MANILA – Actors in local productions took home big prizes at the Asian Television Awards held in Manila on Thursday night.

Eswari Gunasagar won Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of a mixed martial arts fighter caught up in an underground fight tournament in Vasantham’s Tamil series Fearless Heart, also titled Achamillai Manamae.

“This means so much to me. I’m literally shaking, I’m so grateful to be here,” said the actress-host, who has also appeared in Channel 5 series as well as Jack Neo’s movies Ah Girls Go Army and Ah Girls Go Army Again this year.

She beat Hong Kong’s Rosina Lam and Selena Lee, India’s Huma Qureshi, Taiwan’s Liu Yin-Shang, Thailand’s Tontawan Tantivejakul as well as Singapore’s Rebecca Lim and Jojo Goh.

Meanwhile, Channel 8 actor Jeffrey Xu won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of a scheming drug abuser in The Takedown. He won best supporting actor at the Star Awards in April for the same role.

Xu, who married actress Felicia Chin, in October, was not in attendance at the award ceremony, but watched it on his mobile phone while having dinner together with his wife and mother-in-law.

Chin captured the jubilant moment he found out he had won and shared it on Instagram Stories.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao after his win, he said: “We were watching the live stream and when my name was announced as the winner, my wife and mother-in-law were happier than me.”

Local actor Norman Ishak also took home an acting prize for Best Actor Leading Male Performance – Digital for Mediacorp’s Malay series Identiti, in which he plays a long-lost son who reappears after 20 years.

DJ Sonia Chew won Best Host/Presenter – Digital for the second season of Men, Explain, a podcast that explores the alternative male perspective in everyday conversation and feminine struggles.

The best actor prize went to Taiwan’s Rexen Cheng (You Have To Kill Me), while best supporting actress went to Chanikan Tangkabodee (F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers). South Korean crime thriller Through The Darkness won Best Drama Series.