Matthew Rhys Becomes First Actor to Win Two Lead Emmy Awards in One Night

Key facts

• Matthew Rhys became the first person to win two lead acting prizes in one night at the Emmy Awards.
• He won best lead actor in a limited series for The Beast In Me and best lead actor in a comedy for Widow's Bay.
• Rhys grew up in Cardiff and attended Welsh-medium school Ysgol Glantaf.
• His first language is Welsh, and he speaks it at home in New York.
• He dedicated his second award to the people of Wales, saying "We are a small but mighty nation."
• He considered joining the British Army after struggling to find acting work for nearly two years following his 2000 West End debut in The Graduate.
• He formed the 'LA Tafia' with fellow Welsh actors Michael Sheen and Ioan Gruffudd after moving to Hollywood in 2006.
• He met partner Keri Russell in 2002, but they became a couple in 2013 while starring in The Americans; they have a son, Sam, born in 2016.
• He owns a 1939 wooden cruiser boat named Rarebit, after the Welsh dish, and hopes to work with Brooklyn Boatworks to repurpose it.
• He voices Han Solo in a new Welsh-language adaptation of Star Wars, set for release ahead of the film's 50th anniversary next year.
• In 2025, he will play Richard Burton in the one-man show Playing Burton to raise funds for the Welsh National Theatre.