Stephen Root, who recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work in Widow’s Bay, just broke the record for the oldest actor to win in that category. The previous record-holder was Henry Winkler. He won an Emmy in 2018 for his work on Barry at the age of 72.
Root, who is 74, told reporters, “I am happy to break his record. He’ll be happier to relinquish it, I’m sure.”
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Root continued, “I’m telling you right now, Henry’s going to call and come and give me a big teary hug because he’s the sweetest man in the world.”
After his historic win, Root spoke with PEOPLE about all of the attention that the show has been getting since it was released on Apple TV. “The fact that Widow’s Bay has gotten so much attention from the Academy and all these people is just really heartwarming,” he said. “This is an ensemble show from production design on down to the actors to everyone. Everyone’s done 110% on this show, and I think we’d be rewarded for that.”
He also spoke about his hopes for the second season of the series. “I’m hoping we’ll get to see more backstory in the second season of everybody in the show,” he said. “I think that’s what people love, is they get to love these characters, they want to know more about them.”
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Widow’s Bay won 14 Emmy Awards overall this year. Some of the categories that they won in included Outstanding Comedy Series, Writing for a Comedy Series, Directing for a Comedy Series, and Best Sound Editing for a Comedy Series.
Root wasn’t the only one who made history at the award show. Matthew Rhys, who plays the lead actor in the series, won for his work on Widow’s Bay and Beast in Me, making him the first person to win two lead acting categories on the same night.