Squid Game Star Makes History at the Emmys

Image Source: Reuters

Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae has become the first Asian star to win the Emmy award for best male actor in a drama.

The South Korean won for playing the main role of the increasingly desperate Seong Gi-hun in the hit Netflix show.

The show's creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, won the best drama series director prize, also the first Asian to do so.

The outstanding drama went to Succession for a second year running, while Ted Lasso also won for the second year in a row in the best comedy series category.

British stars Matthew Macfadyen and Brett Goldstein were among the other acting winners at the US TV industry's most prestigious ceremony of the year, alongside Zendaya, Amanda Seyfried, Michael Keaton, Julia Garner and Jean Smart.

Singer Lizzo won her first Emmy for best reality competition for Watch Out For The Big Grrrls, a category recently dominated by RuPaul's Drag Race.

The show offers plus-size dancers the chance to compete to join the About Damn Time singer on tour.

Lizzo was tearful as she collected her award, saying: "When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media. Someone fat like me, black like me, beautiful like me."

Zendaya won best drama actress for a second time for playing teenage drug addict Rue in Euphoria, following her win in 2020.

"Anyone who has loved a Rue or feels like they are a Rue - I want you to know I'm so grateful for your stories, and I carry them with me, and I carry them with her," she said on stage.

Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis repeated his 2021 success by winning best leading comedy actor for playing the titular football coach.

His win was mirrored by his co-star Goldstein, who won best supporting actor in a comedy series for playing Sudeikis's assistant coach Roy Kent for the second year running.

Succession stars Jeremy Strong, Brian Cox and Sarah Snook with creator Jesse Armstrong (right) on stage at the Emmys

Fellow Brit Macfadyen won best supporting drama actor for his portrayal of ambitious interloper Tom Wambsgans in Succession, a Machiavellian tale of a family vying for control of a media empire. He said it was a "bonkers gift of a role".

His co-star Brian Cox could not replicate last year's best actor win, losing out to Squid Game's Lee.

British writer Jesse Armstrong won the writing award for Succession for the third year running and made a jibe about the monarchy during his acceptance speech for best drama series. "It's a big week for successions - new King in the UK, this for us. Evidently a bit more voting involved in our winning than Prince Charles," he said.

"Keep it royalist, keep it royalist," Cox, who was also on stage, told him after the audience went fairly quiet.

"I'm not saying that we're any more legitimate in our position than he is, we'll leave that to other people," Armstrong then added.

Hotel satire White Lotus was also a big winner. It picked up several prizes including best limited series, beating competition including Inventing Anna and Pam & Tommy, a drama based on the relationship between Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.

White Lotus also won best writing, best directing, best supporting actor for Murray Bartlett and best supporting actress for Jennifer Coolidge.

Seyfried was named best lead actress in a limited series or anthology for her role as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout, based on the real-life story of the disgraced biotech entrepreneur.

She beat stars including Lily James (Pam and Tommy), Toni Collette (The Staircase) and Garner (Inventing Anna).

Garner didn't go home empty-handed, however, winning best supporting actress for her role as Ruth in Netflix crime drama Ozark - the third time she has won the award for that role.

Keaton won his first Emmy for his role as a small town doctor in opioid crisis drama Dopesick, replicating his Golden Globe win earlier this year.

Keaton, who took time out of the industry for a few years, referred to his "doubters" and "believers" during his speech.

"There have been some doubters. I've had some doubters. You know what? We're cool," he said.

Popular newcomer Abbott Elementary, a mockumentary set in a US primary school, also had a share of the success when Sheryl Lee Ralph won best supporting actress in a comedy. She plays no-nonsense teacher Barbara Howard and is the first black actress to win in this category since 1987.

She sang the opening lines of Dianne Reeves' song Endangered Species after accepting her award, adding in an impassioned speech afterwards: "This is what believing looks like."

Her co-star and the show's creator Quinta Brunson won the award for comedy series writing.

There was a muted build-up to the event, with some pre-show festivities called off following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week.

The British Film and Television Academy cancelled its traditional Hollywood tea party for nominees, while the Canadian consulate postponed its celebrations.

Hosted by Saturday Night Live comedian Kenan Thompson, it was the first full-scale Emmys since the pandemic. Last year's ceremony was staged outdoors and had limited in-person attendance.

The Emmys are voted for by more than 25,000 members of the US Television Academy, which represents those in front of and behind the cameras.

This year's awards honour the best TV shows that premiered or streamed between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022.

Source: BBC News