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Matthew Rhys has been named Best Actor at the Bafta Cymru Awards for his performance in the Netflix thriller The Beast in Me, completing a remarkable awards run that included making Emmy history last month. The Cardiff-born actor was unable to attend the ceremony at ICC Wales in Newport, where 17 awards celebrated the best of Welsh film and television. Carol Vorderman received the Siân Phillips Award for outstanding contribution to television, while Gabrielle Creevy won her second Best Actress prize and Welsh-language productions enjoyed a triumphant night.
Matthew Rhys has continued the finest awards run of his career, winning Best Actor at the 2026 Bafta Cymru Awards for his performance in the Netflix psychological thriller The Beast in Me. It is his second Welsh Bafta — and it arrives 29 years after his first, which he won for the Welsh-language film Bydd yn Wro (Be Brave) at the start of a career that would carry him from Cardiff to Hollywood.
The Cardiff-born actor was unable to attend Sunday night's ceremony at ICC Wales in Newport to collect the prize in person. He saw off competition from Callum Scott Howells in Madfabulous, Jonathan Pryce in Under Salt Marsh and Tom Cullen in Trespasses — a shortlist that underlined the depth of acting talent currently working in Wales.
The win caps a year in which Rhys has repeatedly made history. Last month he became the first person to win two lead acting prizes in one night at the Emmy Awards, and the Bafta Cymru triumph confirms his status as one of the most decorated Welsh performers of his generation. For more on this year's standout screen performances, see our entertainment section, including Robert Pattinson's praised turn at the Venice Film Festival.
Rhys's journey from a Welsh-language film debut to the top of the profession has been anything but conventional. After early success in Wales, he broke through internationally as Kevin Walker in the family drama Brothers & Sisters and then as Philip Jennings in the Cold War spy drama The Americans — a performance that earned him a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He later led HBO's Perry Mason reboot and played the poet Dylan Thomas in The Edge of Love.
His two Bafta Cymru wins, separated by nearly three decades, tell their own story about longevity. Few actors sustain leading-man careers across that span; fewer still return to be honoured by their home industry at the height of their powers. The Beast in Me, in which he plays Nile Jarvis, has now brought him recognition on both sides of the Atlantic in a single season.
The Bafta Cymru Awards are the biggest annual celebration of creative excellence across film and television in Wales. This year's ceremony — the 35th — was hosted by Welsh television presenter Owain Wyn Evans at ICC Wales, the venue that has hosted the event since 2024. In total, 17 competitive awards were presented across the evening, alongside two Bafta Outstanding Contribution awards.
The evening's most emotional moment belonged to Carol Vorderman, who was present to receive the Siân Phillips Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television — one of Bafta Cymru's highest honours. The television presenter said she was "humbled and excited" to receive the award, and told reporters on the red carpet that it was the late Esther Rantzen who first made her believe she could make it in television.
Casting director Lauren Evans received the inaugural Bafta Cymru Outstanding Contribution to Craft Award, presented by actor Sion Daniel Young — a new prize recognising the behind-the-camera talent that sustains the industry. Evans, whose casting credits include Game of Thrones and Sex Education, also won the ceremony's Best Casting award.
!Carol Vorderman, recipient of the Siân Phillips Award for outstanding contribution to television Caption: Carol Vorderman received the Siân Phillips Award for outstanding contribution to television. Credit: 21stCenturyGreenstuff / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Gabrielle Creevy won her second Best Actress award for The Guest, while the drama's writer Matthew Barry took the Best Writer prize — making The Guest one of the night's most rewarded productions. Mari Grug won her first Bafta Cymru, taking the Presenter award for the deeply personal Un Dydd Ar Y Tro.
The results reflect an industry in confident health, as our wider film and television coverage has noted — from Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey winning over critics to the industry's ongoing debates, such as the legal dispute between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively.
It was a particularly strong night for Welsh-language production. Y Golau: Dwr took two awards — Television Drama and Editing for Mali Evans — while Y Crwydryn won Single Documentary, with Rhys Edwards also taking Director (Factual) for the same programme. Stori'r Iaith won the Factual Series award, and Amour a Mynydd — accepted by Elin Fflur — won Entertainment Programme.
The short film prize went to Gofod Ymennydd – Brain Space, and the Children's Programme award went to Itopia. The Feature/Television Film award went to Mr Burton, collected by Ed Talfan, Tom Bullough and Josh Hyams. Gareth Bryn won Director (Fiction) for Karen Pirie, Adam Scarth won Photography and Lighting (Fiction) for Under Salt Marsh, and the Sound award went to Havoc. Foden: O Brifathro i Bedoffeil won News and Current Affairs.
Bafta Cymru chair Lee Walters congratulated the nominees ahead of the ceremony, saying each was "a testament to the creativity, skill and dedication of the people working across Wales' screen industries, both in front of and behind the camera."
The breadth of this year's winners — spanning Welsh-language drama, children's programming, casting, sound and cinematography — speaks to an industry that has grown far beyond its old reputation as a regional outpost. Cardiff's studio complexes now host major international productions, and Welsh crews are in demand across the UK.
That growth has been deliberate: sustained investment in training, infrastructure and the Welsh-language broadcaster S4C has built a pipeline of talent that the Bafta Cymru Awards exist to celebrate. The inaugural craft award for Lauren Evans is itself a statement of intent — an acknowledgement that the industry's future depends as much on casting directors, editors and sound designers as on the stars in front of the camera.
For a performer like Rhys, who left Wales to build a global career and is now being celebrated back home, the night carried a particular resonance. His first Bafta Cymru came for acting in his own language; his second comes at the peak of an international career. Few awards tell a fuller story.
Catch up on more culture stories in our entertainment section and the latest headlines on our news page.
*External links: BBC source · BAFTA Cymru 2026 winners · Netflix · Television Academy · Welsh Government*
Best Actor for his performance in the Netflix psychological thriller The Beast in Me. It is his second Bafta Cymru, 29 years after his first for the Welsh-language film Bydd yn Wro (Be Brave).
No — he was unable to attend the ceremony at ICC Wales in Newport. The event was hosted by Welsh presenter Owain Wyn Evans.
He became the first person to win two lead acting prizes in one night at the Emmy Awards, capping a remarkable awards season.
Carol Vorderman received the Siân Phillips Award for outstanding contribution to television; Lauren Evans won the inaugural Outstanding Contribution to Craft award; and Gabrielle Creevy won her second Best Actress award for The Guest. In total, 17 awards were presented plus two outstanding contribution awards.
Y Golau: Dwr won Television Drama and Editing, Y Crwydryn won Single Documentary, Stori'r Iaith won Factual Series, and Amour a Mynydd won Entertainment Programme.
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