	Keith Powers	The Perfect Find
	Lance Reddick	The Caine Mutiny Court–Martial
	Samuel L. Jackson	Secret Invasion

Multiple wins and nominations

Wins

4 wins

Blair Underwood

3 wins

2 wins

Nominations

7 nominations

Idris Elba

6 nominations

5 nominations

3 nominations

2 nominations

References

^ "1980 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "1990 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "1992 Image Awards". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
^ "1993 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "1994 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "1995 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ Snow, Shauna (22 February 1996). "5 Films Head Nominations for NAACP Image Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
^ "1997 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "1998 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "The Crisis". The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc. 1 April 1999. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
^ "2000 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2001 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2002 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2003 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2004 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2005 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2006 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2007 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2008 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2009 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2010 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2011 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2012 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ Couch, Aaron (February 1, 2013). "2013 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ Couch, Aaron (February 22, 2014). "2014 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ Washington, Arlene (February 6, 2015). "2015 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ "2016 Image Winners". Variety. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
^ Hipes, Patrick (December 13, 2016). "Ruth Negga, Angela Bassett and Taraji P. Henson nominated". Deadline. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
^ "NAACP Image Awards: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. January 14, 2018.
^ Lewis, Hilary (February 13, 2019). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Black Panther' Tops Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter.
^ Schaffstall, Katherine; Howard, Annie (February 22, 2020). "NAACP Image Awards: Lizzo Named Entertainer of the Year; 'Just Mercy,' 'Black-ish' Among Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter.
^ Bosselman, Haley (March 28, 2021). "NAACP Image Awards 2021: The Complete Televised Winners List". Variety.
^ "NAACP Image Awards". NAACP Image Awards. February 26, 2022.
^ Holub, Christian (January 12, 2023). "'Wakanda Forever' and 'Abbott Elementary' top NAACP Image Award nominations". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
^ Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (January 25, 2024). "Colman Domingo, Ayo Edebiri, and The Color Purple dominate 55th NAACP Image Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2024.

[1] "1980 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[2] "1990 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[3] "1992 Image Awards". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 12, 2016.

[4] "1993 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[5] "1994 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[6] "1995 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[7] Snow, Shauna (22 February 1996). "5 Films Head Nominations for NAACP Image Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2017.

[8] "1997 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[9] "1998 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[10] "The Crisis". The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc. 1 April 1999. Retrieved 21 January 2017.

[11] "2000 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[12] "2001 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[13] "2002 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[14] "2003 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[15] "2004 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[16] "2005 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[17] "2006 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[18] "2007 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[19] "2008 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[20] "2009 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[21] "2010 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[22] "2011 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[23] "2012 Image Award Winners". Awards and Winners. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[24] Couch, Aaron (February 1, 2013). "2013 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[25] Couch, Aaron (February 22, 2014). "2014 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[26] Washington, Arlene (February 6, 2015). "2015 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[27] "2016 Image Winners". Variety. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[28] Hipes, Patrick (December 13, 2016). "Ruth Negga, Angela Bassett and Taraji P. Henson nominated". Deadline. Retrieved January 2, 2017.

[29] "NAACP Image Awards: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. January 14, 2018.

[30] Lewis, Hilary (February 13, 2019). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Black Panther' Tops Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter.

[31] Schaffstall, Katherine; Howard, Annie (February 22, 2020). "NAACP Image Awards: Lizzo Named Entertainer of the Year; 'Just Mercy,' 'Black-ish' Among Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter.

[32] Bosselman, Haley (March 28, 2021). "NAACP Image Awards 2021: The Complete Televised Winners List". Variety.

[33] "NAACP Image Awards". NAACP Image Awards. February 26, 2022.

[34] Holub, Christian (January 12, 2023). "'Wakanda Forever' and 'Abbott Elementary' top NAACP Image Award nominations". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2024.

[35] Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (January 25, 2024). "Colman Domingo, Ayo Edebiri, and The Color Purple dominate 55th NAACP Image Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2024.

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v t e NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
1980s	Paul Winfield (1982) Danny Glover (1989)
1990s	No Award (1990) Blair Underwood (1991) James Earl Jones (1992) Dorian Harewood (1993) Danny Glover (1994) Laurence Fishburne (1995) Wesley Snipes (1996) Laurence Fishburne (1997) Blair Underwood (1998) Sidney Poitier (1999)
2000s	Danny Glover (2000) Gregory Hines (2001) Charles S. Dutton (2002) Charles S. Dutton (2003) Jamie Foxx (2004) Terrence Howard (2005) Kadeem Hardison (2006) Wendell Pierce (2007) Sean Combs (2008) Cuba Gooding Jr. (2009)
2010s	Idris Elba (2010) Laurence Fishburne (2011) Cuba Gooding Jr. (2012) Idris Elba (2013) Blair Underwood (2014) David Alan Grier (2015) Courtney B. Vance (2016) Idris Elba (2017) Michael B. Jordan (2018) Jharrel Jerome (2019)
2020s	Blair Underwood (2020) Kevin Hart (2021) Morris Chestnut (2022) Keith Powers (2023)