By George Stark

PUBLISHED: 19:55 EST, 22 September 2013 | UPDATED: 05:26 EST, 23 September 2013

For many, the most exciting part of the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards was the battle between Netflix's House of Cards and Breaking Bad, as well as long-running show Mad Men.

And while Anna Gunn had a promising start winning Best Supporting Actress, Breaking Bad's lead actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul were snubbed on the night, both missing out on individual awards.

However, the thrill-seeking series did take home the award for Best Drama at the event, which was held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

Scroll down for videos...

Anna, 45, fought off stiff competition Maggie Smith and Christina Hendricks, for her incredible work as Skyler White on the hit show.

Then, Scandal star Kerry Washington presented the award for Best Supporting Actor to Bobby Cannavale for his work on Boadwalk Empire, leaving Aaron Paul empty handed.

And Walter White himself lost out on the gong for Best Actor to Jeff Daniels who won for his portrayal of an idealistic TV anchorman in The Newsroom. 

But Bryan seemed in better spirits later when they won for Best Drama Series, as the award was presented to them by actor Will Ferrell and his adorable young children.

Jeff noted that he'd also received an age 50-plus acting honor from the American Association of Retired Persons.

'With all due respect to the AARP, this is even better,' Daniels said.

Tony Hale of Veep claimed the trophy for best supporting actor in a comedy, a category that has been owned in recent years by the men of Modern Family.

'Oh, man.... This is mindblowing, mindblowing,' Hale said.

Laura Linney was named best actress in a miniseries or movie for The Big C: Hereafter.

Surprise win? Bobby Cannavale from Boardwalk Empire took the trophy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama beating nominee Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad

The Voice won best reality-competition program, while The Colbert Report was crowned best variety show.

The ceremony's first hour was relatively somber, with memorial tributes and a doleful song by Elton John in honor of the late musical star Liberace, the subject of the nominated biopic Behind the Candelabra.

'Liberace left us 25 years ago and what a difference those years have made to people like me,' said John, who is openly gay in contrast to the closeted Liberace portrayed in the TV movie.

Robin Williams offered another tribute. 'Jonathan Winters was my mentor,' Williams said of the actor-comedian. 'I told him that and he said, 'Please, I prefer idol.''

Steven Soderbergh later won the award for Best Director for the HBO film.

And Michael Douglas won his first ever Emmy - having had five nominations previously - for his starring role as Liberace in the biopic. 

Michael shocked in his speech thanking 'my wife Catherine', and also saying he hoped he would be 'allowed' to see his son Cameron Douglas 'soon'.

He also paid tribute to his co-star Matt Damon.

Also honored was Cory Monteith, the Glee star who died at age 31 in July of a drug and alcohol overdose.

'Cory was a beautiful soul,' said his co-star Jane Lynch. 'He was not perfect, which so many of us here tonight can relate to. His death is a tragic reminder of the rapacious, senseless destruction that is brought on my addiction.'

There was sadness too, when Henry Bromell posthumously won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Homeland. 

Bromwell's wife Sarah fought back the tears as she gave a short acceptance speech on his behalf.

Edie Falco recalled her late The Sopranos co-star James Gandolfini, saluting him for his 'fierce loyalty' to his friends and family and his work with military veterans.

'You all knew Jim the actor. I was lucky enough to know Jim the man,' she said.

The Nurse Jackie actress struggled to hold back the tears as they played a tribute to the late actor.

But keeping the night full of lighthearted laughs was How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris, who went down a storm with the star-studded audience.

The actor was helped by 30 Rock star Tina Fey and Parks and Recreation's Amy Poehler who joined in with a skit, begging the actor to show off his twerking skills on stage. 

Tina was one of the first big winners along with her writing partner Tracey Wigfield for 30 Rock.

And Tina and Amy continued to bring the laughs when presented the Supporting Actress Comedy award, pretending to trip as they took to the stage.

The funny duo handed out the gong to Merritt Wever of Nurse Jackie, who melted hearts as she nervously accepted the award, saying simply: 'I've got to go, bye!'.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won for Best Actress in a Comedy, beating out rivals including Edie Falco for Nurse Jackie, Tina Fey for 30 Rock, and Lena Denham for Girls.

There could have been history made for Scandal star Kerry Washington, as the first African-American nominee for Best Actress in a drama since Cicely Tyson in 1995 for Sweet Justice.

But Kerry lost out to Claire Danes who won for Homeland.

Diahann Carroll, the first African-American Emmy nominee in 1963 for Naked City, created one of the night's most heartfelt moments when she took the stage with Kerry Washington and noted the importance of diversity in the industry and Emmys.

'Tonight, she better get this award,' Carroll said of Washington, who covered her eyes in embarrassment.

The Emmy Sunday represented the third time Danes has taken home a trophy in four years.

She won a best actor award for a TV movie in 2010 for her role in HBO's Temple Grandin.

Life became complicated for Danes' Homeland character, as she became romantically involved with the former POW who is suspected of turning against his country.

Danes was nominated for a best actress Emmy in 1995 for My So-Called Life.

Arriving at the event, Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones was in a chalk-blue gown with geometric leaf cutouts, Claire Danes of Homeland wore a champagne-colored beaded gown and Robin Wright of House of Cards was in a black silk gown.

There were blue skies over the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and a slight cool breeze, a refreshing change from hot temperatures last year when the stars were pouring sweat as they made their way inside.

Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul brought two dates - his mom, Darla, along with his wife. 

Speaking about his decision to bring his mother, Aaron said: 'She is just so incredible and always has been so supportive. She literally threw me out of the house when I was 17 and said, "Good luck." She always knew I wanted to do this.'

Inside the Nokia Theatre, all eyes were on the House of Cards.

The political thriller, the first online program to compete for the top trophy, failed to bag the prize but its star Kevin Spacey made a big impression as joined in on a skit with Neil Patrick Harris.

Host Neil Patrick Harris kicked off the show with a skit involving former Emmy presenters, including Jane Lynch, Conan O'Brien, and Jimmy Fallon.

ABC's Modern Family won its fourth consecutive best comedy series trophy.

Spacey, his co-star Robin Wright and Jason Bateman of Netflix's comedy Arrested Development were the first to snare lead online series bids.

There have been Internet nominees before, such as last year's Web Therapy and 30 Rock: The Webisodes in a short-format category, but not in the premier fields of acting and best series.

At last weekend's creative arts Emmys for technical and other achievements, Behind the Candelabra received a leading eight awards. Overall network leaders included HBO with 20 awards, followed by CBS with 15 and NBC with eight.