Guy Pearce has picked up an Emmy award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his role as Monty Beragon in the five-part TV miniseries Mildred Pierce.
It was the Australian actor’s first Emmy nomination and win, triumphing over co-star Brian F. O’Byrne as well as Tom Wilkinson of The Kennedys and James Woods and Paul Giamatti of Too Big To Fail.
In the miniseries, Pearce plays the love interest of title character Mildred Pierce, a divorced single mother who opens a restaurant business in order to survive the Great Depression. The series, also starring Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood, received a total of 21 nominations with Winslet also earning the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Miniseries or Movie.
Pearce’s witty acceptance speech acknowledged his thrill at being able “to have sex with Kate Winslet many, many times”, thanking his British co-star for “letting me insert myself into your world of Mildred Pierce…I didn’t realise it was going to result in this”.
The 43-year old actor was later quizzed about how he compares to Winslet’s Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. “I keep asking her, but she refuses to tell me”, Pearce declared. “Maybe she’ll tell me if I get her drunk enough tonight”.
Kim Kilbey, former Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show host and currently one of eight producers on America’s Dancing with the Stars, was the second Australian to receive a nomination at this year’s awards.
Kilbey missed out on the award when The Amazing Race succeeded Dancing with the Stars as Outstanding Reality Program.