Emmy 2013: Jeff Daniels Wins Best Actor in Drama
HBO's "Newroom" Jeff Daniels wins his first Emmy Award which made "Breaking Bad's" fans feeling disappointed for Bryan Cranston. The "Newsroom" actor was taken by surprise when his name was called and was insisting that he doesn't usually win anything.
The winning lead actor's first word when he went onstage to accept the award: "Well, crap!"
"The last thing I won was a few years ago for Squid and the Whale," Daniels joked. "I won the Best Actor Over 50 from the AARP. With all due respect to the AARP, this is better."
The actor didn't have high expectations and has never been nominated for an Emmy before this year.
"I've been neutral about this whole thing," he admitted. "I've been nominated a bunch of times -- Google it -- enough to kind of not lean toward it, not to hope too much. You're glad to be invited to the party. There are six of us nominated; there easily could've been 10 other guys who could've been where we are. It's a really crowded time in television. It's a great time to be in television. I felt the work stood up to what the other guys were doing, but we're all doing different things. It's anybody's game. I was happy to win but surprised because it could have been anyone."
Daniel's joke made fellow nominee for Best Actor Kevin Spacey chuckle, who didn't seemed fazed by the loss. The "Newsroom" actor beat "Homeland's" Damian Lewis, "Downtown Abbey's" Hugh Bonneville and "Mad Men's" John Hamm.
The talented actors thank his wife, Kathleen and his network during his acceptance speech, and the creator of the series, Aaron Sorkin.
"Aaron Sorkin makes it matter and makes it count," Daniels said to wrap up his speech.
This is Daniel's first Emmy nomination and luckily his first win for his role as the news anchor Will McAvoy in HBO's political drama series. The "Newsroom" premiered on HBO on June 24, 2012 and it chronicles the behind-the-scene events in the Atlantis Cable News (ACN) channel.
The series is packed with ensemble cast including Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, Sam Waterston, Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Emily Mortimer and John Gallagher, Jr. The second season of the series ended on September 15, 2013. The third season is under negotiations and schedules are yet to be set.