The Emmys were mostly full of heartening moments, like Lena Waithe, Riz Ahmed, and Donald Glover’s historic wins. Sterling K. Brown’s win for outstanding lead actor in a drama was also significant (and extremely well-deserved), since it was only the second time in nearly 20 years that a black man took home that prize. But when the This Is Us star went over on his time during his acceptance speech, the orchestra or conductor proved too eager to play him off the stage.
Brown acknowledged this with a mixture of humor and surprise—Big Little Lies winner Nicole Kidman waxed on for nearly three minutes when she accepted her award for best lead actress in a limited series—but took it all in stride. Once backstage, though, he was offered a chance to finish his speech, which he took. So here’s the rest of Brown’s acceptance speech, in which he thanks the This Is Us writers (“you guys are our life’s blood”), Dan Fogelman, and his wife, Ryan Michelle Bathe.
As Brown notes, he wasn’t even able to thank his wife Ryan Michelle Bathe on the main stage before the loud music came on. But at least we got to hear the rest of Brown’s thoughts on the tight-knit cast of This Is Us, as well as what an honor it is to follow in Braugher’s footsteps.