Lee Jung-jae makes history with Emmy win

Lee Jung-jae holds his Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for "Squid Game" and Hwang Dong-hyuk, for his Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series for "Squid Game"at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, U.S., September 12, 2022. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci

Lee Jung-jae holds his Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for "Squid Game" and Hwang Dong-hyuk, for his Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series for "Squid Game"at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, U.S., September 12, 2022. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci

Published Sep 13, 2022

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Lee Jung-jae made history with his Emmy Awards win on Monday.

The 'Squid Game' actor became the first South Korean actor, and the first actor of Asian descent, to win the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series thanks to his role in the Netflix series, which saw him beat out the likes of Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong (“Succession), Jason Bateman, (”Ozark“), Bob Odenkirk (”Better Call Saul“), and Adam Scott (”Severance“) to take the honour.

Taking to the stage at Los Angeles' Microsoft Theater to accept the award, Jung-jae said: "Thank you so much thank you so much. First, I would like to thank God above. Thank you to The Television Academy.

"Thank you to Netflix and thank you to the director for making realistic problems we all face come to life so creatively on the screen, with a great script and amazing visuals. Thank you. Thank you, 'Squid Game' team."

The 49-year-old star ended his speech by thanking fans back in his native Korea.

He added: "Thank you to everyone watching in Korea. Thank you."

The evening also saw Hwang Dong-hyuk take home the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series accolade.

The survival drama previously won four honours at the Creative Arts Emmys earlier this month, notable for Lee Yoo-mi for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

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