Emmys 2012: Nominee reactions

“I’m in the country in England with my family. I’m just with one of my daughters now. My publicist managed to get a hold of me, and I was really thrilled. Listen, I had such a fantastic time on that project. It was one of the best experiences I’ve had. I’ll try to get in touch with Nicole [Kidman] today to congratulate her if I can get a hold of her.”

“I did pour a lot into [playing Ernest Hemingway]. I took 6 months out and read everything I could and traveled quite extensively. I went to Cuba and went after his house, and did Hemingway’s Paris and then went to Madrid. I don’t think you could take on a part like that without doing intense preparation.

“The beauty of winning the Emmy the first year you’re nominated is it takes the pressure off. You don’t need to win again. We hope Jesse [Tyler Ferguson)] or Ed [O’Neill] win this year. There’s no real competition. “Modern Family” is having a moment. We’ll enjoy it now because it won’t always be that way. We just want so badly to keep doing a great job, first and foremost. Every day I go to work, I don’t think about getting an Emmy. I think about doing a great job.” Stonestreet is pictured with his Emmy Award from 2010.

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“I am absolutely in shock. I was 100% certain I was not getting nominated! It is to the credit of Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady, Steve Molaro and our amazing writers who gave Amy Farrah Fowler the words to make her so much a part of people’s minds and hearts. I share this tremendously thrilling honor with them, our incredible cast and especially with Jim Parsons, who I constantly borrow line-readings from.”   (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

“I had such an amazing time on ‘AHS.’ That was another show I had fears about for a different reason than getting up and singing. It was so damn scary. But I learned so much as an actor. I think the scene that sticks out is the death by childbirth scene because, for me as an actor, the thing that is most scary is the most rewarding. That was a very arduous scene. It took three days to complete. Three days! I didn’t really know how I was going to do it. That was memorable. And you have to really get your face just right and scream....”

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“An Emmy nomination is what you dream about when you grow up and want to be an actress. It’s the pinnacle of TV, and I’m on TV.”

On female comedians: “Tina Fey said in her book something that I always think about. You don’t want it to be a female thing. You want it to get to a point where it’s just about comedy. That’s the truth. But you do have to go through a little bit of this whole ‘female comedies are trending,’ I guess. You have to have a breakthrough like this to get to that point. As for Lena [Dunham], I’m so happy for her. She’s a friend of mine. We were emailing this morning. She’s really killing it. Big time.”

“Well, I’m very excited for the show tonight. It will be an extra special performance of ‘Harvey,’ due to my joy. I’ll also celebrate with my new favorite drink, a green juice I’m addicted to at a juice bar near me. I know it sounds lame, but that’s what I’m doing.

“Going on a sixth season of ‘Big Bang,’ one of the things I think should be a challenge -- but isn’t -- is keeping things interesting. I mean, we’ve done this for five years now. But it’s never a challenge to not be bored. It’s never the same old, same old. I give the writers all the credit for that.

“The hardest part of playing Sheldon is memorizing the damn thing. I’m so grateful we shoot on Tuesday nights. I have all of Saturday and Sunday to cocoon up in my house and recite scientific terms over and over again until they somehow just fall out of my mouth.” Parsons poses with his Golden Globe award from 2011.

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“I’m feeling like I’m on cloud nine yet again. I don’t think I’ve been off that cloud since I won.

“Each season of ‘Breaking Bad’ just seems to go further. The show really gives the audience what it wants. And this year, Jesse Pinkman went through such torturous struggles. This kid is always struggling to keep his head above water.”

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“I’m going for a run after this call. Blowing off some steam. I’m going to sweat and cheer loudly and probably scare children along the way.”

On playing Walter White: “For an actor, it’s enriching to be able to look at the entire spectrum of where the character began and where he’s going to go all in one show. Usually, you have to pick several shows or projects to have that variety. Actors look for compelling characters and opportunities to dig into deep into the psyche. Think and act and react. It’s like, ‘Look at all the toys and tools I can play with.’ Walter’s got them all.”

My husband’s [Keith Urban] got the day off, so we will go and pick up our daughters from this little kind of preschool thing and then we’ll go get Popsicles. That sounds cheesy. But it’s 90-something degrees out, so that will be our celebration. It’s nice to share it with them.

On Martha Gellhorn’s feeling about people learning her life story: “‘She’d probably just kind of take it in her stride. I don’t think she’d get too caught up in it. Her writings are being explored now -- people have gone and read her work and really gone, ‘Wow, this woman was extraordinary.’ I think she would have liked that. She wanted her voice to be heard and her interpretation of things.”

On reactions to his war hero/terrorist character: “The best reaction was during a photo shoot, when this stylist told me that her friend said to her, ‘Can you imagine going out with that guy? You’d never know if he was lying.’ And I thought, ‘You know, that does go to the heart of it, doesn’t it?”

On playing an American: “I’m very aware that this is a role a lot of American actors would like to play. I think people forgive me generally. But one or two people have surprised me. They’ve said, ‘Wait a minute, you’re British.’ And I’m not sure if they’re going to hug me or punch my lights out.”

It was a very pleasant surprise. We’ve been texting each other and are so happy about it. It’s such a rare thing for us to be nominated as a group and we definitely didn’t have any expectation. ... I think there was almost a willful denial about it, because I don’t think anybody wants to expect something like that.

On the challenges of playing Phil Dunphy: “That balance of making the characters as real as possible, kind of like as human as possible but still likeable. But it’s a fun challenge. It’s something I’ve never had, because I’ve never had a character last for this long. Plays and films are so short-lived and the TV shows I’ve been on haven’t gone a season so it’s a really cool challenge to be playing a part for this long and to start to feel you have a sense for what the parameters and the characteristics are for that person.

“I have a great sense of closure. I’m just really proud that there’s somebody to represent “Damages.” I’m honored that it’s me -- but I think of our writers -- I certainly would not be here without them. It’s rare to have a woman my age playing someone as fascinating as her.

On heading back to the awards circuit after “Abert Nobbs”: “It’s really funny, because you can sound ungrateful, but I find the red carpet the biggest challenge of all. It was wonderful to be able to get back to my life. Five of the six years I’ve been married, I’ve been doing “Damages,” so it’s a great new world to be able to spend more time with my husband.

On celebrating: “Well, I’m going to the office because we’re getting started on Season 6. Then we’ll have a party -- but we would’ve had a party no matter what happened. We don’t need that much of an excuse to see each other.”

What’s a “Mad Men” party like? “Exactly what you think. It probably won’t be a lot of beer. Mixed drinks, old fashioneds, Champagne, vodka. A lot of wine drinkers, a lot of red wine. I’m not a big drinker personally. I’m more of an enabler. We are the last people to leave a party. No one on this show is too cool to be kicked out of a bar.

On playing Selina Meyer: “The most challenging -- what can I say, this question? [laughs]. Fun is more like it. The gig is pretty extraordinarily fun; it’s just a ball. It’s hard work, but I enjoy it. I am just so delighted that the show got nominated. Nominated on our first year out -- I mean, I am absolutely thrilled.”

On her competition: “I just realized that there are seven people in our category. What’s up with that? I probably shouldn’t mention it because I don’t want to bring it to the academy’s attention. I think that they announced an extra by accident and I’m just living in fear that it’s me.”