Riz Ahmed becomes first South Asian to win an Emmy

British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed made history on Sunday by becoming the first actor of Asian descent to receive an Emmy award for acting. Riz was awarded the Outstanding Lead Actor in a limited series for his portrayal of Nasir "Naz" Khan in show "The Night Of" at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards. In the show, Riz plays a young Pakistani college student who becomes entangled in a homicide investigation, and is sent to Rikers Island Prison Complex. In his Emmys acceptance speech, Riz said: "I want to say it is always strange reaping the rewards of a story based on real world suffering. But if this show has shown a light on some of the prejudice in our societies, xenophobia, some of the injustice in our justice system, then maybe that is something."

.@rizmc: "If this show has shown a light on the prejudices in our societies ... then maybe that's something" https://t.co/fQHkjymk9C #Emmys pic.twitter.com/XLdVJcB3zR

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 18, 2017

After the main award ceremony, Riz told the press: "I don't know if any one person's win of an award, or one person snagging one role, or one person doing very well changes something that's a systemic issue ... I think that's something that happens slowly over time." He added: "In terms of US and the UK, I'm really proud to be a Londoner. I’m really proud to be from the UK. I'm also really aware that actors of colour often have more opportunity in the US, but I think ultimately now we see that TV in particular is a global medium. People are streaming shows or watching them all around the world. Hopefully we'll see a globalisation of our storytelling." Riz has been very articulate about how the representation of minorities can "shift negative perspectives," so the win is another big step for him as both an actor and activist, reports BuzzFeed News.

Riz Ahmed just won for "The Night Of." Here's him spitting ? earlier this year on representation and why it matters. pic.twitter.com/cgds7IorWh

— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 18, 2017

Earlier this year, Riz gave a speech at the House of Parliament in London, and talked about the representation of ethnic minorities in media. He said: "If we fail to represent, we are in danger of losing people to extremism. People are looking for the message that they belong, that they are part of something, that they are seen and heard and that despite, or perhaps because of, their experience, they are valued. They want to feel represented. In that task, we have failed."