 McCormack received his break @-@ through role in 1998 when he was cast as gay lawyer Will Truman on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace . McCormack said that when the part came along , he was convinced he was right for the role . " At the end of the audition , Max Mutchnick , co @-@ creator and executive producer of the show ] said ' That was perfect . Just to let you know , you never have to be more gay than that . ' " He explained that when he first read the script , " what hit me immediately was that this was me . I mean , sexual orientation aside , Will was so much like me . He 's a great host , he 's relatively funny and he has great friends and he 's a good friend to them ... the gay issue just wasn 't really a big thing . " The show debuted on September 21 , 1998 and was watched by almost 8 @.@ 6 million American viewers . Will & Grace quickly developed a loyal audience , with the show and McCormack receiving strong reviews . John Carman of the San Francisco Chronicle commented that McCormack and costar Debra Messing ( who played Will 's best friend Grace Adler ) worked " nicely " together . Kay McFadden of The Seattle Times also praised McCormack , Messing , and the supporting cast as " very funny " . For this performance , he earned four Emmy Award nominations ( 2000 , 2001 , 2003 , 2005 ) , one of which resulted in a win ( 2001 ) , for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series . In addition , he received five Golden Globe Award nominations . 
