The star is also the first person in 24 years to win two acting Emmys in the same night.

Matthew Rhys becomes the first person to achieve this Emmy feat with The Beast in Me and Widow’s Bay victories

The star is also the first person in 24 years to win two acting Emmys in the same night.

Joyce Eng

Joyce Eng is a senior news editor at ** with nearly 20 years of experience in entertainment journalism. She previously worked at OK!, TV Guide, and Gold Derby.

EW's editorial guidelines

on September 14, 2026 11:09 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Matthew Rhys accepting Emmy for ‘The Beast in Me’. Credit:

Kevin Winter/Getty

- Matthew Rhys made Emmy history with his wins for *The Beast in Me* and *Widow’s Bay* on Monday.

- No one had ever won lead awards in all three genres before.

- Rhys previously won for *The Americans* in 2018.

Matthew Rhys is a man for all genres.

The actor became the first person to win lead acting prizes in all three genres at Monday’s Emmys with a rare double win. Rhys, who snagged Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for *The Americans* in 2018, first added the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie statuette in the evening for *The Beast in Me*. He then pocketed Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series later in the night, a widely expected win for Apple TV’s breakout hit *Widow’s Bay*.

“My apologies to the women who have to stand again,” Rhys began his second speech before joining his Emmy-winning costar Stephen Root in thanking *Widow’s Bay* creator Katie Dippold. “Stephen Root was right. This is purely because of the depraved and twisted mind of Katie Dippold. And her genius really does live in the recesses of her disturbed brain.”

The actor took home three Emmys on Monday in all for a lifetime total of four, as he won Outstanding Comedy Series as a producer on *Widow’s Bay* as well.

Rhys also became the first person to win two acting awards in the same ceremony since Stockard Channing for her supporting turns on *The West Wing* and in the TV movie *The Matthew Shepard Story* in 2002. Rhys is the first to two win two in lead in the same night.

With his comedy victory, the actor is also now the third person to win lead awards in comedy and drama after Carroll O’Connor and Edie Falco. O’Connor collected four statuettes for the seminal sitcom *All in the Family* in 1972 and from 1977 to 1979. He then triumphed in drama in 1989 for *In the Heat of the Night*. Falco went the reverse route, first prevailing in drama three times for *The Sopranos* (1999, 2001, and 2003) and then bagging the comedy counterpart in 2010 for *Nurse Jackie*.

Matthew Rhys accepting Emmy for ‘Widow’s Bay’.

Kevin Winter/Getty

It should be noted that Robert Young pocketed Emmys in 1957 and 1958 for his sitcom *Father Knows Best* before winning for medical drama *Marcus Welby, M.D.* in 1970, but his first two wins occurred before genre-specific acting categories were standardized as the ones we all know.

Several stars have come up short in the comedy-drama lead sweep in the past decade. Allison Janney, who received two supporting Emmys for *The West Wing* before upgrading to lead and winning two more in the early aughts, tried to replicate the same path with her CBS sitcom *Mom*: After two supporting wins, she moved to lead but lost in 2017, 2018, and 2021.

In 2017, Donald Glover won for acting and directing for *Atlanta*, but he lost his drama bid in 2024 for *Mr. & Mrs. Smith*.

After the *Friends* cast decided to all submit in lead instead of supporting in 2002, Jennifer Aniston triumphed that year, but she has yet to prevail in drama for *The Morning Show*, for which she earned nominations in 2020 and 2024.

2026 Emmy winner predictions: Our final picks in drama, comedy, limited series, and acting categories

2026 Emmy nominations: See the full list

Rhys, who also has prior nominations for *Girls* and *Perry Mason*, was a late entry into this year’s comedy race as *Widow’s Bay* didn’t premiere until April 29. But the horror comedy from *Parks & Recreation* alum Katie Dippold quickly became a word-of-mouth hit, with Rhys’ beleaguered Mayor Tom Loftis finding himself in increasingly tense but hilarious (and sometimes trippy) situations on the haunted fictional New England island.

He beat Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (*Wonder Man*), Steve Carell (*Rooster*) — who has still yet to win an Emmy — Jason Segel (*Shrinking*), and Martin Short (*Only Murders in the Building*).

*Widow’s Bay* received 19 Emmy nominations, the most of all new shows this year, and already had eight trophies under its belt from last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys going into Monday’s main ceremony. It won all six of its categories on Monday to set a new record for most wins by a comedy in a single year at 14, surpassing the 13 won by *The Studio* last year.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Rhys’ win for *The Beast in Me* was more of a surprise as *Beef*’s Oscar Isaac had been the odds-on favorite. However, season 2 of the Netflix anthology series was more divisive than the first, which won eight Emmys. And with Rhys’ surging buzz for *Widow’s Bay*, it’s easy to see why voters would check him down the ballot.

While season 2 of *Widow’s Bay* doesn’t begin production until March, Rhys can add another Emmy next year as he stars in the upcoming second season of anthology series *Presumed Innocent* opposite fellow Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan. The first season earned four acting nominations in 2024 for Jake Gyllenhaal, Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, and Peter Sarsgaard.

See the full list of 2026 Emmy winners here.

**Watch EW and PEOPLE’s interview with Emmy winner Matthew Rhys below.**

- Awards Shows & Events

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Emmys”