Entertainment TV Matthew Rhys Wins Emmy and Jokes Keri Russell Said 'If You Propose to Me, I Will Punch You' Matthew Rhys took home the 2018 Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta is the Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 17, 2018 10:42PM EDT Photo: Matt Baron/REX/Shutterstock After six seasons of The Americans, Matthew Rhys finally got his Emmy win. Rhys, 43, picked up his first-ever Emmy Award for outstanding actor in a drama series on Monday night — and the only person equally excited as the actor was his girlfriend, and Americans costar, Keri Russell. Kevin Winter/Getty Russell, who was also nominated for her role on the FX series, gave him a big kiss as soon as his name was announced as the lucky winner. “Oh thank you, thank you so much,” the actor said during the beginning of his speech, before joking, “I will be brief, I’ve been told to be my entire life.” “Parts like these come along so rarely,” he continued. “To all those who gave so much, who gave so much to this incredible journey … we had a cast and crew that you could only wish for in a fairytale.” Referencing the son he shares with Russell, Rhys went on to thank the cast and crew who “by default … also gave me a son.” Check out all of PEOPLE’s 2018 Emmys coverage here “And finally to the woman who truly got me this award who just stands in front of me every day and puts up with me,” he continued, adding that Russell said she didn’t want Rhys to be influenced by Glenn Weiss’ decision to use his time onstage that night to propose to his girlfriend. “She said, ‘If you propose to me, I will punch you clean in the mouth,’ ” he joked. “Thank you, more to come,” he added, in a final sweet note to Russell. RELATED VIDEO: Emmy Award Winner Glenn Weiss Proposes to Girlfriend Onstage This was Rhys’ first win and third Emmy nomination, all for his role as Philip Jennings, a KGB sleeper agent living in the United States during the Cold War. Rhys beat out fellow nominees Jason Bateman (Ozark), Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us), Ed Harris (Westworld), Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us) and Jeffrey Wright (Westworld). The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Michael Che and Colin Jost, are airing live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on NBC.