Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Donald Glover. Now Im guessing youre all thinking that one of these names doesnt belong on the list, but bear with me.
Last week, the rapper, writer and actor was nominated for four Emmys and went home with two. Glover won for Outstanding Director of a Comedy Series as well as Outstanding Actor in the same category for his FX show Atlanta. This should surprise no one as Glover has crazy depths of talent.
Glover started out his career writing for NBCs 30 Rock under Tina Fey. He then moved on to acting with a role as Troy Barnes on NBCs Community and started his musical career under the name Childish Gambino. After winning his first (of many) Emmys last week, it really got me thinking about the amount of skill this man possesses and the history he could make.
The four major awards in Hollywood are the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars and Tonys. Obviously, winning just one of these awards is already quite the undertaking, but EGOTing is almost unthinkable.
When I say EGOT, I mean the process of earning each one of these awards a feat which only 12 other people have accomplished including Audrey Hepburn, Mel Brooks and Whoopi Goldberg.
So where does Glover fit into all of this? Well, hes going to be the thirteenth.
Having already secured one of the four awards at age 33, Glover is poised to run the table and earn a spot in Hollywood history.
In early June of this year, he announced the end of his music career as Childish Gambino after his next studio album, but the genre-bending artist could really take his finale in any direction. From the funky R&B vibes of Awaken, My Love! to his standard hip-hop setlist on Because of the Internet, Glover has proven himself to be an established singer, songwriter and rapper.
In addition to his own talents, Glover is rumored to be collaborating with Chance the Rapper on his final album. The duo previously worked together on Chance the Rappers mixtape Acid Rap. And Chance is no stranger to winning Grammys taking home three this year and this will certainly help secure Glovers quest for the G.
But that still leaves the O and the T. Even though he hasnt landed a major role in the movies (yet) Glover will be hitting the big screen in 2018 as Lando Calrissian in the Han Solo Star Wars stand-alone movie and again in 2019 as Simba in The Lion King.
While his chances of winning Best Supporting Actor for those performances are slim-to-none, it can definitely propel him into the Oscar-winning role he needs down the line. Or he could always win as a director, having already shown his knack for writing and directing on TV.
And finally, the T. To me, the Tony is going to be the most difficult to achieve. People obviously know of his musical talents, but would Broadway have a spot for him? Between his acting, singing and rapping, he could be a star in a Hamilton reboot at the very least. But as casting directors begin to see Glovers legitimacy, if they havent already, they will hopefully find a musical or play in search of his wide skillset.
While some fans may still just see the same dorky comedian he started as, I hope everyone starts to see Glover for what he is: a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Donald Glover is the closest thing our generation has to a true Renaissance man and will undoubtedly be the next EGOT winner.
