Rafu Wire Service and Staff Reports
Hiroyuki Sanada on Sunday won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his starring role in the U.S. television series “Shōgun” set in feudal Japan, while his co-star Anna Sawai won best lead actress to make the pair the first Japanese to win the awards.
With the program itself winning the outstanding drama award as well as outstanding directing at the 76th Emmy Awards ceremony, held at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live, “Shōgun” collected a total of 18 awards, the most Emmys won for a single season of a TV series.
For best drama series, “Shōgun” was up against “The Crown,” “Fallout,” “The Gilded Age,” “The Morning Show,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “Slow Horses,” and “3 Body Problem.” “Shōgun” is only the second mostly non-English-language series to be nominated in this category after South Korea’s “Squid Game” in 2022.
Sanada, 63, was recognized for his portrayal of a warlord, Toranaga, in the series based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell. The later Toshiro Mifune received an Emmy nomination in 1981 for portraying the same character in the 1980 miniseries.
Sanada, who is also a producer of the FX series, plays a military commander modeled after shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu on the eve of the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.
In his acceptance speech, Sanada expressed his thanks to everyone who has been involved in Japan’s samurai period dramas, saying the win demonstrates how the “passion and dream” he inherited from them has resonated “beyond borders.”
“I’m beyond honored to be here with (these) amazing nominees,” Sanada said. “Thank you for FX, Disney and Hulu for believing in me. Thank you my team for always supporting me. And thank you for all the crew and cast of ‘Shōgun.’ I’m so proud of you.
“It was an East-meets-West drama project, with respect, and ‘Shōgun ‘ taught me that when people work together, we can make miracles. We can create a better future together. Thank you so much.”
The award was presented by actor Steven Yeun, an Emmy winner for “Beef.”
Beginning his career as a child actor in 1966, the native of Tokyo appeared in the Japanese TV drama “Kōkō Kyōshi” (High School Teacher) and the Oscar-nominated movie “The Twilight Samurai.”
Now based in Los Angeles, Sanada made his Hollywood debut in “The Last Samurai” with Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe in 2003. His other credits include the movies “Sunshine,” “Rush Hour 3,” “The Wolverine,” “47 Ronin,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Minamata,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Bullet Train,” and “John Wick: Chapter 4” as well as the TV series “Lost,” “Extant,” “Helix,” “The Last Ship,” and “Westworld.”
The other nominees were Iris Elba for “Hijack,” Donald Glover for “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” Walton Goggins for “Fallout,” Gary Oldman for “Slow Horses,” and Dominic West for “The Crown.”
Accepting her best drama actress award, Sawai said, “I was crying before my name was announced. I’m a mess today.”
She thanked “every single one of the crew and cast,” and gave special thanks to her family, saying, “Mom, I love you. You are the reason I’m here.”
Sawai, who was born in New Zealand and raised in Japan, is also a singer who was a member of the girl group Faky. Her acting credits include the movie “F9,” part of the “Fast and Furious” franchise, and the TV series “Pachinko” and “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.”
The other nominees were Jennifer Aniston for “The Morning Show,” Carrie Coon for “The Gilded Age,” Maya Erskine for “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” Imelda Staunton for “The Crown,” and Reese Witherspoon for “The Morning Show.”
Two “Shōgun” cast members — Tadanobu Asano as Kashigi Yabushige and Takehiro Hira as Ishido Kazunari — were nominated for best supporting actor in a drama series and Asano was considered a favorite, but the award went to Billy Crudup for “The Morning Show.” Also nominated were Mark Duplass and Jon Hamm for “The Morning Show,” Jack Lowden for “Slow Horses,” and Jonathan Pryce for “The Crown.”
Greta Lee, who plays Stella Bak on “The Morning Show,” was among the nominees for best supporting actress in a drama series. The award went to Elizabeth Debicki for “The Crown.”
For best directing in a drama series, Frederick E.O. Toye won for an episode of “Shōgun” titled “Crimson Day.” Also nominated were Stephen Daldry for “The Crown,” Mimi Leder for “The Morning Show,” Hiro Murai for “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” Saul Metzstein for “Slow Horses,” and Salli Richardson for “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.”
“Shōgun” received two nominations for best writing for a drama series: Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks for the episode “Anjin” and Kondo and Caillin Puente for the episode “Crimson Sky.” The Emmy went to Will Smith (not the actor) for an episode of “Slow Horses.”
Also nominated were Peter Morgan and Meriel Sheibani for “The Crown,” Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner for “Fallout,” and Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover for “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”
Bowen Yang of “Saturday Night Live” was among the nominees for best supporting actor in a comedy series. The award went to Ebon Moss-Bachrach for “The Bear.”
Ronny Chieng was part of the “Daily Show” team that won the Emmy for best talk show. Also nominated were “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Creative Arts Emmys
“Shōgun” had already broken the record for most Emmy wins for any single season of TV with 14 awards at the two-night 2023-24 Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 7 and 8, also at the Peacock Theater.
Awards were presented in 49 categories of scripted programming, mainly in such technical categories as hairstyling, makeup, costuming, production design, picture editing, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects. Guest acting was also included. “Shōgun” won in the following categories:
Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour) — Sam McCurdy, ASC, BSC, director of photography
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series — Néstor Carbonell as Spanish sailor Vasco Rodrigues, who befriends Pilot Major John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis)
Outstanding Main Title Design
Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Hairstyling
Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
Outstanding Period Costumes for a Series
Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series — Aika Miyake, editor
Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) — Helen Jarvis, production designer; Chris Beach, art director; Lisa Lancaster, set decorator; Jonathan Lancaster, set decorator
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)
Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie
Outstanding Stunt Performance
The Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie went to “Quiz Lady,” a comedy starring Awkwafina as a game show-obsessed woman and Sandra Oh as her estranged sister. Jessica Yu directed. After 14 nominations, this was the first Emmy win for Oh, who was also one of the producers.
“Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” which stars Maya Erskine and Donald Glover as spies in an arranged marriage, won for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Michaela Coel) and Outstanding Stunt Coordination for Drama Programming.
Jamie Lee Curtis, who won a best supporting actress Oscar in 2023 for her portrayal of an IRS inspector and other versions of the character in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” won for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for “The Bear.” This was her first Emmy.
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards began with awards in 50 categories of reality, variety, documentary, nonfiction and animated programming and game shows with Pat Sajak, Alan Cumming and Angela Bassett among the individual winners and “Jeopardy!” among the program winners.
“Blue Eye Samurai” won for Outstanding Animated Program and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation (Brian Kesinger for character design, Toby Wilson for production design, Ryan O’Loughlin for storyboard).
“The Making of Shōgun” won for Outstanding Short-Form Nonfiction or Reality Series.
An edited presentation of the two nights is available on Hulu through Oct. 9.
Programming had to initially be broadcast or streamed between June 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024 to be eligible for all three shows.