LOS ANGELES, Sept 15 (Reuters) - At the Emmy Awards on

Sunday, Hollywood celebrated a diverse line-up of nominees and

winners at television's highest honors and feted the success of

Latino, LGBTQ+ and Japanese talent and stories.

Disney's ( DIS ) "Shogun" took the top prize of best drama

series following its record number of Emmys for a single season

of a television series.

Japanese actors Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada won best

actress and actor for "Shogun", while Frederick E. O. Toye won

best director for a drama series for his work on the show.

The series also picked up 14 trophies at the Creative Arts

Emmys, a precursor event that recognizes guest actors and crafts

such as cinematography and production design.

The series has garnered attention for featuring a majority

Japanese cast with Japanese being the primary language spoken

within the series. Upon winning best drama, Sanada spoke words

of thanks in Japanese.

A standout among Latino winners was "The Bear" actor Liza

Colon-Zayas, who plays a chef named Tina Marrero.

Colon-Zayas beat industry giants Meryl Streep and Carol

Burnett in the best supporting actress category.

"And to all the Latinas who are looking at me. Keep

believing and vote. Vote for your rights," Colon-Zayas said

during her acceptance speech.

Echoing her, actor and comedian John Leguizamo described the

Hollywood opportunity gaps that's he's faced throughout his

career in Hollywood.

Leguizamo called himself a "DEI hire," saying the D is for

diligence, the E is for excellence, the I is for imagination.

Usually, DEI stands for "diversity, equity, and inclusion,"

types of initiatives that help increase representation for

historically overlooked communities. Vice President Kamala

Harris has received accusations from the right of being a DEI

hire since her presidential nomination.

"Everybody played us, except us. I didn't see a lot of

people on TV who looked like me," Leguizamo said of his

childhood.

"We need more stories from excluded groups, Black, Asian,

Jewish, Arab, LGBTQ+ and disabled. And this show tonight is

proof that our industry is making progress," he added.

Mexican actor Diego Luna, a presenter, also spoke in Spanish

and reminded the audience that 50 million people speak that

language in the United States.

The award ceremony's focus on inclusion and diversity was

also a key aspect for Governors Award winner, Greg Berlanti.

The Governors Award recognizes an individual, company, or

organization that has made a "profound, transformational, and

long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of

television".

"TV history was made on 'Dawson's Creek' as Greg was the

first writer producer to show a gay kiss on prime times between

two teenagers, and that was back in 2000 I remember being so

proud," said actor and presenter Joshua Jackson.

Berlanti is a prolific showrunner with over 45 shows and a

record breaking 20 scripted series on TV at once.

He described himself as a "closeted gay kid" and gave a

heartfelt speech about how thankful he is to his late mother

along with a special thank you to his husband, Robbie Rogers.

"Back then, the only way to tell if another kid might be gay

was if he also watched Dynasty and Dallas and could name all

four of the Golden Girls."

He received a standing ovation.

Similarly, actor Jodie Foster thanked her wife Alexandra

Hedison, at the end of her acceptance speech for winning best

actress in a limited series for her role in "True Detective:

Night Country."

The Emmy awards also gave a special nod to actor Nava Mau.

Following in Black actor Laverne Cox' footsteps, who was the

first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting

Emmy award, was Mexican "Baby Reindeer" actor Mau.

Mau was the first transgender woman to be nominated in the

best supporting actress category for her work on the Netflix ( NFLX )

show.