Delighted O'Dowd collects Emmy for 'Moone Boy'

Chris O'Dowd collected the Comedy award for ‘Moone Boy’ at the 2013 International Emmy Awards Gala last night.

Irish actor Chris O'Dowd won the Comedy award for ‘Moone Boy’ at the 2013 International Emmy Awards Gala last night.

The Boyle native, a star and executive producer of the comedy series, collected the award with writer Nick Vincent Murphy at the star-studded bash at the New York Hilton.

'Moone Boy' portrays a young Irish boy who survives his chaotic family life with the help of an imaginary grown-up pal.

The awards, hosted this year by British comedian John Oliver and presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, honour excellence in television programming outside the US.

Awards were won by TV productions from six countries: Britain, Brazil, France, Australia, South Korea and Germany.

Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock in the latest ‘Star Trek’ film, presented the honorary International Emmy Founders Award to writer-director-producer JJ Abrams, who took a break from pre-production work on the new 'Star Wars'.

Sean Bean, best known for his roles in 'The Lord Of The Rings' and 'Game Of Thrones', won the best actor award for his role in an episode of the crime anthology series 'Accused'.

He portrayed a shy English literature teacher with a secret alter-ego of a flamboyant transvestite who gets involved in an affair with a married man that leads to a brutal crime of passion.

The British documentary 'Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender', which focuses on the rock singer's solo projects outside Queen, tied for the arts programming award with South Korea's 'Hello?! Orchestra', in which violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill conducts an orchestra of children like himself from multicultural families.

Brazil's Fernanda Montenegro, who received an Oscar nomination for the 1998 film 'Central Station', was chosen best actress for her role in 'Doce De Mae (Sweet Mother)' in which she plays an 85-year-old woman who wishes to live independently and take on new experiences, like dancing.

The Emmy for best drama series went to France's 'Les Revenants (The Returned)', about a small alpine village that is rocked when several people who are presumed dead suddenly reappear at their homes as ghostly characters in human form.

The award for non-scripted entertainment went to Australia's 'Go Back To Where You Came From - Series 2', in which six high-profile Australians of differing political views see the world through the eyes of refugees - visiting conflict zones and refugee camps.