Matthew Rhys makes Emmys history with two lead acting wins in one night
At the 78th Emmy Awards, Matthew Rhys became the first performer in history to win two lead acting trophies in a single ceremony.
Matthew Rhys made television history at the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, 15 September 2026, becoming the first performer ever to secure two lead acting trophies during a single ceremony, according to Abc7 and Collider. The Welsh actor claimed the award for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for his role as Tom Loftis in the Apple TV production Widow's Bay. Earlier in the evening, Rhys triumphed in the outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie category for his work in the Netflix psychological thriller The Beast in Me.
Prior to this double victory, Rhys held a single career Emmy win, earned in 2018 for his work on the FX drama series The Americans, where he starred alongside his longtime partner, Keri Russell. Russell was by his side at the ceremony, having received her own nominations this year for her work on The Diplomat. On the Apple TV series Widow's Bay, Rhys portrays a pragmatic mayor and single father navigating superstitious island residents, whereas his role in The Beast in Me features him as Nile Jarvis, a real estate mogul suspected in his wife's disappearance who moves next door to author Aggie Wiggs, played by Claire Danes.
Media additions
Accepting his award for the Netflix thriller, Rhys shouted out his co-star, stating:
"certainly led ferociously, fiercely, fervently by the incredible Claire Danes"
Matthew Rhys, Actor, via Abc7
He further described Danes as an intimidating scene partner. Later in the evening, while accepting his comedy trophy, Rhys poked fun at the program's creator, Katie Dippold, saying:
"My apologies to the women who had to stand again. Stephen Root is right, this is purely because of the depraved and twisted mind of Katie Dippold, and her genius really does live in the recesses of her disturbed brain."
Matthew Rhys, Actor, via Daily Mail
The milestone evening brought renewed attention to the actor's past career milestones, including a dramatic anecdote that resurfaced on social media. Bradley Cooper recalled on a podcast earlier in the year, and previously during promotional appearances reported by E! News, that an unscripted moment involving a tight plastic bag placed over his head during a suicide scene in the 2015 feature film Burnt created genuine panic. Rhys described tearing the bag away from Cooper's face because the danger was entirely real.
Beyond Rhys's historic double win, the ceremony featured victories across several major categories, documented alongside competing nominees in the comparative table below.
| Category | Winner | Show / Network | Notable Nominees Defeated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Matthew Rhys | Widow's Bay (Apple TV) | Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Martin Short, Dale Dickey (Daily Mail) |
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series | Matthew Rhys | The Beast in Me (Netflix) | Riz Ahmed, Jason Bateman, Charlie Hunnam, Oscar Isaac (Daily Mail) |
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Noah Wyle | The Pitt (HBO Max) | Sterling K. Brown, Gary Oldman, Mark Ruffalo, Rufus Sewell (Daily Mail) |
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Rhea Seehorn | Pluribus | Zendaya, Carrie Coon, Chase Infiniti, Keri Russell (Daily Mail) |
The ceremony also celebrated career milestones for other television luminaries. Meanwhile, Michael J. Fox accepted The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, moving the audience to tears as he reflected on his decades-long advocacy work following his initial Parkinson's disease diagnosis at age twenty-nine in 1991.
