Emmys 2022 | Lee Jung-jae becomes first Asian to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Actor Lee Jung-jae won an Emmy for the Best Actor in a Drama for his performance in Netflix’s hit series Squid Game. The win makes him the first Asian actor to receive the award. The win also makes him only the fourth Asian actor ever to win an Emmy for acting and the first ever to win the award for a non-English speaking role.

Lee competed against Jason Bateman (Ozark), Brian Cox (Succession), Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Adam Scott (Severance) and Jeremy Strong (Succession).

“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. Thank you, ‘Squid Game’ team. Thank you to everyone watching in Korea,” said Lee during his acceptance speech.

Meanwhile, Series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk won the Best Director in the Drama Series Award, making him the first Korean to win the award.

Lee played Seong Gi-hun in the hit series, and is expected to come back for the upcoming second season of the show. This year, Squid Game received a total of 14 nominations. At the Creative Arts Emmys, the show took back four Emmy wins.