British actor Owen Cooper has become the youngest male ever to win an Emmy Award, in a night dominated by Netflix’s acclaimed drama Adolescence.
Cooper, 15, was named best supporting actor in a limited series for his portrayal of a schoolboy accused of murdering a classmate.
The four-part drama also won best limited series, as well as prizes for its directing and writing, and acting prizes for Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty.
In his acceptance speech, Cooper said: “Standing up here is just, wow, it’s just so surreal.
“When I started these drama classes a couple of years back, I didn’t expect to even be in the United States, never mind here.”
Cooper, who played teenager Jamie Miller, said: “I think tonight proves if you listen, and you focus and you step out of your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life.
“Who cares if you get embarrassed? Anything can be possible. I was nothing about three years ago, I’m here now.”
He also thanked his family, co-stars, and the show’s production team, adding: “It may have my name on this award, but it really belongs to the people behind the camera.”
Cooper broke the record previously held by Scott Jacoby, who was 16 years old when he won an Emmy in 1973 for That Certain Summer.
Roxana Zal remains the youngest acting winner overall. She was 14 when she won an Emmy in 1984 for Something About Amelia.
Adolescence was widely praised by critics and viewers for its exploration of the impact of smartphones and social media on teenagers.
“This kind of thing normally doesn’t happen to a kid like me, I’m just a mixed-race kid from a block of flats in a place called Kirby,” Graham said in his acceptance speech.
“So for me to be here today in front of my peers and be acknowledged by you is the most humbling thing I could ever imagine in my life, and it shows you that any dream is possible.”
Doherty, who played a child psychologist who works with Jamie, won best supporting actress in a limited series.
The British actress joked she would be “banging on about Owen Cooper and Adolescence for the rest of my life”.
“I’d love to mention every single person involved in making this show because it was the definition of a team effort,” she added.
Accepting the writing prize earlier in the night, Graham said: “We never expected our little programme to have such a big impact, but we’re really grateful that it did.”
His co-writer Jack Thorne paid tribute to the show’s young cast, telling them: “You are the flame that proved young people are going to be OK.”
Earlier in the weekend, actor Jake Gyllenhaal surprised Cooper during an interview, after the young actor previously described him as his hero, and gave him a “lucky duck” ahead of the ceremony.
Other winners included Hollywood satire The Studio, which won several of the comedy categories, including best actor for its star and creator, Seth Rogen.
The actor joked, “I couldn’t wrap my head around this happening, so I’ve prepared nothing.
“I never won anything in my life. When I was a kid, I bought a used bowling trophy at an estate sale. This is really just so lovely.”
Jean Smart repeated her win for best leading actress in a comedy for her performance in the satirical Hacks.
But her co-star Hannah Einbinder also won an acting prize for the first time, taking home best comedy supporting actress.
Einbinder thanked Smart and the show’s crew for “changing my life in every conceivable way”. She finished her speech by saying: “Free Palestine.”
Medical drama The Pitt won the prestigious best drama series award, while its stars Katherine LaNasa and Noah Wyle were recognised with individual acting prizes.
Stephen Colbert, who won outstanding talk series, weeks after it was announced his show was being cancelled.
A campaign in recent weeks led by his fellow talk show hosts such as Jimmy Kimmel called for Colbert to win the category for the first time.
“Thank you for this honour,” Colbert said. “I want to thank CBS for giving us to be art of the privilege of late-night tradition, which I hope continues long after we’ve stopped doing this show.”
While presenting earlier in the night, he joked, “While I have your attention, is anyone hiring? Because I’ve got 200 very well-qualified candidates here with me tonight, who will be available in June.”
The US version of The Traitors won Outstanding Reality Competition Programme.
Its host, Alan Cumming paid tribute to the show’s “crew in Scotland who had to understand the concept that the Scottish summer is sometimes oxymoronic”.
He added, “It’s a difficult time that we live in, but it’s so great that our show brings a little bit of joy into this life.”
The show unusually ran broadly on schedule, ending only a few minutes late.
That was a party due to a clever policy employed by host Nate Bargatze, who started the night by saying a $100,000 donation he was making to charity would be reduced for every speech that went over the time limit.
But despite the amount of money going up and down throughout the night based on speech length, the ceremony ended with him and broadcast network CBS announcing they would, in fact, donate $250,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
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