Armenian-American Steven Zaillian has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Netflix’s RIPLEY, reports Deadline.
At the 2024 Emmy Awards, Ripley received 13 nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, with acting nods for Andrew Scott and Dakota Fanning. The Netflix series has already secured four wins, including Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special.
Zaillian, widely known for his Oscar-winning screenwriting for Schindler’s List and directing work in films like A Civil Action and All the King’s Men, brought his talents to the small screen with Ripley, a neo-noir psychological thriller based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 crime novel The Talented Mr. Ripley.
The eight-episode limited series, which premiered on Netflix on April 4, 2024, stars Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley, with Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood and Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf. Ripley follows the morally complex journey of Tom Ripley and earned critical praise for its writing, directing, production design, cinematography, score, and especially for Scott’s portrayal of the title character. It is the first adaptation of Highsmith’s novel in a series format.
In his acceptance speech, Zaillian thanked the cast, crew, and Netflix for their support. He also reflected on the experience of filming in Italy, a significant element in the series: “Making Ripley in Italy was its own reward. It was like a dream. I didn’t need anything after that.”
He added: “The work is its own reward and I still really appreciate this honor though, and I share it with literally hundreds of people who worked on Ripley, the actors, Andrew [Scott], Dakota [Fanning], Elliot [Sumner], Johnny [Flynn], Maurizio [Lombardi], and all the other wonderful Italian actors, the producers, the incredible department heads and crew”all of ’em artists in their own right. I thank them. The Academy, Netflix and my family.”
This Emmy win adds to Zaillian’s impressive collection of accolades, further solidifying his status as one of Hollywood’s top storytellers. Ripley continues to captivate audiences, with fans eagerly anticipating the possibility of future installments.
