“Thank you to the Academy. My fellow nominees you guys were all incredible this year,” the 34-year-old actor noted while accepting the trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Movie for his work on HBO’s Mare of Easttown. “I gotta thank my mom and dad for getting me out to L.A., you guys were crazy for doing that but we’re gonna drink tonight.”

The American Horror Story alum went on to thank HBO and other people who made the crime thriller a success “for letting me be part of your brilliantly written show” before shouting, “And Kate Winslet for being Kate Winslet!”

Peters starred as Detective Colin Zabel on the acclaimed series, which debuted in April. His character worked closely with Marianne “Mare” Sheehan (Winslet) to help solve a young girl’s murder and another woman’s disappearance.

“I want to thank the amazing crew … [and] anyone who’s ever helped me along the way,” the Pose alum concluded on Sunday. “And I especially want to thank everyone who watched the show. This is a dream come true for me tonight and it wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

The big moment marked the first Emmy win of Peters’ career. It was also his first nomination.

Earlier this year, the Kick-Ass star opened up about his experience working on the dark drama and “knowing” his character wouldn’t make it to the end. (Zabel died in a shocking twist during the fifth episode.)

“To me, it felt very real, and it sort of speaks to the danger of being in this line of work,” the Missouri native told The New York Times in May. “It reminded me of that moment in Burn After Reading where Brad Pitt gets shot in the forehead in the closet — which is sort of hilarious but also really shocking, and we wanted to have that sort of feeling once it happens.”

The same month, Peters recalled “hysterically sobbing” in the arms of director Craig Zobel while filming a memorable drunken scene with Winslet, 45.

“The reason Craig and I were emotional and hugging was because I was hysterically sobbing. I thought we didn’t get the scene,” Peters told Vanity Fair. “I was like, ‘We didn’t get [it], we didn’t get it. I can’t do this. I’m terrible. I’m going to shadow you, Craig, and be a director, because I can’t do it anymore.’ And he was like, ‘It’s OK. It’s cool, man. I think we got it.’ … What’s going on with my internal judgment? Where I don’t even know if it’s good.”

While plenty of fans are hopeful Mare will return for a second season, Peters is already looking forward to what’s next. “In terms of acting, I want to try to do some more everyday kind of projects,” he said in May. “I’ve been watching a lot of that stuff recently. It’s authentic, scary, moving, and effective. So I want to try to do some more stuff like that down the pipe, but we’ll see.”

The HBO series earned a total of seven Primetime Emmy nominations, with Winslet in the running for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Meredith Nardino