Emmy Awards 2026: Matthew Rhys Sets 78-Year Record With Two Lead Actor Wins in 1 Night

Emmy Awards 2026: Not just your usual Emmy Awards, but this time, in the last 78 years, history was made on September 14, 2026, with Actor Mathew Rhys winning two lead actor awards on the same night, becoming the first actor to achieve the feat in the history of the awards.

Earlier in the night, the actor took home the award for lead actor (limited) for his work in 'The Beast in Me', a Netflix show. And later in the evening, he took home another lead comedy actor prize for Apple TV's 'Widow Bay'.

Mathew Rhys creates history at the Emmy Awards 2026

Mathew Rhys is now the first person ever to claim both lead actor awards in a single ceremony, and adding to his 2018 drama win for 'The Americans', the pair of statuettes also makes him the first male performer to win all three lead categories.  

As per Variety, two performers in history have won two acting Emmys in one night before as well, but neither of them was for the lead categories.   

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James Earl Jones swept lead drama actor for 'Gabriel's Fire' and supporting cast(limited) for 'Heat Wave' in 1991; also, Stockard Channing won two supporting trophies in 2002 for 'The West Wing' and 'The Matthew Shepard Story'.

Rhys is a previous Emmy winner for lead drama in 2018 for 'The Americans' and now 'Widow's Bay', and 'The Beast In Me', making him a complete set of lead acting Emmys for drama, comedy and limited, a trifecta no actor has ever gained. 

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What Are The Two Emmy Awards Matthew Rhys Won In 2026?

For the Limited Series category, the actor delivered the night's biggest shock, beating frontrunner Oscar Isaac (Beef) alongside top nominees Riz Ahmed (Bait), Jason Bateman (Black Rabbit), and Charlie Hunnam (Monster: The Ed Gein Story).

Over in the Comedy category, Rhys scored another victory by outperforming Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Wonder Man), Steve Carell (Rooster), Jason Segel (Shrinking), and Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building).

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The actor has two additional nominations for executive producer on both of his lead series.

(Image credit: Instagram)

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