Matthew Rhys Wins Two Lead Emmys, Completes Trifecta — SkimNews
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- Matthew Rhys won both lead acting Emmys at Monday's ceremony — lead actor (limited) for Netflix's "The Beast in Me" and lead comedy actor for Apple TV's "Widow's Bay."
- He's the first person ever to claim both lead acting prizes in a single ceremony; James Earl Jones (1991) and Stockard Channing (2002) previously won two acting Emmys in one night but in different categories.
- Combined with his 2018 drama win for "The Americans," Rhys becomes the first male performer to win in all three lead acting categories — Barbara Stanwyck is the only other performer of any gender to complete the trifecta, between 1961 and 1983.
- In the limited race he upset presumptive favorite Oscar Isaac ("Beef"), also beating Riz Ahmed, Jason Bateman and Charlie Hunnam; on the comedy side he topped Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Steve Carell, Jason Segel and Martin Short.
- Rhys also received two additional nominations as an executive producer on both "Widow's Bay" and "The Beast in Me," a producing role the dominant coverage framing tends to overlook.
- "The Pitt" led this year's Emmy nominations with 25, followed by "Hacks," "Widow's Bay" and "Beef."
Why it matters: Matthew Rhys joins Barbara Stanwyck as only the second performer — and first man — to win all three lead acting Emmys, a distinction that had stood untouched for 78 years. His upset of Oscar Isaac in the limited race was the night's bigger surprise, but the trifecta cements his place in rarefied company.
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