The Awardist Emmys Green light! Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae just made Emmys history He's the first person to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for a non-English show, as well as the first Asian man to take home the prize. By Sydney Bucksbaum Sydney Bucksbaum Sydney Bucksbaum is a writer at Entertainment Weekly covering all things pop culture – but TV is her one true love. She currently lives in Los Angeles but grew up in Chicago so please don't make fun of her accent when it slips out. EW's editorial guidelines Published on September 12, 2022 11:53PM EDT Lee Jung-jae has made Emmys history — in more ways than one. The Squid Game star won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series during Monday's ceremony, making him the first winner in the category to come from a non-English show, as well as the first Asian man to take home the gold. He beat out fellow nominees Bob Odenkirk for Better Call Saul, Jason Bateman for Ozark, Jeremy Strong for Succession, Adam Scott for Severance, and Brian Cox for Succession. "First I'd like to thank God above," Lee said in his acceptance speech. "Thank you to the Television Academy. Thank you to Netflix. Thank you to Director Hwang [Dong-hyuk] for making realistic problems we all face come to life so creatively and with a great script and amazing visuals." He continued his speech in Korean to thank the rest of the Squid Game team. 'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-jae wins the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Chris Haston/NBC via Getty Images Earlier in the night, Hwang won Outstanding Directing For a Drama Series, beating Jason Bateman for Ozark; Ben Stiller for Severance; Karyn Kusama for Yellowjackets; and Mark Mylod, Cathy Yan, and Lorene Scarfaria for Succession. While Netflix's hit Korean survival drama already made history as the first foreign-language series to be nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, it ultimately lost the grand prize to Succession. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: Emmy Awards 2022: See the complete list of winners Squid Game makes Emmys history as first foreign-language series to be nominated for Best Drama Squid Game season 2 to introduce killer new character: 'Join us once more for a whole new round'