Stephen Root Joins GTA 6 After First Emmy Win for Widow's Bay

Stephen Root picked up his first Emmy and a Grand Theft Auto role in the space of two days.

Root confirmed on September 13 that he voices Brian Heder in Grand Theft Auto VI, the next entry in Rockstar Games' long-running open-world crime series. He then won the Primetime Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series on September 14 for Widow's Bay, according to details reported by GameSpot.

Heder is a drug-runner. Rockstar Games describes him as a classic smuggler from the golden age of running contraband through the Keys, an island chain off Florida. He now moves product through his boat yard and is on his third wife, Lori, according to Rockstar Games.

The Emmy was a long time coming. Root won at the 78th Emmy Awards for playing Wyck in Widow's Bay, a comedy series in which he stars alongside Matthew Rhys as Tom. He beat favourite Harrison Ford, who was nominated for his work on Shrinking, as reported by Al Jazeera.

It was a big night for the show. Widow's Bay won Outstanding Comedy Series and took six awards in total at the 78th Emmy Awards, the Television Academy said. Rhys won lead actor for the series, and Kate O'Flynn won supporting actress.

Root is now the second Emmy-winning actor to appear in a Grand Theft Auto game. The first was James Woods, who voiced Mike Toreno in 2004's GTA: San Andreas. Woods had won Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor for Promise in 1987 and My Name Is Bill W in 1989.

What makes this stand out is the timing. A character actor with decades of film and television credits lands his first Emmy on a Sunday night, with his part in one of the most anticipated video games already on the record. For players, it gives a familiar voice to a new face in Leonida, the game's Florida-inspired setting.