Hiroyuki Sanada Wins Best Lead Actor in Drama at 2024 Emmys

Hiroyuki Sanada‘s acting chops were recognized at the 2024 Emmy Awards when he won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Sanada, 63, received the accolade for playing Yoshii Toranaga on Shōgun at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 15. “I’m beyond honored to be here with amazing nominees,” he gushed. “Thank you FX, Disney and Hulu for believing in me. Thank you [to] my team for always supporting me.”

The actor continued, “Thank you for all the crew and cast of Shōgun. I’m so proud of you. It was an east meets west dream project with respect.”

Sanada concluded by sharing a message of hope. “Shōgun taught me that when people work together, we can make miracle. We can create a better future together,” he added. (Moments after Sanda won, his castmate Anna Sawai took home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.)

In addition to Sanda, Hijack’s Idris Elba, Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s Donald Glover, Fallout’s Walton Goggins, Slow Horses’ Gary Oldman and The Crown’s Dominic West were all nominees in the stacked category.

This year’s lineup features an entirely fresh batch of nominees from the previous year. The 2023 ceremony, which took place in January because of the writer and actor unions’ strikes, saw Succession’s Kieran Culkin overcoming his costars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong as well as The Old Man’s Jeff Bridges, Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk and The Last of Us’ Pedro Pascal to take home Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

At the time, Culkin, 41, expressed his gratitude for his castmates on Succession after its May 2023 series finale following four seasons. “I love you all so much, especially everyone in the cast … every single one,” Culkin gushed in his acceptance speech. “I’m not going to have any time. I don’t want to get yelled at. Got to thank Jesse Armstrong for being a brilliant writer, showrunner and gentleman.”

Among the crop of 2024 nominees in the category, Glover, 40, was the only person who was an Emmy winner prior to the Sunday ceremony, with two 2017 trophies for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on Atlanta and 14 total nods throughout his career.

Meanwhile, Elba, 52, has racked up five nominations over the years for his roles on Luther and The Big C. Goggins, 52, and Oldman, 66, for their part, each received one prior nod for Justified and Friends, respectively. The 2024 Emmys marked West and Sanada’s first time as Emmy nominees.