ShōgunStar Hiroyuki Sanada Makes History as First Japanese Actor to Win Best Actor in a Drama at Emmys 2024

Mar. 15, 2025

Hiroyuki Sanada.Photo:ABC

ABC

ShōgunstarHiroyuki Sanadamade history at the2024 Emmy Awards.

The star, 63, became the first Japanese actor to win outstanding actor in a drama series during the awards ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 15. He is also only the second Asian actor to take home the prize in the category.

In his acceptance speech, Sanada shared, “Thank you for FX, Disney and Hulu for believing in me. And thank you, my team, for always supporting me. And thank you for all the crew and cast ofShōgun.I’m so proud of you.”

“It was an East-meets-West dream project with respect. AndShōguntaught me that when people work together, we can make miracle. We can create a better future together. Thank you so much.”

Sanada’s costar Anna Sawai also won an Emmy during the ceremony in the outstanding actress in a drama series category, and the show won outstanding drama series.

InShōgun,Sanada playsYoshii Toranaga, an embattled Japanese lord and savvy military strategist working to conquer his plotting enemies.

The FX adaptation isn’t a retread of the 1980 original, starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune, which introduced some Americans to Japanese culture. It’s a bold new take on James Clavell’s novel about 17th-century feudal Japan.

Hiroyuki Sanada as Yoshii Toranaga in ‘Shogun’.Katie Yu/FX

Katie Yu/FX

In a conversation with PEOPLE, the actor opened up about why it was important for him to portray total authenticity and go the extra mile with small details like the way a character bows or pours sake.

“[The original] was a great step for the Japanese people, but with this, we are going our own original way,” Sanada explained. “Those kinds of things are important for our culture. Each detail I checked, and then [we] discussed. They respected the culture. It was a great collaboration.”

Also nominated in the best actor category wereDominic WestinThe Crown,Donald GloverinMr. & Mrs. Smith,Gary OldmaninSlow Horses,Idris ElbainHijackandWalton GogginsinFallout.

Dominic West as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Diana in ‘The Crown’.Keith Bernstein/Netflix

Keith Bernstein/Netflix

West, who has portrayed King Charles since season 5 ofThe Crown, was nominated for his performance as the famous British royal for the show’s sixth and final season.

At the season 6 premiere in December, the actor, 54, told PEOPLE how his role in the Netflix show had changed his perception of the royal family.

“Peter [Morgan]imagines them so brilliantly and base grounds them very firmly in whatever facts we have, that I suppose I came to emphasize much more, certainly, with Charles and feel a sympathy for him.”

Donald Glover in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’.David Lee/Prime Video

David Lee/Prime Video

Glover was nominated for his portrayal of John Smith in Prime Video’sMr. & Mrs. Smith.

While speaking to PEOPLE at the show’sNew York City premierein February, the actor, 40, revealed he drew upon his own experiences with intimacy in the spy comedy.

“I think there’s a lot of little things where I took them from my own life,” he explained “I felt like what made this show sexy is intimacy so I wanted to do that.”

“There’s a lot of scenes that are kind of just taken from my life — you know my wife’s hair is like, it’s not kinky, it’s long and I was in the shower and I was like, ‘What the hell is this?’” he continued. “Because she likes to take it and put it on the shower walls. I was like I really did not know what was going on.”

In an interview withDeadlinein April 2022, the actor, 66, confessed he would be more than happy to round out his acting career with the hit series.

“I could see myself playing Jackson for the next how many years,” Oldman explained, before referring to the books the series is based on. “I mean, for those that love the [Slough House] books and that were [author] Mick Herron devotees, as it were, he is already an iconic character.”

Oldman added of his own career, “So, if it were to go out with a bang, I mean, retirement is on the horizon. Yeah. I can see it.”

Hijackfollows the story of one seven-hour flight on its way to London. The hijacking — with both in-plane operations and assistance from the ground — will be told in real time.  Elba, who plays a corporate negotiator who takes on airplane hijackers, previously spoke to PEOPLE about whether he’s ever had a fear of taking to the skies.

“I’ve never been afraid to fly,” he said in July 2023. “But I don’t really love long, long flights. And turbulence is freaky.”

Walton Goggins in ‘Fallout’.Courtesy of Prime Video

Courtesy of Prime Video

Goggins was nominated for his role as a noseless bounty hunter named Ghoul in Prime Video’s post-apocalyptic drama seriesFallout.

In a conversation with PEOPLE in April, he revealed that he endured two hours in the makeup chair each day to achieve the character’s “sexy ghoul look.”

“It was uncomfortable,” he said of the prosthetics. “It was so hot in New York, where we filmed. Sweat would be coming out of my eyes!”

“Jonah [Nolan] visually captured this world in a way that feels extremely tactile. I mean, we used green screens for sure. We didn’t blow up Los Angeles, but not many. All of that stuff with us walking through the desert, all of that was shot in Namibia. And that’s why I think this has such a different feel from other shows. I knew it was going to be hard, but I knew it was going to be a real journey and a real-life, big, big life experience. And that’s exactly what it turned out to be.”

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SeePEOPLE’s full coverageof the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards as they’re broadcasting live on ABC from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

source: people.com