While presenting the award for supporting actor in a drama series during the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, Kerry Washington paid tribute to late actor Michael K. Williams. 

The actress described The Wire and Lovecraft Country star as a “brilliantly talented actor and a generous human being who has left us far too soon,” she said on Sunday night (Sept. 19), PEOPLE reports. “I know you’re here because you wouldn’t miss this. Your excellence, your artistry will endure. We love you,” she added.

The talented actor was nominated for his role as Montrose Freeman in HBO’s Lovecraft Country in the drama category. He was considered a frontrunner before his sudden death earlier this month, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

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Williams was nominated alongside John Lithgow (Perry Mason), Tobias Menzies (The Crown), Bradley Whitford, O-T Fagbenle and Max Minghella (The Handmaid’s Tale), Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian) and Chris Sullivan (This Is Us).

Tobias Menzies of The Crown took home the win. 

Michael K. Williams, 54, was found dead in his New York City apartment in Brooklyn on Sept. 6. He was laid to rest nearly a week later in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral.