Keri Russell gave Matthew Rhys permission to leave her out of his Emmy acceptance speeches.
Russell, who met Rhys on the set of “The Americans” in 2012, opened up about the decision on Chelsea Handler’s “Dear Chelsea” podcast Thursday.
“He was just so nervous. I mean, we were all nervous. … But, you know, it’s a lot. It’s a lot of pressure,” Russell, 50, said. “We’re both nervous people. We’re not in that world that much. We visit that world, and so we were both so nervous.
“I looked at him a few days before and I said, ‘OK, well, can you articulate what you’re most nervous about?’” she continued. “And he’s like, ‘Yeah, having to speak.’ And I said, ‘Totally.’ And I said, ‘Take me off your plate. Like, you don’t have to thank me. I know you love me.’”
The “Felicity” actress also recalled Rhys’ 2018 Emmy win for lead actor in a drama series for “The Americans,” saying people “still give him a hard time” for not thanking them in his acceptance speech.
“It’s so crazy. People get nuts,” she said. “It’s stupid, and it’s also lame.”
Handler, 51, pointed out that there are plenty of people who work on a production who might deserve to be thanked before someone’s partner, to which Russell agreed.
“I don’t care if you want to thank the dog walker. You do whatever you want to do. That’s your minute. That’s your 45 seconds,” Russell said. “So I just said, ‘Take me off your plate.’
“We kind of said to each other, ‘We don’t have to thank each other. This is private. … This is for the business people. Thank whoever you want to thank.’”
Rhys, 51, made history at the 2026 Emmys, taking home the award for lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for “The Beast in Me” before winning lead actor in a comedy series for “Widow’s Bay” — which swept the night with 14 total wins.
Russell, for her part, was nominated for lead actress in a drama series for “The Diplomat” and also received a nod as an executive producer on the series.
During Rhys’ acceptance speech for “The Beast in Me,” Rhys joked, “Oh, good grief. If you try and taunt me, I’ll stab you in the eyes with this,” referring to his Emmy statuette, before thanking the show’s writers and director.
He went on to single out his co-star, Claire Danes, saying the cast was “certainly led ferociously, fiercely [and] fervently” by her.
“Thank you for letting me join the mystery machine and bringing out the beast,” he added. “You are an intimidating scene partner, but I’m very grateful for all of this.”
After being announced as the winner for “Widow’s Bay,” Rhys waved off the standing ovation and roar of applause from his peers before thanking the many people who worked on the series.
He then turned his attention to his family, giving special shout-outs to his parents and sister.
“They just kicked me onto a stage from a very early age,” he said of his parents. “My sister, who’s here tonight … turns out she was the brains of the outfit all along. Thank you for all of the sage words and patient listening.”
Russell and Rhys have been dating for more than a decade and share a 10-year-old son, Sam, whom they welcomed in May 2016.
The “Mickey Mouse Club” alum is also mom to son River, 19, and daughter, Willa, 13, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Shane Deary.
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