Well, at least Matthew Rhys had a good night. The 51-year-old Welsh star became the first person in Emmy history to win two acting awards in different leading categories on the same night. His bravura performance as a psychopathic real estate magnate in The Beast in Me and his hilarious turn as the put-upon mayor in Widow’s Bay had very little in common, other than showcasing his remarkable range and the subtlety of his performances. Anyone who’s seen The Americans (which also won him an Emmy) will know that Rhys could already make a credible case for being the finest actor working today. Now he has the silverware to back it up.
Rhys’ twin triumphs, accompanied by snatches of celebratory Welsh, were high points in an awards ceremony that too often felt flat and uninspiring. Host Mariska Hargitay just about got away with kicking off proceedings with an extravagant cover of Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n Roll,” reworked as “I love TV screens,” but each subsequent musical interlude was harder to stomach.
