‘Bloodline’ Star Beats Out Kit Harington And Peter Dinklage Of ‘Game Of Thrones’ For Emmy 2016 Win

“Bloodline” star Ben Mendelsohn was a true winner at the 2016 Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 18, after beating out several favorites for the Best Supporting Actor award.

The Melbourne-born actor, 47, had the odds stacked against him in the category, which included “House of Cards” star Michael Kelly, “Better Call Saul” actor Jonathan Banks, “Ray Donovan” star Jon Voight and “Game of Thrones” stars Kit Harington and Peter Dinklage. According to News.com, Harington and Dinklage were expected to battle it out for the prize.

Mendelsohn was not present at the Emmy Awards ceremony, which was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Calif. “Empire” star Taraji P. Henson, who presented the category, accepted the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor on his behalf. “Ben couldn’t make it. I’m going to accept it on his behalf,” she said.

This is the first time Mendelsohn has won an award for his role in Netflix’s “Bloodline” as Danny Rayburn. He was also nominated for his role during last year’s Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards in January, but he lost both trophies to Dinklage.

“Game of Thrones” didn’t walk away empty-handed, however, as the hit HBO series took home the biggest Emmy win of the night, Outstanding Drama Series. The series also broke the record for most Emmy wins with a total of 38 trophies, according to BBC. The previous record-holder was “Frasier,” which raked in 37 Emmy wins.

Meanwhile, another big winner last night was Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won her eighth Emmy award after nabbing Outstanding Comedy Actress for her role as United States vice-president and president Selina Meyer in “Veep.” It was her fifth straight win in the category. The actress gave a tearful yet humorous speech, in which she talks about her father, billionaire businessman William Louis-Dreyfus, who died on Friday, Sept.16, at the age of 84, USA Today reported. “I’m so glad he really liked me because his opinion was the one that really mattered,” she said during her speech of her father.

“Veep” also took home its second consecutive win in the Outstanding Comedy Series category.