Emmy '13 Spotlight: Supporting Actress in a Drama

The 2013 Emmys are closing in, and ET is breaking down your list of contenders! This week, we turn our attention to the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama category.

Fans of Game of Thrones have watched Emilia Clarke's strong and tenacious Daenerys Targaryen character dramatically grow from a naïve, strategic wedding tribute to a Dragon Queen amassing her armies in order to take back the throne.

This year marks Emilia's first Emmy recognition with her nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Game of Thrones, and the London-born star has an extensive stage resume that includes roles in Hamlet, The Changeling and Pygmalion and a guest leading role in the BBC series Doctors.

Genre fans already know Morena Baccarin's work in such sci-fi shows as V and Firefly, but the Brazilian-born beauty has earned her critical stripes as Jessica Brody on Showtime's Homeland, the emotionally conflicted wife of war hero-turned terrorist Nicholas Brody, played by Damian Lewis.

That role has earned the Juilliard-trained stage actress her first Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series nod from the Television Academy. With leading cast members Lewis and Claire Danes both earning statuettes for the show in 2012, could it be Baccarin's turn this year?

As the poised, rock-steady clan matron who holds her own among the unpredictable partners of Mad Men's SCDP ad agency, Christina Hendricks has earned back-to-back nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama going back to 2010, Could this be the year that she takes home the Emmy?

In addition to her breakout role on the AMC juggernaut, Hendricks has worked on both the big and small screen, from roles in ER, Without a Trace, Firefly and Cold Case to Drive, Struck By Lightning, Ginger & Rosa and the upcoming Ryan Gosling-directed How to Catch a Monster.

Three-time Emmy winner Maggie Smith has been a favorite of stage and screen for decades, and her presence on Downton Abbey as the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley draws consistent smiles with her rapier wit, no-nonsense delivery and art of the double-take.

That charisma has also allowed her to walk away with two Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Emmys for her efforts as Violet. Her third Primetime Emmy win was in 2003 as Best Actress for HBO's My House in Umbria. All in all, Smith has been nominated for seven Emmys.

The British-born Smith has acted in the drama world since she enrolled in drama school at 16 years old and then acted alongside Laurence Olivier at London's Old Vic Theater. In addition to several Masterpiece Theater TV presentations such as David Copperfield, All for Love and All the King's Men, she is well known for her turns in A Room With a View, Gosford Park and the Harry Potter movies.

Christine Baranski is on something of a frustrating streak when it comes to the Primetime Emmys.

While she celebrates her tenth nomination (fourth for The Good Wife) something in and of itself to be proud of, she hasn't taken one home since her very first nomination for Cybil in 1995.

While her continued recognition is undoubtedly part of what's made the CBS legal drama so successful, she might be hoping that the buzz surrounding the upcoming fifth season might get her the chance to finally break the streak and give another acceptance speech this year.

Anna Gunn's weekly dramatic performance as Walter White's highly conflicted spouse Skyler on AMC's Breaking Bad has already earned the versatile thespian a Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Emmy nom in 2012.

Jumping between stage and the big and small screen, Gunn's credits range from roles on TV's Deadwood, ER, Six Feet Under, Seinfeld and The Practice, while her movie credits include Enemy of the State, Without Evidence and Red State.

Check out our other Emmy Spotlight galleries:

Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Supporting Actor in a Comedy