LOS ANGELES, Sept 17 (Bernama-Kyodo) – Hiroyuki Sanada on Sunday won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his starring role in the U.S. television series "Shogun" set in feudal Japan, while his co-star Anna Sawai won best lead actress to make the pair the first Japanese to win the awards.
With the programme itself winning the outstanding drama award as well as outstanding directing at the 76th Emmy Awards, "Shogun" collected a total of 18 awards, the most Emmys won for a single season of a TV series, Kyodo News Agency reported.
Sanada, 63, was recognised for his portrayal of a warlord in the series based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell.
Set on the eve of the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Sanada, who is also a producer of the series, plays a military commander modelled after shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
At the award ceremony, Sanada expressed his thanks to everyone who has been involved in Japan's samurai period dramas, saying the win demonstrates how the “passion and dream” he inherited from them has resonated “beyond borders".
Beginning his career as a child actor in 1966, the native of Tokyo appeared in the Japanese TV drama "Koko Kyoshi" (High School Teacher) and the Oscar-nominated movie “The Twilight Samurai".
Now based in Los Angeles, Sanada made his Hollywood debut in “The Last Samurai” in 2003.
Earlier this month, “Shogun” won 14 Creative Arts Emmy Awards for its costumes and stunts, among other categories.
--BERNAMA-KYODO
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