Here's Why Peter Dinklage Was Bleeped During His Emmy Acceptance Speech
Game of Thrones headed into the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards with a record-breaking total of 32 nominations, including plenty of acting nominations. Peter Dinklage won his fourth Emmy during Sept. 22's ceremony, but a portion of his acceptance speech had people wondering: Why was Peter Dinklage bleeped at the 2019 Emmys?
Accepting his fourth Emmy Award for playing Game of Thrones' Tyrion Lannister, Dinklage arrived onstage in a bittersweet mood. With his trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series in hand, Dinklage reportedly said about his time on Game of Thrones, "10 years of absolute sweat, but 10 years of the most talented, motherf*cing people. Hey, it’s over, I don’t care.”
Letting some improper language slip was definitely forgivable for a Game of Thrones actor during this year's ceremony. The series was celebrating the recognition of its eighth and final season which, despite fans' mixed responses, garnered the record-breaking number of nominations. Dinklage ultimately won in a category that also included his Game of Thrones co-stars Alfie Allen and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Other nominees were Better Call Saul's Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito, Chris Sullivan of This Is Us, and Michael Kelly of House of Cards.
Game of Thrones was also particularly visible in other categories. Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Lena Headey, and Gwendoline Christie were all nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series. Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke represented the series in the Lead Actor and Actress In A Drama categories, but apart from Dinklage, the Game of Thrones cast fell short when it came to their individual awards. To be fair, I think any of them would still beat out fellow nominees in a competition for the Iron Throne.
Thankfully, Thronies had more than one opportunity to see their beloved cast onstage. The nominated actors appeared together following a commemorative video honoring the long-running drama series. At the end of the night, Game of Thrones also won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, marking its fourth win in the category. If it was up to fans, maybe each actor could've walked away from the ceremony with their own trophy in hand, but a series win is great compensation.
Dinklage also used his own time onstage to applaud the acting community for valuing tolerance and thank the Game of Thrones creators for the epic experience.
"I count myself as so fortunate to be a member of a community that is nothing but all about tolerance and diversity because there's no other place where I'd be standing on a stage like this," he said. "We did nothing but sweat. We did nothing but laugh. [Creators] Dave [Benioff] and [D.B. Weiss], we'd literally walk through fire and ice for you. I would do it all again in a heartbeat."
Viewers will definitely miss sightings of Dinklage and his co-stars at the Emmy Awards, but here's hoping that the cast are all on their way to bigger and better things. Well, if anything can ever be bigger than all of Westeros. Congratulations, Dinklage and the rest of the Game of Thrones cast!
