This weekend, multitalented stars Eugene Levy and Dan Levy will host the 76th Emmy® Awards on ABC, making them the first-ever father-son duo to do the honors. The annual ceremony will air live coast to coast from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 15, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC and will stream next day on Hulu.
Eugene—a 14-time nominee and four-time winner—says it’s an “incredible honor” to host such a “major event in television” alongside his son, a six-time nominee and four-time winner. “Dan started out in television on MTV for many years; I was on SCTV,” he says. “TV really has been such a major part of our lives that just being a part of the show—being tapped as a presenter—is an honor. But [hosting] is kind of the penultimate honor for me.”
Dan adds, “It’s a huge moment in people’s lives and in people’s careers. And as a TV lover, to have been nominated—and luckily win—was a career-defining, life-changing moment.”
When a winner’s name is announced, it’s important to make the most of such a “career-defining, life-changing moment.” And luckily, both of the Levys have tips for doing just that.
“I just embarrassed myself from the beginning to the end of that entire night,” Dan says, laughing about his multiple acceptance speeches in 2020. “Not that I’ve ever watched it back, but I’ve seen some photos, and I look so thrilled. It was one of the most joyful nights of my entire life. I was most excited for everyone else winning; I was more excited about Annie [Murphy] winning [Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series] than I was about myself. We live in a culture where you always try to play it cool, but I think in a situation like this, when something happens in your career where you’re being recognized by the best of the best at the top of your industry—[you should] just feel it all and regret it later.”
Above all, “honesty” is the key to delivering a memorable acceptance speech, according to Eugene: “There are two ways to go: speaking from the heart or just being insanely funny and giving everybody a great, big laugh. Both are good ways to give an acceptance speech.”
“Now, as hosts,” Dan adds, “we recommend keeping it very short and sweet!”
