Bryan Cranston suffers surprise Emmy Awards loss to Jeff Daniels

Breaking Bad wins, but its lead actor loses at the Emmy Awards

Bryan Cranston arrives at the Emmy Awards (Getty Images)

Bryan Cranston suffered a surprise loss at the Emmy Awards as Jeff Daniels beat the Breaking Bad star to the Lead Actor in a Drama Series gong.

The star of Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom beat competition from Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville, Homeland's Damian Lewis, Mad Men's Jon Hamm and House of Cards' Kevin Spacey.

Brian Stetler of the New York Times said there were audible gasps as Daniels beat Cranston to the coveted award, while The Hollywood Reporter said: "Nobody saw that coming."

Following his win, Daniels said: "I didn't expect this. I usually don't win anything. The last thing I won was for The Squid and the Whale, best actor over 50 from the AARP [American Association of Retired Persons]. With all due respect to the AARP, this is better."

Breaking Bad won the Best Drama Series category, while Cranston's on-screen partner Anna Gunn nabbed the Supporting Actress award.

But Aaron Paul and Jonathan Banks both lost out in the Supporting Actor category to Boardwalk Empire's Bobby Cannavale.

Prior to the ceremony, Cranston spoke to Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet, saying next week’s Breaking Bad finale will resemble a "holocaust".

When asked whether he would be starring in a spin-off, Cranston replied: "Spin-off? We have to see if anyone survives the holocaust."

The actor also said he was glad the show was going out on a high, adding: "Vince Gilligan, our writer, finished at just the right time. The ending is perfect, unapologetic; it is perfect Breaking Bad."

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