Riz Ahmed becomes first Muslim and South-Asian male actor to win Emmy

British-Pakistani actor bags award for lead actor in a limited series or TV movie for his role in 'The Night Of'

British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed won the Emmy for best actor in a limited series or a television movie on Sunday night for his performance in The Night Of.

Ahmed became the first Muslim actor, as well as the first South-Asian actor, to win an acting Emmy.

The actor came out on top after beating 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.

This is the first-time for Ahmed to have won an Emmy and the winner thanked his fellow category nominees and 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," reports New York Daily News.

Backstage, the actor touched on the need for more diverse roles and praised Ed Skrein for how he handled the recent Hellboy casting controversy.

"I think what we're starting to see is more awareness around how beneficial it can be to tell a diverse range of stories and to tell them in a way that's authentic," Ahmed told reporters.

Riz Ahmed became the first Muslim actor, as well as the first South-Asian actor, to win an acting Emmy when he took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series Sunday night. (MARIO ANZUONI/REUTERS)

"Something that happened recently that I found really, really moving and I really applaud is the British actor Ed Skrein recently kind of turned down a role — it was lucrative role."

He added, "I know him personally, he's a great guy and he just felt that he wanted to respect the cultural authenticity of that particular story and that character in Hellboy. So I think when you see examples of that, what we're seeing is more awareness around this conversation and I think awareness if the first step to real change.”

Ahmed also pushed for "globalization" of stories and talent, saying, "TV is in particular a global medium. People are streaming shows or watching them all around the world, so hopefully we’re going to see a globalization of the stories we're telling and a globalization of the talent pool."

Ahmed’s Nasir Khan, on The Night Of, is a Pakistani college student who winds up at Rikers Island after becoming involved in a murder investigation.

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