Inside Sarah Paulson's Emmy Night With Marcia Clark

— -- Emmy winner Sarah Paulson gave one of the most impassioned speeches at the 2016 Emmy Awards Sunday night. She admitted that, like others, she too judged Marcia Clark by what she saw on TV during the O.J. Simpson trial.

The "People V. O.J." star, 41, added that she was genuinely sorry for that and discovered she was completely wrong about Clark after getting to know the famed lawyer in preparation to play her on the show.

But Paulson's tribute to Clark didn't stop there. After she won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series, she showed her appreciation to the woman she so expertly portrayed in the crime series.

She brought Clark, 63, to the show as her date. She even engraved Clark's name next to hers on the Emmy statue, the L.A. Times reported.

"It was an amazing night," Clark told the Times. "I'm so glad I could share it with her."

Paulson's generous gestures Sunday night were the ultimate sign of respect. She spoke to "Good Morning America" after the Emmys on why she took the role so seriously, what she's learned and why Clark had to be there last night to share in the success.

"God I just wanted her here so much," she said. "I had no idea if this was going to happen [winning an Emmy] but if it did and she wasn't in the room, it would have been really upsetting. And it was always a risk to take cause she could have be here and they could have called someone else's name and I would have been like 'Welp, you're at a party...'"

Paulson said having Clark by her side was "meaningful," admitting she was a bit nervous to give her speech if she won.

"To get up there as yourself and expose your own feelings, it can be daunting," she added. "I was one of those actresses who watched the Emmy Awards when I was a child, so this is a very crazy thing that's happening to me."