Richard Gadd Says He’s Jon Hamm’s “Biggest Fan” While Accepting Emmy for Best Actor in a Limited Series

Richard Gadd took home the award for best actor in a limited series for his role in Baby Reindeer at the 2024 Emmys.

Gadd kicked off his acceptance speech by saying he didn’t prepare any remarks because he didn’t think he’d win in a category against Fellow Travelers’ Matt Bomer, Fargo‘s Jon Hamm, Feud: Capote vs. the Swans‘ Tom Hollander and Ripley‘s Andrew Scott.

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“Jon Hamm, I’m your biggest fan, as I told you for ages last night, over and over again, but like, this is not the world,” he said, before thanking the people he forgot to thank when he accepted for best writing for a comedy series earlier in the night, including his parents.

“I’d like to thank my mom and dad — a glaring omission from the previous one as well,” he noted. “They’ve been there for me, a constant source of love and support. The thing I’m most grateful for is they’ve never, ever told me what I needed to do with my life, and they never, ever told me who I needed to be. And I think that’s the greatest gift a parent can give a child.”

Gadd concluded, “They always said: ‘Follow your heart, and the rest will fall into place.’ I think it’s good advice: Follow your heart, and the rest will fall into place.”

Baby Reindeer went into the 2024 Emmys with 11 nominations and also took home awards for best limited series, supporting actress in a limited series for Jessica Gunning and more.

Backstage after his wins, Gadd was asked about the real-life Martha and quickly shut it down, pointing out that he wanted to focus on the positives.

“Ultimately, I think it’s easier in this day in age to focus on the negatives,” he told reporters. “[Baby Reindeer has] touched the lives of so many people.”

The multihyphenate, who was recognized for his writing, acting and producing, noted that the U.K. has seen an 80 percent increase in sexual abuse charities, 53 percent of which have cited Baby Reindeer. “Nobody seems to be talking about that enough,” he said. “The show has done phenomenal things worldwide for so many people, and I’ll stand by that to the bitter end.”

The 2024 Emmys are the second ones to take place this year, with the 2023 Emmys being pushed back due to the dual writers and actors strikes from last year.

Presenters at TV’s biggest night this year include Kristen Wiig, Viola Davis, Lily Gladstone, Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Matt Bomer, Colin Farrell, Mindy Kaling, Jimmy Kimmel, Greta Lee, John Leguizamo, George Lopez, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jean Smart.

This year’s nominees were led by FX’s Shogun (with 25 nominations) and The Bear (23, a comedy series record), Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building (21), HBO/Max’s True Detective: Night Country (19) and Netflix’s The Crown (18).

Netflix led all of the nominees with a total of 107 noms, followed by FX with 93, HBO with 91 and Apple TV+ with 72. Disney as a whole, which includes projects across FX, ABC, Hulu and Disney+, had a personal-best tally of 183 Emmy nominations this year.

The 76th annual Emmy Awards, co-hosted by father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy, are broadcasting live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles from 5-8 p.m. PT/8-11 p.m. ET.

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