NEW DELHI: Riz Ahmed has made history by becoming the first Muslim man from South Asian decent to win an acting Emmy.
Ahmed won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for his portrayal of Nasir "Naz" Khan in 'The Night Of.'
He took home the gong for his performance in the HBO-produced drama, where he plays a young Pakistani college student who becomes embroiled in a homicide investigation and is sent to Rikers Island Prison Complex after a night of partying.
In his acceptance speech, the first-time winner thanked his fellow category nominees and John Turturro in his acceptance speech, telling his co-star, "It's been amazing getting to watch you up close, and I share this with you, brother."
He also honoured the late James Gandolfini, one of the series' executive producers who died in 2013, "He's a man who I believe single-handedly changed television and I hope he's proud of us right now," Ahmed noted.
Before the British Pakistan, the only other person of Asian descent to win an acting Emmy was Archie Panjabi in 2010, who won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Kalinda Sharma in 'The Good Wife.'
The actor also beat out Benedict Cumberbatch from 'Sherlock: The Lying Detective,' Robert De Niro from 'The Wizard of Lies,' Ewan McGregor from 'Fargo,' Geoffrey Rush from 'Genius' and John Turturro from 'The Night Of.'