Emmys 2018: Matthew Rhys wins for outstanding lead actor in a drama series

Matthew Rhys won the award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series at the 70th annual Emmy Awards on Monday for his role in the Cold War spy drama The Americans, which recently aired its final season on FX.

After taking the stage to accept his award, Rhys thanked the team behind The Americans and ended his acceptance speech by thanking real-life partner and Americans co-star Keri Russell.

Rhys beat out a field that pitted actors from the same shows against each other. Other nominees included Jason Bateman for his role in Ozark, Sterling K. Brown for This Is Us, Ed Harris for Westworld, Milo Ventimiglia for This Is Us and Jeffrey Wright for Westworld.

Brown won the award for lead actor in a drama series at the 2017 Emmys, becoming the first black actor to win in the category in nearly two decades. Andre Braugher won the prize at the 1998 Emmys for his role as Detective Frank Pembleton on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street.

Check out Mic’s full list of 2018 Emmy winners here.