Matthew Rhys Makes Emmy History With Two Lead Acting Wins In One Night
Matthew Rhys Makes Emmy History With Two Lead Acting Wins In One Night
Welsh actor Matthew Rhys has made Emmy Awards history after becoming the first performer to win two lead acting prizes at the same ceremony, collecting top honours for two different television series at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Rhys first won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his performance as Nile Jarvis in Netflix’s psychological thriller The Beast in Me. Later in the ceremony, he returned to the stage after winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Mayor Tom Loftis in Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay. The two victories added to Rhys’ previous Emmy success in the drama category. He won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2018 for his acclaimed performance as Philip Jennings in The Americans. As a result, Rhys has now won lead acting Emmys in drama, comedy and limited series, becoming the first male performer to achieve the feat. His latest victories brought his total number of Emmy wins to three. Rhys, 51, received a standing ovation during the ceremony and used his acceptance speeches to thank his family, colleagues and supporters. After his second victory, he paid tribute to Wales, describing it as a “small but mighty nation” and acknowledging the role his homeland had played in nurturing his career. He also thanked his parents and sister for their support, describing the achievement as an extraordinary moment in his career. Rhys’ double triumph reflected his ability to move between dramatically different performances. In The Beast in Me, he plays Nile Jarvis, a wealthy and manipulative real-estate heir suspected of murdering his first wife. The Netflix series centres on his tense relationship with a grieving writer played by Claire Danes. In Widow’s Bay, Rhys takes a very different role as Tom Loftis, a devoted single father and mayor of a cursed New England island community who is desperate to improve tourism despite increasingly bizarre supernatural problems.
Before Rhys, actors had won two acting Emmys on the same night, but none had won two lead acting awards in a single ceremony.His achievement therefore represents a new milestone in the 78-year history of the Primetime Emmy Awards.Rhys’ performance also contributed to a hugely successful night for Widow’s Bay, which became the ceremony’s biggest winner, taking home 14 Emmy Awards across the season. The Welsh actor’s historic double victory has cemented his place among the most accomplished performers in Emmy history.
