Tramell Tillman Makes History With His First Emmy Win for Severance

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Tramell Tillman, known for his role in *Severance*, made history on Sunday night by becoming the first Black actor to win an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a drama series.

Tillman sweetly dedicated his award to his mother, and then shared her advice, jokingly quoting her as saying, ‘You make time for what matters, work hard, be present, and please, don’t embarrass me!’ He then added with a laugh that his mother, like all great mothers, was a tough but effective teacher.

Tillman’s Emmy Award isn’t his only groundbreaking achievement. In 2014, he made history as the first Black man to receive a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. This career path was a change for Tillman, who initially pursued medicine in college with plans to become an orthopedic surgeon.

He’s now well-known for his role in a show centered around an unusual medical procedure. In the popular series *Severance*, Tillman plays a manager at Lumon Industries, a company where workers have implants that split their memories between their work and personal lives, essentially creating two distinct identities.

This year, Tramell Tillman competed against his *Severance* co-star, Zach Cherry, for the award. Other Black actors who have been nominated in this category recently include Giancarlo Esposito (*Breaking Bad*), Jeffrey Wright (*Westworld*), and Greg Morris (*Mission Impossible*).

Tillman had a remarkable 2025, culminating in an Emmy award after also appearing with Tom Cruise in the hit summer movie *Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning*.

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2025-09-15 06:06