Merritt Wever beat the odds to win the Best Drama Guest Actress Emmy for Severance. The final Gold Derby odds had Wever in second place, with a 19 percent chance of winning. The overwhelming frontrunner was Kaitlyn Dever for The Last of Us, who had a 70 percent chance of claiming the Emmy.
The other four nominees at the 2025 Creative Arts Emmys were Catherine O’Hara (The Last of Us), Gwendoline Christie (Severance), Jane Alexander (Severance), and Cherry Jones (The Handmaid’s Tale). Wever did not attend the ceremony.
Drama Guest Actress
1.
Kaitlyn Dever
The Last of Us
2.
Winner
3.
Catherine O’Hara
The Last of Us
4.
Gwendoline Christie
Severance
5.
6.
Cherry Jones
The Handmaid’s Tale
Wever made her Severance debut in the second season, playing Gretchen George, the wife of Zach Cherry’s outie character, Dylan George. Their marriage has become stale over the years, but Gretchen soon rekindles her love for him by secretly meeting with his innie self, Dylan G. Wever previously won two Emmys, for the comedy series Nurse Jackie (2013) and the limited series Godless (2018).
Dever appeared in Season 2 of The Last of Us as Abby, a soldier who seeks revenge against Joel (Pedro Pascal) for murdering her father. When she finally locates him, Abby and her group of followers torture and beat Joel to death in front of his daughter figure, Ellie (Bella Ramsey). The cycle of revenge violence continues, as Ellie takes it upon herself to kill everyone associated with Abby until the two come face to face in the finale.
Kaitlyn Dever and Pedro Pascal, ‘The Last of Us’Liane Hentscher/HBO
In third place in our odds was O’Hara, who plays Gail on The Last of Us, a therapist at the encampment who continues to see Joel, despite him being responsible for murdering Gail’s husband, Eugene (Joe Pantoliano). O’Hara is also nominated this year for her supporting role on The Studio. The veteran actress has two Emmy Awards on her mantelpiece, for starring on Schitt’s Creek (2020) and for writing SCTV Network (1982).
Christie came in fourth place for her role of Lorne, an antisocial goatherd in Severance Season 2. Many of her scenes are shared with Adam Scott’s Mark S., who stumbles upon Lorne’s Mammalians Nurturable division while trying to find his missing wife.
Alexander placed fifth for playing Celestine, or “Sissy,” the maternal aunt of Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) who lives a reclusive life in the remote town of Salt’s Neck. Alexander previously won two Emmys, for Playing for Time (1981) and Warm Springs (2005), both in Best Limited/Movie Supporting Actress.
Rounding out the category was Jones, who returned to The Handmaid’s Tale for the final season as Holly Maddox, the feminist mother of June (Elisabeth Moss). In the series finale, Holly convinces her daughter to write a book about everything she’s accomplished as an escaped handmaid. Jones has three Emmys to her name for 24 (supporting, 2009), The Handmaid’s Tale (guest, 2019), and Succession (guest, 2020).