In an Emmys speech simmering with Sir Ian McKellen in Extras energy, John Mulaney successfully showed the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards what it’s all about: raising awareness for the historical lack of representation of men onscreen.
Presenting Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — no disrespect to The Pitt‘s Noah Wyle, who won the award — the comedian used his couple of intro minutes to rally for the cause.
“This is the best part of the night: Lead actor in a drama. This award is for the guys. Just men being men. Finally, something for the fellas. And what a crop of prom kings we have. They’re not soft like the dad on Bluey. Guy’s a joke,” Mulaney said onstage.
“Since the creation of television, men have been historically unrepresented. For the first three years TV existed, there were no men on it. It was just beauty contests and children talking to hand puppets until the early ’60s, until a man walked out and said, ‘Enough! My name is Fonzie, and the president’s been shot.’
“But let’s talk about these bros tonight. These sweathogs. Some of the men in this category do method acting, and some do regular, less annoying acting. But no matter what, when these fellas hit their mark, they know all their lines. Why? Because they started looking at their sides earlier that morning. These men give it all in every single take, unless the coverage is on the other actor, and then they might bounce early, but that’s OK.”
Watch the speech above, and if you need to catch up on the full list of Emmys 2026 winners, we’ve got you covered.
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