Egyptian-American actor wins prestigious Emmy award

Rami Malek, an Egyptian-American, has become the first non-white actor in a drama to win an Emmy in over 18 years.

He won the prestigious award for his portrayal of Elliot Anderson in the first season of Mr Robot. His character is a hacking prodigy who is also battling mental illness.

"I am honoured to be recognised with such a distinguished and accomplished group of actors," said Malek as he was accepting his Emmy at the 68th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

"I'm honoured to work with a pure visionary in Sam Esmail, I wouldn’t be here without you, to go to work with an absurdly gifted cast, and crew, and writers," continued Malek.

"I play a young man who is, I think like so many of us, profoundly alienated. And the unfortunate thing is I’m not sure how many of us would like to hang out with a guy like Elliot. But I want to honour the Elliot’s because there's a little bit of Elliot in all of us, isn’t there?"

The last non-white actor to win an award in this category is Andre Braugher for his role in Homicide: Life on the Streets in 1998.