Stephen Graham won two awards at the 77th Emmys, including Best Actor for his role in the Netflix drama Adolescence as well as Best Writing alongside co-creator Jack Thorne.
‘This kind of thing doesn’t normally happen to a kid like me,’ the 50-year-old actor said in his speech.
‘I’m just a mixed race kid from a block of flats in a place called Kirkby, so for me, to be here today in front of my peers and to be acknowledged by you is the utmost humbling thing I could ever imagine in my life. And it shows you that any dream is possible.’
He went on to dedicate the award to his father, who introduced him to films, his children, Grace and Alfie, and his wife, calling her his rock and soulmate.
‘You are my rock, you are my will, you are my soulmate, and you know and I know without you, I would be dead. So from the bottom of my heart, I love you with everything I have,’ he added.
He signed off warmly with, ‘Namaste, everyone. Thanks very much.’
With this win, Graham triumphed over strong contenders including Colin Farrell (The Penguin), Brian Tyree Henry (The Dope Thief), Jake Gyllenhaal (Presumed Innocent), and Cooper Koch (The Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story).
Adolescence also took home the Best Limited Series award, sweeping a total of six trophies across major categories.
Calling it a ‘huge collaboration’, Graham said the success of the show came from the way the entire team worked together.
‘What we do, it’s not a game of footy, do you know what I mean? There are no winners and no losers. It’s all subjective, but what we managed to create was a beautiful family, and whether you were Number 1 on the call sheet or Number 101, you were treated equally, and everyone was respected and treated with the utmost respect. We’re all the same. And I think that’s how you get the best work and how you get the best out of your people,’ he said.
‘If you fill them with love and give them that opportunity. So whether or not you were an executive producer like the wonderful Jeremy from Plan B [Entertainment], or you were the guy cleaning the toilets in our Winnebagos, we were all equal. So just look after each other and give your mates a cuddle or a kiss and tell them that you love them.’
Adolescence beat competition from HBO Max’s The Penguin, Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and Black Mirror, and FX’s Dying for Sex.
The show was one of the most nominated series of the night, tying with The Bear and The Pitt with 13 nominations each.
Owen Cooper, 15, made history by becoming the youngest male actor ever to win an acting award.
The teenager won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or TV Movie.
‘Honestly, when I started these drama classes a couple of years ago, I didn’t expect to be in the United States, never mind here, but I think tonight proves that if you listen, focus, and step out of your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life. I was nothing three years ago, and I’m here now. Who cares if you get embarrassed? Anything is possible,’ Cooper said.
With his win, Cooper broke Michael A Goorjian’s record, who was 23 when he became the youngest winner in the category in 1994.
According to Deadline, the actor has also surpassed Scott Jacoby’s record as the youngest male actor to ever win an Emmy in any acting category. Jacoby was 16 when he won in 1973 for The Certain Summer.
Cooper beat Oscar winner Javier Bardem (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story), Bill Camp, and Peter Sarsgaard (Presumed Innocent), as well as Rob Delaney (Dying for Sex), along with his Adolescence co-star Ashley Walters.
What makes his journey even more extraordinary is that Cooper had never acted before auditioning for Adolescence.
Erin Doherty, who played psychologist Briony Ariston in Episode 3, won her first Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Limited Series. This is not only her first win but also her first nomination.
In her speech, Doherty said, ‘So it’s looking like I’m just going to be banging on about Adolescence and Owen Cooper for the rest of my life. Which, you know, there are worse things. I would love to mention every single person who was involved in making this show because it was the definition of a team effort. But I can’t get up here without talking about Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters. You are generosity personified.’
Doherty also thanked her girlfriend Sinead Donnelly: ‘And Sinead, thank you for making me the happiest person in the world. I love you with everything I’ve got.’
The comedy series The Studio made history, becoming the most awarded comedy series ever. It bagged 13 trophies.
The Bear set the previous record in 2023, when it took home 10 trophies at the Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series and three acting awards.
Seth Rogen also had a record-setting night. He tied the record for the most Emmys won by an individual in a single night, sharing the spot with Moira Demos (2016), Amy Sherman-Palladino (2018), and Dan Levy (2020).
Rogen took home two big awards — Lead Comedy Actor and Directing for the episode The Oner, which he shared with Evan Goldberg. The show also won for Writing in a Comedy Series for the pilot episode The Promotion.
The Studio also took home the top prize for Outstanding Comedy Series.
With 23 total nominations, The Studio also broke the record for the most nominations for a freshman comedy, surpassing Ted Lasso‘s 20 nominations in 2021. It tied with The Bear as the most-nominated comedy series ever.
Noah Wyle bagged an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a drama series for The Pitt.
He beat out fellow nominees Sterling K Brown (Paradise), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), and Adam Scott (Severance) to win in the category.
This is his first win.
He was nominated five years in a row for Best Supporting Actor in a drama for his role as Dr John Carter in the hit medical drama ER.
Cristin Milioti bagged the Emmy for Lead Limited Series Actress for her role as Sofia Gigante in HBO’s The Penguin.
This is her first Emmy nomination and win.
‘Sorry, I wrote this on the back of notes I took in therapy the other day, so don’t look at the back,’ she said as she took the stage to accept her award.
‘It’s very hard to make sense of being alive right now in this world, so I’m deeply grateful for the bright spots. Making this show with our incredible cast and crew, and getting to inhabit this woman, was a bright spot for me. Despite it being very grisly, playing her felt like flying.’
Tramell Tillman became the first Black man to win the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Tillman, who plays Milchick in Severance, earned his first nomination this year and turned it into a win, beating Zach Cherry (Severance), James Marsden (Paradise), John Turturro (Severance), Sam Rockwell (The White Lotus), Jason Isaacs (The White Lotus), and Walton Goggins (The White Lotus).
In his emotional acceptance speech, Tillman paid tribute to his late mother, who he said was his first acting coach.
‘You remember what you want to remember. You make time for what you want to make time for, do the work, show up, and most importantly, for the love of God, don’t embarrass me in public.
‘My first acting coach was tough, y’all, but all great mothers are. Mama, you were there for me when no one else was and no one else would show up. Your loving kindness stays with me, and this is for you. Thank you to the Academy. I am full. I am humbled. I am honored. And as my mama would say, ‘look at God.’
Katherine LaNasa took home the trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Pitt.
‘I am so proud and honored to receive this award from the Academy,’ she said in her speech.
‘My whole career I wanted to work for John Well and he elevates everything.’
The actress went on to thank the nurses who inspired her while working on the series, as well as her costars, including Noah Wylie. She saved her most heartfelt words for her family.
‘Lastly, my children for making me real and my beautiful husband Grant Show for helping me always with everything,’ she said.
LaNasa was nominated alongside Patricia Arquette (Severance), Carrie Coon (The White Lotus), Julianne Nicholson (Paradise), Parker Posey (The White Lotus), Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus) and Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus).
Jean Smart took home the Emmy for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy series for Hacks.
‘Thank you so much, you honour me so much… one of the best things about winning something like this is that you actually get to publicly thank the people you work with, our unbelievable crew, my incredible castmates led by the incomparable Hannah Einbinder, and our showrunners, oh my god, beyond brilliant. And there’s so many, everybody at HBO Max and Universal Television TV and the Television Academy, thank you so much,’ Jean said.
She also gave a shout out to her children: ‘And my children who are my anchor, Joe, my cheerleader, and everybody let’s be good to each other. Let’s just be good to each other. Thank you.’
Also nominated in the category were Ayo Edebiri for The Bear, Kristen Bell for Nobody Wants This, Quinta Brunson for Abbott Elementary, and Uzo Aduba for The Residence.
Britt Lower was honoured for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Severance.
She was nominated alongside Kathy Bates (Matlock), Sharon Horgan (Bad Sister), Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us), and Keri Russell (The Diplomat).
This was Lower’s first Emmy nomination and win.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
