Hiroyuki Sanada has won his first Emmy. On Sunday he took home the award for best actor in a drama series for his role in the FX drama series Shogunwhere he also acts as producer.

“It was an East-West dream project with respect,” he said when accepting the award, “and Shogun showed me that when people work together, we can achieve miracles. Together, we can create a better future.”

In FX’s epic drama series, based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell, veteran Japanese actor Sanada plays Lord Toranaga, the ultimate strategist whose intricate web ultimately helped unite Japan in the 17th century. Tadanobu Asano also stars as Lord Kashigi Yabushige, Anna Sawai Toda as Mariko, and Cosmo Jarvis as shipwrecked Portuguese explorer John Blackthorne, known as “Anjin.”

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Sanada already knew the character of Toranaga from 1989. Oda Nobunagahe played Tokugawa Ieyasu, the real-life man who inspired the character Toranaga. Sanada has been acting since he was six years old, when he began in commercials in Japan. Internationally, he is best known for films such as The Last Samurai, Speed ​​Racer And High-speed traintogether with the shows Lost And Westworld.

In addition to his lead role, Sanada also served as a producer on the series, which has been renewed for a second season. It was important to him to maintain authenticity, he told Deadline earlier this year. And that authenticity began with the language.

“At first we discussed a lot about what percentage of Japanese would be possible,” he said. “Finally, we settled on 70% with subtitles. It was a bit of a gamble. But we also believed in the audience – in their knowledge, intelligence and imagination. And then, yes, it worked.”

In his Emmy acceptance speech on Sunday, he also acknowledged everyone who made this possible, saying: “Thank you, my team, for always supporting me. And thank you to the entire crew and cast of ShogunI am so proud of you.”

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Sanada, who has acted in many samurai films since his acting career, said he used all his knowledge to instruct the show’s team in cultural accuracy. “I did everything myself before, but now I have the title of producer and then I can hire Japanese samurai drama specialists for every department: costumes, wigs, props, for every department. So for the first time I had a team – much easier and smoother. I could be used between the Japanese crew and cast and the Western crew and cast. So I put all my life experience into the work. Shogunas an actor and as a consultant for 20 years.”

Shogun made Emmy history last weekend at the Creative Arts Emmys, winning 14 awards, the most Emmys ever for a season of a television series, and has six more potential awards at stake tonight.