Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series

Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series
Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series
Awarded for	Best performance of the year by a young actor (male or female) in a genre television series
Country	United States
Presented by	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films
First award	2013
Final award	2023
Currently held by	Jenna Ortega for Wednesday (2022/2023);
Website	www.saturnawards.org

Last updated February 06, 2026

The Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series is one of the annual awards given by the American professional organization the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The Saturn Awards are the oldest film-specialized awards to reward science fiction, fantasy, and horror achievements (the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, awarded by the World Science Fiction Society who reward science fiction and fantasy in various media, is the oldest award for science fiction and fantasy films).

The category, which specifically rewards young actors and actresses in television, was first introduced at the 40th Saturn Awards in 2013, where it was won by Chandler Riggs for his role as Carl Grimes in The Walking Dead . Riggs also leads with the most nominations in the category, with five, and he, Brec Bassinger, and Maisie Williams are the only performers to have won twice. Max Charles holds the record for most nominations without a win, with three.

At the 50th Anniversary Saturn Awards in 2022, the category was split to recognize performers in both network/cable series and streaming series; however, the categories were merged again at the subsequent 51st Saturn Awards.^[1]

Winners and nominees

2010s

Year	Actor/actress	Television program	Network	Character
2013 (40th)	Chandler Riggs	The Walking Dead	AMC	Carl Grimes
	Colin Ford	Under the Dome	CBS	Joe McAlister
	Jared S. Gilmore	Once Upon a Time	ABC	Henry Mills
	Jack Gleeson	Game of Thrones	HBO	Joffrey Baratheon
	Connor Jessup	Falling Skies	TNT	Ben Mason
	Mackenzie Lintz	Under the Dome	CBS	Norrie Calvert-Hill
2014 (41st)	Maisie Williams	Game of Thrones	HBO	Arya Stark
	Camren Bicondova	Gotham	Fox	Selina Kyle
	Maxim Knight	Falling Skies	TNT	Matt Mason
	Tyler Posey	Teen Wolf	MTV	Scott McCall
	Chandler Riggs	The Walking Dead	AMC	Carl Grimes
	Holly Taylor	The Americans	FX	Paige Jennings
2015 (42nd)	Chandler Riggs	The Walking Dead	AMC	Carl Grimes
	Max Charles	The Strain	FX	Zach Goodweather
	Frank Dillane	Fear the Walking Dead	AMC	Nick Clark
	Jodelle Ferland	Dark Matter	Syfy	Five
	Brenock O'Connor	Game of Thrones	HBO	Olly
	Dylan Sprayberry	Teen Wolf	MTV	Liam Dunbar
	Maisie Williams	Game of Thrones	HBO	Arya Stark
2016 (43rd)	Millie Bobby Brown	Stranger Things	Netflix	Eleven
	KJ Apa	Riverdale	The CW	Archie Andrews
	Max Charles	The Strain	FX	Zach Goodweather
	Alycia Debnam-Carey	Fear the Walking Dead	AMC	Alicia Clark
	Lorenzo James Henrie	Fear the Walking Dead	AMC	Christopher Manawa
	Chandler Riggs	The Walking Dead	AMC	Carl Grimes
2017 (44th)	Chandler Riggs	The Walking Dead	AMC	Carl Grimes
	KJ Apa	Riverdale	The CW	Archie Andrews
	Millie Bobby Brown	Stranger Things	Netflix	Eleven
	Max Charles	The Strain	FX	Zach Goodweather
	Alycia Debnam-Carey	Fear the Walking Dead	AMC	Alicia Clark
	David Mazouz	Gotham	Fox	Bruce Wayne
	Lili Reinhart	Riverdale	The CW	Betty Cooper
	Cole Sprouse	Riverdale	The CW	Jughead Jones
2018/2019 (45th)	Maisie Williams	Game of Thrones	HBO	Arya Stark
	KJ Apa	Riverdale	The CW	Archie Andrews
	Tosin Cole	Doctor Who	BBC America	Ryan Sinclair
	Cameron Cuffe	Krypton	Syfy	Seg-El
	David Mazouz	Gotham	Fox	Bruce Wayne
	Cole Sprouse	Riverdale	The CW	Jughead Jones
	Benjamin Wadsworth	Deadly Class	Syfy	Marcus Lopez Arguello
2019/2020 (46th)	Brec Bassinger	Stargirl	DC Universe	Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl
	Freya Allan	The Witcher	Netflix	Princess Ciri
	Isa Briones	Star Trek: Picard	CBS All Access	Dahj / Soji Asha / Sutra (androids)
	Maxwell Jenkins	Lost in Space	Netflix	Will Robinson
	Madison Lintz	Bosch	Amazon Prime Video	Madeline "Maddie" Bosch
	Cassady McClincy	The Walking Dead	AMC	Lydia: Alpha's daughter
	Erin Moriarty	The Boys	Amazon Prime Video	Annie January / Starlight

2020s

Year	Actor/actress	Television program	Network	Character
2021/2022 (50th)	Network/cable
	Brec Bassinger	Stargirl	The CW	Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl
	Jack Alcott	Dexter: New Blood	Showtime	Harrison Morgan
	Zackary Arthur	Chucky	Syfy	Jake Wheeler
	Gus Birney	Shining Vale	Starz	Gaynor Phelps
	Jordan Elsass	Superman & Lois	The CW	Jonathan Kent
	Alex Garfin	Superman & Lois	The CW	Jordan Kent
	Streaming
	Iman Vellani	Ms. Marvel	Disney+	Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel
	Vivien Lyra Blair	Obi-Wan Kenobi	Disney+	Princess Leia
	Maxwell Jenkins	Lost in Space	Netflix	Will Robinson
	Gaten Matarazzo	Stranger Things	Netflix	Dustin Henderson
	Sadie Sink	Stranger Things	Netflix	Max Mayfield
	Hailee Steinfeld	Hawkeye	Disney+	Kate Bishop
2022/2023 (51st)	Jenna Ortega	Wednesday	Netflix	Wednesday Addams
	Milly Alcock	House of the Dragon	HBO	Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
	Freya Allan	The Witcher	Netflix	Ciri
	Zackary Arthur	Chucky	Syfy	Jake Wheeler
	Brec Bassinger	Stargirl	The CW	Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl
	Bella Ramsey	The Last of Us	HBO	Ellie
	Igby Rigney	The Midnight Club	Netflix	Kevin
2023/2024 (52nd)	Xolo Maridueña	Cobra Kai	Netflix	Miguel Diaz
	Zackary Arthur	Chucky	Syfy	Jake Wheeler
	Hannah Cheramy	From	MGM+	Julie Matthews
	Cameron Crovetti	The Boys	Amazon Prime Video	Ryan
	Rhenzy Feliz	The Penguin	Max	Victor "Vic" Aguilar
	Joe Locke	Agatha All Along	Disney+	Billy Maximoff / William Kaplan
	Louis Puech Scigliuzzi	The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon	AMC	Laurent Carriere
2024/2025 (53rd)	Ravi Cabot-Conyers	Star Wars: Skeleton Crew	Disney+	Wim
	Arian Cartaya	It – Welcome to Derry	HBO	Rich Santos
	Joe Freeman	The Institute	MGM+	Luke Ellis
	Noah Schnapp	Stranger Things	Netflix	Will Byers
	Jaz Sinclair	Gen V	Amazon Prime Video	Marie Moreau
	Sadie Sink	Stranger Things	Netflix	Max Mayfield
	Clara Stack	It – Welcome to Derry	HBO	Lilly Bainbridge

Multiple nominations

5 nominations

Chandler Riggs

3 nominations

2 nominations

Multiple wins

3 wins

Chandler Riggs

2 wins

Brec Bassinger
Maisie Williams

References

↑ "Saturn Awards Nominations: 'The Batman', 'Nightmare Alley', 'Spider-Man', 'Better Call Saul' Top List". 12 August 2022.

External links

Saturn Awards official website

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[1] "Saturn Awards Nominations: 'The Batman', 'Nightmare Alley', 'Spider-Man', 'Better Call Saul' Top List". 12 August 2022.

[1]

v t e Saturn Awards
Film	Best Action / Adventure Film Release Best Actor in a Film Best Actress in a Film Best Animated Film Release Best Comic-to-Motion Picture Release Best Fantasy Film Release Best Film Costume Design Best Film Director Best Film Editing Best Film Make-up Best Film Music Best Film Production Design Best Film Special / Visual Effects Best Film Writing Best Horror Film Release Best Independent Film Release Best International Film Release Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Film Best Science Fiction Film Release Best Supporting Actor in a Film Best Supporting Actress in a Film Best Thriller Film Release
Television	Best Action / Thriller Television Series Best Actor on Television Best Actress on Television Best Adventure Television Series Best Animated Series on Television Best Fantasy Television Series Best Genre Comedy Television Series Best Guest Starring Performance in a Network or Cable Television Series Best Horror Television Series Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Network or Cable Television Series Best Science Fiction Television Series Best Superhero Adaptation Television Series Best Supporting Actor on Television Best Supporting Actress on Television Best Television Presentation (under 10 Episodes)
Home Entertainment	Best 4K Film Release Best DVD / BD Classic Film Release Best DVD / BD Collection Best DVD / BD Television Movie or Series Release
Special awards	Artist Showcase Award Breakthrough Performance Award Dan Curtis Legacy Award Filmmaker's Showcase Award The George Pal Memorial Award Legion M Breakout Director Award The Life Career Award The President's Memorial Award Producer's Showcase Award Special Recognition Award Stan Lee World Builder Award Visionary Award
Streaming awards (all retired)	Best Actor in Streaming Television Series (2018, 2022) Best Actress in Streaming Television Series (2018, 2022) Best Film Presentation in Streaming Media Best New Media Television Series (2015–2017) Best Guest Starring Performance in a Streaming Television Series (2022) Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Streaming Television Series (2022) Best Streaming Horror/Thriller Series (2018, 2022) Best Streaming Science Fiction, Action & Fantasy Series (2018/19) Best Streaming Superhero Series (2017–2018/19) Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Television Series (2022) Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Television Series (2022)
Other retired awards	Best DVD or Blu-ray Release (2001–2018/19) Best DVD or Blu-ray Special Edition Release (2001–2018/19) Best Home Video Release (1991–2000) Best International Series (2007) Best Low-Budget Film (1980–1982) Best Network Television Series (1988–2014) Best Guest Starring Role on Television (2008-2021) Best Retro Television Series on DVD (2004–2008) Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series (1996–2014) Best Youth-Oriented Television Series (2011–2014)
Ceremonies	1972 1973 1974/75 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989/90 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018/19 2019/20 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.