African American Male Actor, Tramell Tillman breaks 77 years record of Emmy awards, becomes the first black to win best supporting actor
Tramell Tillman, an American actor, shattered the record of 77 years at the Primetime Emmy Awards to emerge as the first African-American actor to win Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Tillman, who had his first-ever Emmy nomination in 2025, won and made history a second time for being the first black man to win an Emmy in the United States.
Who Tilman Was and How He Did What He Did
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Maryland, Tillman’s journey to acting differed from most of his peers.
He graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in 2003 before proceeding to your university, the Xavier University of Louisiana, as a pre-med student set on becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
However, Hurricane Katrina interrupted his studies in 2005, and Tillman transferred to Jackson State University where he changed his major to mass communications. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication summa cum laude in 2008.
Taking his studies further, in 2014, he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Tennessee, and Wikipedia says he is the first African-American man to have graduated with the degree from the university.
That landmark was the key to his later success. I was told that I was never going to make it as an actor, it’s a profession that leads to a dead end. But you still take a risk to yourself and see what happens,” he said.
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Prior to launching her career as a full-time actor, Tillman worked in the nonprofit sector for more than a decade. The inspiration behind his breakout performance as Seth Milchick in the hit Apple TV+ sci-fi thriller, Severance (2022-present).
Tillman attributes his mother to his inspiration to engage in acting so as to overcome shyness. She accidentally provided him with his first acting role when she needed someone to play her son in a church play at the age of 10.
At the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, Tillman received the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and became the first African American actor to win in this category.
In accepting his award, he made a touching tribute to his mother:
You recall whatever you want to recall. You create time for the things you want to create time for. Do the work. Show up. And most importantly, for the love of God, don’t humiliate me in front of others. My first acting coach was hard on me, y’all. But all great mothers are.”
Referring to his mother in the audience, he added:
Momma, you were my mama when no one else was with me. I will never forget your love and kindness, and it’s for you.
Tillman’s win at the Emmys is more than an individual accomplishment, it is a cultural achievement. In a category that in the past has been dominated by white actors, his victory is a step forward and an inspiration for would-be Black actors everywhere.
“I am blessed to work alongside such great actors that have come before me — Andre Braugher, Ossie Davis, Michael K. Williams, men whose work I have been studying for years. “This win is a testament to the fact that our stories matter,” he said.