"Modern Family," Claire Danes, Jessica Lange, Julianne Moore, Maggie Smith and More Win 2012 Emmy Awards

By Michael Gioia
September 23, 2012

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel hosted the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, which were presented live from the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles Sept. 23.

“Modern Family” took home top honors at the 2012 ceremony, winning awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, Supporting Actor (Eric Stonestreet), Supporting Actress (Julie Bowen) and Outstanding Direction (Steven Levitan). “Game Change” was awarded Outstanding Miniseries or Movie, and “Homeland” received Outstanding Drama Series.

Claire Danes, who starred in Broadway’s Pygmalion, took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her work in Showtime’s “Homeland,” and Maggie Smith, a Tony Award winner for Lettice and Lovage, received the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for “Downton Abbey.”

Other theatre-related wins included Glenn Weiss for Outstanding Direction for a Variety Special for the 65th Annual Tony Awards; Jessica Lange (The Glass Menagerie) for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for “American Horror Story”; and Julianne Moore (The Vertical Hour) for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for “Game Change.”

As previously reported, winners of the 2012 Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Awards were announced Sept. 15. They included theatre choreographer Joshua Bergasse ("Smash"), music director Rob Berman ("The Kennedy Center Honors"), songwriters Adam Schlesinger and David Javerbaum (the 2011 Tony Awards) and more.

Presenters at the ceremony included Tony nominee Kathy Bates, Jimmy Fallon, Steve Buscemi, Stephen Colbert, Seth MacFarlane, Aziz Ansari, Kat Dennings, Jane Levy, Hayden Panettiere, Matthew Perry, James Van Der Beek, Damon Wayans, Jr., Andre Braugher, Connie Britton, Louis C.K., Jon Cryer, Claire Danes, Jeremy Davies, Zooey Deschanel, Giancarlo Esposito, Tina Fey, Michael J. Fox, Ricky Gervais, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jon Hamm, Ron Howard, Mindy Kaling, Lucy Liu, Julianna Margulies, Melissa McCarthy, Julianne Moore, Jim Parsons, Tony nominee Martha Plimpton, Amy Poehler, Kiefer Sutherland, Emily Van Camp and Kerry Washington.

Here's a selection of the 2012 Primetime Emmy Award winners (winners names are in bold preceded by an asterisk):

Outstanding Comedy Series
“Curb Your Enthusiasm”
“Girls”
“30 Rock”
“Veep”
*“Modern Family”
“The Big Band Theory”

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Zooey Deschanel - “New Girl”
Lena Dunham - “Girls”
Edie Falco - “Nurse Jackie”
Amy Poehler - “Parks and Recreation”
Tina Fey - “30 Rock”
*Julia Louis-Dreyfus - “Veep”
Melissa McCarthy - “Mike & Molly”

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Larry David - “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
*Jon Cryer - “Two and a Half Men”
Louis C.K. - “Louie”
Jim Parsons - “The Big Bang Theory”
Don Cheadle - “House of Lies”
Alec Baldwin - “30 Rock”

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik - “The Big Bang Theory”
Merritt Weaver - “Nurse Jackie”
*Julie Bowen - “Modern Family”
Kristen Wiig - “Saturday Night Live”
Sofia Vergara - “Modern Family”
Kathryn Joosten - “Desperate Housewives”

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Ed O’Neill - “Modern Family”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson - “Modern Family”
Ty Burrell - “Modern Family”
*Eric Stonestreet - “Modern Family”
Bill Hader - “Saturday Night Live”
Max Greenfield - “New Girl”

Outstanding Drama Series
“Boardwalk Empire”
“Breaking Bad”
“Downton Abbey”
“Mad Men”
*“Homeland”
“Game of Thrones”

Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Julianna Margulies - “The Good Wife”
Michelle Dockery - “Downton Abbey”
Elisabeth Moss - “Mad Men”
Kathy Bates - “Harry’s Law”
*Claire Danes - “Homeland”
Glenn Close - “Damages”

Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi - “Boardwalk Empire”
Michael C. Hall - “Dexter”
Bryan Cranston - “Breaking Bad”
Hugh Bonneville - “Downton Abbey”
Jon Hamm - “Mad Men”
*Damian Lewis - “Homeland”

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Archie Panjabi - “The Good Wife”
Anna Gunn - “Breaking Bad”
*Maggie Smith - “Downton Abbey”
Joanne Froggatt - “Downton Abbey”
Christina Hendricks - “Man Men”
Christine Baranski - “The Good Wife”

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
*Aaron Paul - “Breaking Bad”
Giancarlo Esposito - “Breaking Bad”
Brendan Coyle - “Downton Abbey”
Jim Carter - “Downton Abbey”
Jared Harris - “Mad Men”
Peter Dinklage - “Game of Thrones”

Outstanding Miniseries or Movie
*“Game Change”
“American Horror Story”
“Hemingway & Gellhorn”
“Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia”
“Luther”
“Hatfields & McCoys”

Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
*Julianne Moore - “Game Change”
Connie Britton - “American Horror Story”
Nicole Kidman - “Hemingway & Gellhorn”

Emma Thompson - “The Song of Lunch”
Ashley Judd - “Missing”

Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Woody Harrelson - “Game Change”
Clive Owen - “Hemingway & Gellhorn”
Benedict Cumberbatch - “Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia”
Idris Elba - “Luther”
*Kevin Costner - “Hatfields & McCoys”
Bill Paxton - “Hatfields & McCoys”

Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Sarah Paulson - “Game Change”
Frances Conroy - “American Horror Story”
*Jessica Lange - “American Horror Story”
Judy Davis - “Page Eight”
Mare Winningham - Hatfields & McCoys”

Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Ed Harris - “Game Change”
Denis O’Hare - “American Horror Story”
David Strathairn - “Hemingway & Gellhorn”
Martin Freeman - “Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia”
*Tom Berenger - “Hatfields & McCoys”

Outstanding Variety Series
*“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”
“The Colbert Report”
“Real Time With Bill Maher”
“Saturday Night Live”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live”
“Late Night With Jimmy Fallon”

Outstanding Reality Competition Program
“So You Think You Can Dance”
*“The Amazing Race”
“Dancing With the Stars”
“Top Chef”
“Project Runway”
“The Voice”

Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program
Cat Deeley - “So You Think You Can Dance”
Phil Keoghan - “The Amazing Race”
Ryan Seacrest - “American Idol”
Betty White - “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers”
*Tom Bergeron - “Dancing With the Stars”

For more information and a complete list of winners, visit Emmys.com.