That’s what Peter Dinklage does – he drinks, he knows things and he wins four Emmys for playing Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones.
As he took to the stage at the 2019 Emmys, with audiences cheering in adoration, Dinklage was visibly emotional – he also won the same award for the same part last year, as well as two times prior.
However, the swanky awards’ producers were forced into a corner by his gloriously sweary speech, capping off a legacy as the show’s most eloquent character.
As the 50-year-old embarked on stage to collect his Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series award, he told the audience: ‘I have no idea what I’m about to say but here we go.’
Dinklage, who was born with dwarfism, continued:
I count myself so fortunate to be a member of a community that is nothing but all about tolerance and diversity. Because no other place could I be standing on a stage like this.
The actor beat fellow Game Of Thrones stars Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) for the gong, as well as Better Call Saul’s Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Kelly from House Of Cards, and Chris Sullivan from This Is Us.
Praising Game of Thrones‘ showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Dinklage added:
It’s been about 10 years, all said and done, since the moment I met Dave and Dan until right now.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I knew David and Dan were quite brilliant. We did nothing but sweat, we did nothing but laugh. Dave and Dan, we literally walked through fire and ice for you, literally. And I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
Producers then hopped in to censor the actor as he described his Thrones alumni as ‘the most talented motherfucking people’. To the smiling audience, he added: ‘I don’t care, it’s over!’
It’s a historic win for Dinklage – it marks the first time an actor has won four Emmys for the same supporting role in a drama series. Up until last night, Dinklage was tied with Art Carney, Don Knotts and Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul.
The final, eighth season of Game of Thrones also bagged the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Including the Creative Arts Emmys, the show was nominated for 32 awards, and won 12.
Fans and critics were divided on the show’s much-anticipated climax – many praised its undeniable spectacle, but criticised its disregard of the usual densely woven storytelling that made the series such a hit in the first place.
It was a good night for HBO: Chernobyl, the historic mini-series looking at the 1986 nuclear disaster in grim detail, took home 10 awards; Barry, the dramedy about Bill Hader’s wannabe hitman-turned-actor, won three.
The real triumph of the night was Fleabag. Coming from the devastatingly brilliant mind of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the show swooped three awards: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
It’s the first British-made show to ever win an Emmy for Best Comedy Series.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.