‘Shōgun’ Star Anna Sawai Is First Asian to Win Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama

“Shōgun” star Anna Sawai made history as the first Asian performer to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday. Sawai was honored for her captivating leading performance as Lady Toda Mariko in the acclaimed FX series.

Her historic Emmy win comes six years after Sandra Oh became the first Asian performer to be nominated in the lead drama actress category in 2018 for BBC America’s “Killing Eve.” Oh was nominated three more times for the same role (2019, 2020 and 2022), but never won.

Sawai wasn’t the only Asian actress hoping to make a stamp on history. Maya Erskine was also nominated in Sawai’s category for her lead role in Prime Video’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”

Sawai, who was born in New Zealand to Japanese parents and is mainly based in Japan, was considered the frontrunner to win her category, which had heavy competition. The 32-year-old actress was up against Erskine, Imelda Staunton (“The Crown”), Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”), Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”) and Carrie Coon (“The Gilded Age”) for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

In “Shōgun,” which is primarily in Japanese and adapted from a 1975 James Clavell novel, Sawai has been widely praised for her searing performance as Mariko. Sawai was surprised by the impact the series has had on Western audiences. “It’s been so surreal. I don’t know how everyone was feeling about it, but I was not expecting it to be this talked about,” she told TheWrap , adding that the most gratifying reaction has come from Japan.

“That means a lot to me because I know the feeling of being Japanese and watching Western productions make a Japanese-themed project and being like, ‘It’s not really authentic or accurate,’ or ‘It doesn’t feel real to me,’” she said. “But this one, people see their own culture being reflected in a very accurate way. It’s been amazing.”

Other Asian performers have won acting Emmys over the years, though the list is fairly short. In January 2024, Ali Wong was the first Asian woman to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for “Beef,” while Archie Panjabi was the first actress of Asian descent to win in 2010 for her supporting role in the CBS drama “The Good Wife.”

In 2017, Riz Ahmed was the first male actor of Asian descent to win lead actor in a limited series for “The Night Of”; Steven Yeun won the Emmy in the same category in 2024 for “Beef.” In 2022, Lee Jung-jae became the first Asian actor to take home the lead drama actor Emmy for “Squid Game.”

“Shōgun” was the top nominated series at the Emmys with 25 nods, including drama series, lead actor in a drama series for Hiroyuki Sanada, supporting actor in a drama series for Tadanobu Saano and Takehiro Hira and guest actor in a drama series for Nestor Carbonell.

FX/Hulu is in development on potential second and third seasons, renewing its deal with Sanada (who will also exec-produce) and entering discussions with the James Clavell estate to continue “Shōgun.” Co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, and executive producer Michaela Clavell are all on board for more episodes.

Set in 1600s feudal Japan, “Shōgun” follows a shipwrecked Englishman, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), who is found marooned in a fishing village and comes bearing secrets that could help Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Sanada) tip the scales of power and weaken the influence of Blackthorne’s enemies. Their fates become tied to their translator, Toda Mariko (Sawai), a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line. While serving her lord, Mariko is forced to come to terms with her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.

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