Matthew Rhys makes Emmys history as Welsh actor bags two lead actor awards for two different shows in one night

Matthew Rhys made Emmy Awards history on Monday night, claiming lead acting trophies for two separate programmes in a single ceremony.

The Welsh actor, 51, first collected the outstanding lead actor prize in the limited series category for his role in Netflix's crime thriller The Beast in Me.

He then secured the comedy equivalent later in the evening for his portrayal of a small-town mayor in Apple TV's hit horror-comedy Widow's Bay.

No actor before Mr Rhys had ever taken home two lead acting Emmys on the same night.

The achievement was an unexpected one, given that Oscar Isaac was widely considered the frontrunner for Best in the limited series category.

However, Mr Rhys had been the strong favourite on the comedy side for Widow's Bay. The comedy-horror bagged several awards following its debut run on the night.

Collecting his first gong of the evening, Mr Rhys opened with a joke. "If you try to play me off, I'll stab you in the eyes with this," he quipped on stage, brandishing the trophy.

He went on to describe the victory as "a real shock, not least because of the calibre and company of the actors in this category."

Mr Rhys also praised the writing team behind the Netflix thriller, branding Daniel Pearle, Gabe Rotter and Howard Gordon as "a holy trinity of scribes" who "really brought out the beast in all of us."

He went on to pay tribute to co-star Claire Danes, whom he described as leading the ensemble "ferociously, fiercely, fervently."

"Thank you for letting me join the mystery machine and bringing out the beast," he said. "You are an intimidating scene partner."

Mr Rhys's achievement differs from other performers who had previously collected a pair of acting Emmys in one evening, as no one had accomplished the feat in lead categories.

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James Earl Jones won lead drama actor and supporting actor in a limited series at the 1991 ceremony, whilst Stockard Channing picked up two supporting actress trophies in 2002. Mr Rhys is the first to do it at the very top of two separate ballots.

His history-making records didn't stop there, as Mr Rhys now holds the accolade of winning a lead acting Emmy across all three genres: drama, comedy and limited series.

In the limited series race, Mr Rhys triumphed over Riz Ahmed for Bait, Jason Bateman for Black Rabbit, Charlie Hunnam for Monster: The Ed Gein Story, and the aforementioned Mr Isaac.

His comedy competitors included Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for Wonder Man, Steve Carell for Rooster, Jason Segel for Shrinking, and Martin Short for Only Murders in the Building.