‘Squid Game’ Takes Home Two Emmys—Best Lead Actor And Best Director

Squid Game went home with two top awards at the Sept. 12 Emmy Awards ceremony. Altogether the Korean drama received 14 Emmy nominations, winning four Emmy awards at an earlier date—for a total of six awards.

Lee Jung-jae won Outstanding Lead Actor in A Drama Series. While accepting the award, he thanked Director Hwang Dong-hyuk for his creative portrayal of a problem that so many people can relate to. Lee is a first-time Emmy nominee.

Hwang won the award for Outstanding Director for a Drama Series. Squid Game is the first non-English series to be nominated in the Emmy drama category. Hwang thanked his cast for the win and said he hoped Squid Game would not be the last non-English series to be nominated. Hwang, who also wrote the series, did not win the award for Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series.

Squid Game did not win Outstanding Drama Series, since that prize went to Succession.

Jung Ho-yeon was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama series but lost to Julia Garner. Park Hae-soo and Oh Young-seo competed for the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series but lost to Matthew MacFadyen.

Lee and Jung presented the Best Variety Show award to Saturday Night Live, after making jokes about the terrifying Squid Game doll that stood on the Emmy stage. “Good luck everybody making it up here past the doll,” said Jung.

The drama received four Emmys on Sept. 3 and 4, including an Emmy for Lee Yoo-mi, for Outstanding Guest Actress in a drama series. Additionally, Squid Game previously won awards for Outstanding Special Effects in a Single Episode, Outstanding Stunt Performance and Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program.

Squid Game is already the recipient of multiple international awards, including some from the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as Baeksang and Blue Dragon Series Awards.