Scott Clifton won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series at the 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards for portraying Liam Spencer on The Bold and the Beautiful, beating a field that included Eric Braeden, Steve Burton, Thorsten Kaye and Christian Jules LeBlanc. According to Just Jared’s winners list and Soap Opera Magazine, Clifton’s win was one of the night’s headline acting results, alongside Tamara Tunie’s lead actress victory for Beyond the Gates. A familiar face, a new trophy. Clifton has played Liam Spencer for years, and the character — caught so often between loyalty and love — has given him some of the show’s most emotionally charged material. The Emmy recognises that sustained work rather than a single storyline. Jubileecast’s report of the ceremony placed Clifton’s win alongside General Hospital’s drama series victory and Genie Francis’s Lifetime Achievement Award, underlining how the night balanced veteran recognition with current performances. The field he beat. The lead actor category was one of the strongest of the night. Eric Braeden, as Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless, and Steve Burton, as Jason Morgan on General Hospital, are both daytime institutions. Thorsten Kaye and Christian Jules LeBlanc rounded out a field with decades of combined soap history. That Clifton prevailed in such company says something about how voters viewed his recent work — and about The Bold and the Beautiful’s continued ability to produce award-winning performances. What it means for the show. The Bold and the Beautiful, often overshadowed in awards coverage by its longer-running rivals, took home one of the two top acting prizes of the night. For fans of the show, that is a point of pride — and a reminder that the half-hour soap remains a serious awards player. For Clifton, the win adds a major trophy to a career built almost entirely in daytime television, where longevity is common but lead-actor Emmys are not.
