Jason Thompson (‘The Young and the Restless’) could make history as the next Emmy-winning Billy Abbott

Jason Thompson has been waiting more than a decade to finally win at the Daytime Emmys. Will this be his year? He’s nominated for Best Actor for playing Billy Abbott on “The Young and the Restless.” That character has already won Emmys for two other actors before him. In fact, if Thompson picks up the torch, it would be a historic feat since no character has won Best Actor for two different actors.

David Tom was the first Emmy-winning Billy. He claimed Best Younger Actor in 2000. He left the show in 2002, but a couple of recasts later Billy Miller stepped into the role in 2008 and became the most successful Billy at the Emmys. He earned five nominations and won three of them: Best Supporting Actor in 2010 and 2013, then Best Actor in 2014.

Up until now, Thompson was best known to Emmy voters for the role he played before joining the “Y&R” cast. He starred as Dr. Patrick Drake on “General Hospital” for 11 years (2005-2016), and he earned five Daytime Emmy noms in a row: Best Supporting Actor in 2011 and 2012, and then Best Actor from 2013 to 2015. But he didn’t win any of those. Then he took over as Billy on “Y&R” in 2016, but despite his previous success with Emmy voters and the success of actors playing this character over the years, he didn’t earn his first “Y&R” nomination until now.

So will he win his first Emmy while also making history for Billy Abbott? The 2020 Best Actor race is actually full of overdue actors. The only past winner in the running is Steve Burton (“GH”). The other three nominees are arguably even more overdue than Thompson, having never won despite decades in daytime: Jon Lindstrom (“GH”), Thaao Penghlis (“Days of Our Lives”) and Thorsten Kaye (“The Bold and the Beautiful”). Who do you think has the advantage?

Be sure to make your Daytime Emmy predictions so that Hollywood insiders can see how their shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions until winners are announced. And join in the fierce debate over the 2020 Daytime Emmys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our daytime TV forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.