Historic milestone: Oriol Pla wins the International Emmy for best actor

BarcelonaA double milestone for Catalan audiovisual production. Oriol Pla has been crowned in New York with the International Emmy for Best Actor for his extraordinary role in I, addict (Disney+). He is the first actor from the state to be nominated for and win this prestigious award from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which recognizes outstanding television productions made outside the United States. The ceremony was held this Monday (early this morning) in New York.

The series, directed by Javier Giner, adapts his eponymous autobiographical book, which narrates the fall and recovery of a drug addict. In his acceptance speech, Oriol Pla—who spoke in Catalan to his family and in Basque to Giner, who is from Barakaldo—dedicated the award to his friend and director: "I can never thank you enough. You deserve to live out loud, proudly, and wonderfully." He also added: "This is a story of rehabilitation. If you suffer from addiction and are in a dark forest, keep going; no feeling is final, because on the other side there is a gift: there is you." The actor, overcome with emotion and in shock at his victory, embraced Giner. "We can't believe it," they both said as they left the stage.

Pla was competing for the awards against three other top-tier actors. His competitors were the Colombian Diego Vázquez for One Hundred Years of Solitude (Netflix), the adaptation of the novel by Gabriel García Márquez; the Indian Diljit Dosanjh by Amar Singh Chamkila, a film about a Punjabi singer and the British David Mitchell by Ludwig (Movistar+), a noir series which was the most-watched BBC fiction premiere in 2024.

"I gave my life to do this"

In an interview with Catalunya Ràdio, the actor explained that he experienced the gala with a lot of nerves and emotion. "It was like being in a movie, very intense," the actor said. Regarding his speech, Pla explained that he tried to "say everything" but found it "impossible, because it had to be 30 seconds." "I said many things I wanted to say, and I was able to say them, and I'm very happy because I thought I would forget," he added. The actor also recalled, with emotion, the work he did with Javier Giner: "I poured my heart and soul into this, with all the love in the world, without thinking about awards or anything like that."

At 32, Oriol Pla (Barcelona, ​​1993) has proven himself to be a gifted actor. We have seen him on television and in film, in productions such as Hail Mary, Creature, Petra and Uncertain glory —for these last two he has two Gaudí awards—, but it is especially in the theater where his incredible talent has truly blossomed. Raised in a family of actors, the son of Quimet Pla (Comediants) and Núria Solina (Circ Cric) —both of whom also appear in the series I, addict—, has dedicated his entire life to collective stage creation, first with his family and later with other traveling companions, as we have been able to see in his own shows such as the recentThroat at the TNC, the memorable Travy and the primordial Dual space: be God isAnd in productions like the unusual Cliff, with Baron de Evel's circus, or one of his early successes, Ragazzo, by Lali Álvarez.

The other Catalan award of the night went to Joanna Pardos, a director from La Ràpita. She won the Emmy for best sports documentary for... #It'sOver: diary of the champions (Netflix), which gathers the testimonies of the female soccer players who broke their silence after the scandal of Luis Rubiales kissing her at the 2023 World Cup. Pardos had already been nominated for an Emmy for her series about Alexia Putellas, Alexia. Labor Omnia Vincit. In statements to the Mornings Pardos, speaking on TV3, admitted to feeling "thrilled and eager to return to Barcelona to celebrate with the team." The director expressed her delight at being "on such an international stage" and "bringing the issue of inequality faced by women back to the forefront." Pardos also considered it a "huge source of pride" that she is an inspiration to women around the world.

Pla and Padros join other Catalans who have also been awarded the International Emmy in the past. Among the winners is journalist Raül Gallego, who was recognized last year for his non-fiction series. Point of no return and the series Red bracelets, which in 2015 received a Emmy Kids InternationalIn past editions, the awards have also featured Catalan nominees, such as director Alba Sotorra, who was nominated for the documentary The Return: Life After ISIS.