Beware: Some Emmy-watchers are making a false assumption about the races for best lead actor and actress in the drama series. They believe Michael C. Hall ("Dexter") and Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife") are shoo-ins to win on Aug. 29 because they've already bagged the Golden Globe and SAG Award earlier this year. Not necessarily so!Only rarely do the three awards line up, probably because their voting systems vary so much. Winners of Globes and SAG Awards are decided by a popular ballot, but the Emmy is a juried award chosen after a small group of judges views one sample episode submitted by every nominee in the category.

Occasionally, the three prizes do concur – as when James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos") won best drama actor at the Emmys a few months after triumphing at the Globes and SAG in 2000. Ditto, Gillian Anderson ("The X-Files") in 1997 and Edie Falco ("The Sopranos") in 2003. However, all of the following actors failed to repeat at the Emmys soon after sweeping the Globes and SAG: Dennis Franz ("NYPD Blue") in 1995, Anthony Edwards ("ER") in 1998 and Hugh Laurie ("House M.D.") in 2007.