Matthew Rhys Makes Emmy History with Dual Lead Acting Wins
Welsh actor Matthew Rhys achieved a historic milestone at the Emmy Awards, becoming the first performer to win two lead acting categories in a single ceremony. The BBC reported that Rhys secured the award for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in Widow’s Bay and the award for Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his role in The Beast in Me.
From Rookie Cop to Emmy Winner: Rhys’s Career Journey
Rhys’s career spans nearly three decades across television, theatre, and film. His resume includes voiceover work in animated series such as Bojack Horseman, Archer, and Tuca and Bertie, alongside film credits like Come What May, The Post, and Cocaine Bear.
His first television role came in 1997 with a small part in the BBC police procedural drama Backup. Rhys portrayed rookie police officer PC Steve Higson, who discovers the body of a teenager. Footage from the series shows a fresh-faced, clean-shaven Rhys with short hair giving evidence in court—a stark contrast to the longer curly hair and beard he wore on awards night.
Historic Night at the Emmys
Only a very small group of actors have ever been nominated for two leading awards at the Emmys in the same year, a list that includes Alan Alda, Ted Danson, Sally Field, John Goodman, and Elisabeth Moss. Rhys went further, making history as the first actor to win both leading categories on the same night.
Other winners during the ceremony included Jean Smart, Allison Janney, and Stephen Colbert.
Rhys’s Emotional Acceptance Speeches
Accepting his second award of the evening, Rhys dedicated the honor to his homeland:
“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 is Cymraeg for ‘thank you very much’.
Speaking backstage after the awards, Rhys reflected on the significance of the moment for Wales:
“I’m from a small country, and I’m glad we get moments to kind of put our flag on the map and say, ‘we punch higher than our weight sometimes’.”
He also thanked his co-star Claire Danes, who plays an author developing an unhealthy obsession with a neighbor suspected of murder in The Beast in Me:
“Thank you for letting me join the mystery machine and bringing out the beast, you are an intimidating scene partner, but I’m grateful for all this.”
Rhys thanked his family, loved ones, and colleagues, in particular his parents who he said kicked me on to the stage at a very early age
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Tributes to Dolly Parton and Catherine O’Hara
The ceremony also featured special tributes. Actor Sally Field, who starred with Dolly Parton, honored the singer and philanthropist:
“God bless you Dolly Parton my friend, I am not the only one on Earth who will love you for ever and ever.”
Tributes were also paid to actor Catherine O’Hara by Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy, and Dan Levy, who all played her on-screen children in Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek. Culkin quipped:
“She may have forgotten me… twice! But we will always remember her.”










