The American leader took the award for best narrator for his work in the Netflix documentary series “Our Great National Parks”
Hollywood newcomer Barack Obama has been awarded an Emmy for narration in his Netflix documentary series “Our Great National Parks,” the Television Academy announced Saturday.
Obama, who was president of the United States for two terms until 2017, had already won two Grammy Awards – for the audio versions of his books “The Audacity of Hope” and “My Father’s Dreams”. In turn, Michelle Obama won her own Grammy for reading her audiobook in 2020.
Another president had already received an Emmy: Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, although his was an honorary award. Obama’s successor in the presidency, Donald Trump, did not win an Emmy for his reality show “The Apprentice,” although he was nominated twice.
The five-part program, which includes national parks from around the world, is produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, “Higher Ground.” His company’s first documentary for the streaming service, “American Factory,” won the Oscar for best documentary and an Emmy for directing, though the awards went to the filmmakers and not to the Obamas themselves.
Other nominees in the Obama narrator category included former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (“Black Patriots: Heroes Of The Civil War”), Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o (“Serengeti II”) and the veteran naturalist David Attenborough (“The Mating Game”).
Now, Obama is halfway through the “EGOT,” a special designation for artists who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony, which only 17 people have achieved, including Whoopie Goldberg and Audrey Hepburn.
After leaving office in 2017, both Obama and his wife Michelle wrote best-selling memoirs and, in addition to their non-profit foundation, have created a production company that has signed a major deal with Netflix, estimated at tens of millions of dollars. Dollars.
Obama also received the Nobel Peace Prize after his victory in the 2008 presidential election.
The late Chadwick Boseman also won an Emmy for his work as a voice actor on Saturday. The “Black Panther” actor was also recognized for outstanding voice work for the Disney+ and Marvel Studios animated series “What If…?”
In the series, Boseman portrayed his “Black Panther” character T’Challa in various alternate universes. In one of them he became Star-Lord, from “Guardians of the Galaxy” (“Guardians of the Galaxy”).
It was one of the last projects for Boseman, who died in 2020 of colon cancer at age 43.