Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert presented the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series . The award went to Ricky Gervais for '' Extras '' , but after reading his name , Jon Stewart was informed that Gervais was not at the ceremony . Stewart immediately announced , " Ricky Gervais could n't be here tonight , so instead we 're going to give this to our friend Steve Carell " ( who had been nominated for his role on '' The Office '' ) . Carell ran onto the stage and hugged Stewart and Colbert as they all screamed in mock celebration , then ran off together with the award . As a joke , in 2008 , at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards , Ricky Gervais showed a video of the moment , commenting , " Look at Carell 's stupid face , " accusing Carell of " stealing " his award , and demanding it back . He approached Carell , who was sitting straight-faced in the front row , and repeated , " Give me my Emmy , " over and over , even going so far as to tickle Carell , until Carell produced the statue from under his seat
60th Primetime Emmy Awards
60th Primetime Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards