Lee Yoo-mi charted history after she won the Creative Arts Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a drama series for popular survival drama series ”Squid Game” a feat that made her the first Korean actor to receive the honour.
In the superhit Korean language Netflix original, the 28-year-old starred as Ji-yeong aka Player No 240 who decides to take the fall in the game of marbles to let her team partner Sae-byeok (Player No 067) advance to the fifth and penultimate round of the deadly ‘Squid Game’.
According to entertainment outlet Deadline, Lee was awarded for her appearance in the episode ”Gganbu” of the show, penned and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk.
”Thank you so much for this huge honour. I want to give my thanks to the TV academy, especially a big thanks to my Netflix team as well,” Lee said, via a translator, in her acceptance speech on Sunday night.
The actor, whose credits also include Netflix zombie school drama ”All of Us Are Dead”, then added in English: ”I’m so happy, thank you!” Other nominees in this category were Marcia Gay Harden (”The Morning Show”), Martha Kelly (”Euphoria”), and ”Succession” actors Hope Davis, Sanaa Lathan and Harriet Walter.
At the Sunday ceremony, which celebrated artistic and technical achievement on television, ”Squid Game” also scored in four other categories — special video effects, stunt performance and production design.
The sidebar event will be followed by the upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards, to be held on September 12, where ”Squid Game” has received seven nominations, including for best drama, making it the first non-English show to be nominated in this category.
