British actor Matthew Rhys wins historic two Emmy Awards in one night as Widow’s Bay and The Pitt dominate ceremony
Comdey horror Widow’s Bay cleaned up at last night's awards in Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, winning 14 of 19 nominations.
British actor Matthew Rhys has become the first person to win two lead acting prizes at the Emmy Awards in a single night, as shows Widow’s Bay and The Pitt dominated the US ceremony.
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The 51-year-old Welshman got the nod for his roles in US comedy horror Widow's Bay as well as psychological thriller The Beast In Me.
Accepting the awards, Rhys paid respects "to the great and good people of Wales, who were as much a nurture as anyone else"."We are a small but mighty nation. This is incredible," he said, adding:"Diolch yn fawr iawn" - which translates as "thank you very much" in Welsh.
Rhys previously won lead actor in a drama for The Americans in 2018, making him the first male performer to win all three lead acting categories at the US awards.
Widow’s Bay dominated last night's awards in Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, winning 14 of 19 nominations, including for best comedy series.Kate O’Flynn won best supporting actress in a comedy for the show, as did Stephen Root.
The show’s creator, Katie Dippold, won the best writing award while Hiro Murai won best director.
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Elsewhere, HBO Max's "The Pitt," set in a Pittsburgh trauma center, landed best drama - the night's top award - for a second straight year.
Competitors in the category included newcomer"Pluribus," an Apple TV AAPL.O show about a woman at war with an alien hive mind.
And The Pitt star Noah Wyle won best actor Emmy for playing Dr. Michael Robby Robinavitch.
Wyle said it felt "overwhelming" to land his second straight Emmy. Describing himself as a "Hollywood kid," Wyle told the Emmy audience: "This is the only club I've ever wanted to join. Thank you for accepting me."
Meanwhile, Hacks star Jean Smart was handed her fifth Emmy for portraying tenacious stand-up comic Deborah Vance - as Euphoria star Zendaya presented her the award on stage.
Smart's accolade made her the first performer to win the Emmy for best comedy actress for every season of a show's run.
"What a ride this has been!" Smart said on stage after thanking the creators of the HBO Max show.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won best comedy actress for six of the seven seasons of "Veep," is the only woman to come close to Smart's milestone.
In other awards, "Widow's Bay" star Stephen Root upset favorite Harrison Ford of "Shrinking" for best supporting actor in a comedy.
"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," which was canceled by CBS and aired its final episode this year, won best variety series.
Murder mystery DTF St. Louis won best limited series.
Best drama actress went to Rhea Seehorn, who plays a misanthropic woman at war with an unfailingly kind alien hive mind on the new Apple TV series "Pluribus."
It was her first Emmy win. Seehorn addressed her fellow nominees, including The Diplomat star Keri Russell and Zendaya of Euphoria, with a quote from the feminist activist Gloria Steinem, who died this month aged 92.
"We are linked, not ranked. I feel that way about all you women," Seehorn said.
Emmy winners are chosen by the more than 27,000 writers, directors, performers, producers and craftspeople in the Television Academy.
The academy honored Michael J. Fox during the ceremony for his advocacy for Parkinson's disease research and treatment.
Speaking from a wheelchair, Fox said support from Hollywood had allowed him to keep acting after his own diagnosis with Parkinson's. "It's because you stood up for me," he told the crowd.
Mariska Hargitay, star of NBC's drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, hosted the ceremony, breaking with a tradition of having a comedian serve as emcee. It was broadcast live on NBC and streamed on Peacock CMCSA.O.
"It's a lot of pressure, but it is so reassuring to see so many familiar faces out there, and I'm not just talking about how many of you I've arrested on SVU," Hargitay told the crowd.
In one pre-recorded sketch, Hargitay's SVU character, Olivia Benson, tried to piece together clues to determine if singer Taylor Swift, an Emmy nominee this year for a concert film, would attend the ceremony.
Swift made a surprise cameo in the bit as a rookie detective who pointed out that the singer's categories had been considered in a separate ceremony a week earlier. Benson correctly deduced that Swift would be in Kansas City watching her husband, Travis Kelce, play on Monday Night Football.