Hiroyuki Sanada has charted history by becoming the first Japanese actor and the second Asian actor to ever win the lead actor in a drama series award at the 2024 Emmys for the acclaimed FX series Shogun.
At the awards ceremony, held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday night, the first season of Shogun swept the Emmys with 18 awards, including best drama series. It had begun its golden run at the precursor Creative Arts Emmys where it earned a whopping 14 awards.
In Shogun, set in 17th-century feudal Japan, Sanada played the master strategist Lord Yoshii Toranaga, modelled on Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Minari star Steven Yeun presented the award to Sanada, who was the frontrunner for the award.
“I'm beyond honoured to be here with amazing nominees. Thank you to FX, Disney and Hulu for believing in me. Thank you to my team for always supporting me, and thank you to all the cast and crew of 'Shogun'.
"I'm so proud of you. It was an East meets West dream project with respect. 'Shogun' taught me that when people work together we can make miracles. We can create a better future together,” the 63-year-old said in his acceptance speech.
Sanada's win follows Lee Jung-jae who became the first Asian actor to win the Emmy for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2022 for his performance in Netflix's Squid Game. The feat also made the Japanese actor the first person to win an acting award from the TV Academy for a performance not in English.
Moments after his win, his Shogun co-star Anna Sawai became the second Japanese actor to win an Emmy.
Sawai, who portrays Toda Mariko, earned the Emmy for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She is the first female actor of Asian descent to win the lead actress in a drama series category at the awards.
“I was crying before my name was announced. I'm a mess today,” quipped a visibly emotional actor who was born in New Zealand.
Sawai, 32, dedicated her win to "women who expect nothing and continue to be an example" and thanked co-stars Sanada and Cosmos Jarvis (who played British pilot John Blackthorne in Shogun.) "Thank you to every single one of the crew and cast led by a Hiro. Hiro's over there! He really has opened doors and continues to open doors for people like me, thank you so much. Cosmo, you are the most honest and truthful and no-BS actor I know, and you made me give my 120 per cent.
"Lastly, thank you to my team and thank you to my family. Mom, I love you. You are the reason I'm here. You showed me stoicism and that's how I was able to portray Mariko," she said in her speech.
Shogun, a Japanese-English language show based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell, is an American historical drama television series created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks.
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