Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae Makes History With Emmy Win For Lead Actor in a Drama Series

With his win at the 2022 Emmys for Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae became the first actor to win for non-English speaking role. Find out what he said in his speech.

By Daniel Trainor Sep 13, 2022 3:16 AMTags
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Lee Jung-jae is taking home an Emmy—and a bit of television history to go along with it.

With his win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 2022 Emmys on Sept. 12, the Squid Game star became the first actor to win the category for a non-English speaking role. 

For all of the winners from the TV's biggest night, click here.

Jung-jae triumphed over Succession's Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox, Ozark's Jason Bateman, Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk and Severance's Adam Scott.

In his speech, he thanked Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, who took home the Emmy earlier in the evening for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, for making "a realistic problem we all face come to life so creatively with on the screen with with a great script and amazing visuals."

He ended his speech with a message in Korean, a fitting touch on such a historic evening.

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In addition to Jung-jae's historic win, Squid Game's nomination for Outstanding Drama Series made it the first first non-English series nominated in the category. It was an occasion that creator Dong-hyuk took as a sign of progress.

"We are moving away from the old days of the U.S. exporting content abroad and the global audiences enjoying U.S. content only," he told E! News in July. "The global content is now being appreciated and enjoyed in the U.S. market, as well. This is a really grand moment."

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

The first season of Squid Game is available to stream on Netflix.

For the best fashion moments from the 2022 Emmys, keep scrolling!

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Zendaya

In Valentino, styled by Law Roach

Kerry Washington

In Elie Saab

Issa Rae

In Sergio Hudson, styled by Jason Rembert

Ariana DeBose

In Prabal Gurung, styled by Zadrian and Sarah

Mindy Kaling

In Elie Saab

Kaley Cuoco

In Dolce & Gabbana, styled by Brad Goreski

Reese Witherspoon

In Armani Privé

Rosario Dawson

In Christian Siriano, styled by Jason Rembert

Adam Scott

In Dolce & Gabbana, styled by Ilaria Urbinati

Juno Temple

In Tom Ford, styled by Erin Walsh

Jake Lacy

Sasheer Zamata

In Tarik Ediz

Taron Egerton

In Brunello Cucinelli

Chandra Wilson

Sarah Paulson

In Louis Vuitton, styled by Karla Welch

Sebastian Stan

Vanessa Bayer

In Christian Siriano, styled by Ariel Tunnell

Tramell Tillman

Nicole Byer

In The Tri Collective

Kumail Nanjiani

Selena Gomez

Amanda Seyfried

In Armani Privé Couture, styled by Elizabeth Stewart

Zedd

In Dolce & Gabbana

Angela Bassett

In Dolce & Gabbana, styled by Jennifer Austin

John Legend

In Gucci

Trevor Noah

In Gucci, styled by Jason Bolden

Sydney Sweeney

In Oscar de la Renta, styled by Molly Dickson

Julia Garner

In Gucci, styled by Elizabeth Saltzman

Brendan Hunt

J. Smith Cameron

In Carolina Herrera, styled by Cat Pope

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For a full recap of the 75th Emmy Awards, check out E! Online's Emmys homepage here.