In 2003, amid complaints that the nomination process for the Daytime Emmys favored shows with larger casts, some changes were instituted to the Daytime Emmy process. In the new format, each soap nominates two of its performers in each of the acting categories. These pre-nominees are then put into a pool from which the nominees are determined. Following is a listing of each of the pre-nominees in the acting categories. The release of pre-nominees was discontinued in 2020.

For a complete listing of the nominees, please visit our Daytime Emmy Archives section. In that section you will have access to a complete listing of nominees dating all the way back to the first Daytime Emmys ceremony held in 1973. You will also have access to a listing of the winners, including special sections that break down each of the acting winners by category and year.