She beat out Kate Mara, Jane Fonda and Diana Rigg with her guest role in the Showtime period drama
Allison Janney has added another trophy to her Emmy collection
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The Masters of Sex actress was recognized for her guest role as unfulfilled wife Margaret Scully in Showtime’s period drama, the first Emmy for the series starring Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan.
This marks Janney’s fifth Emmy win, as she previously nabbed four awards for quick-witted White House press secretary C.J. Cregg in NBC’s political drama The West Wing.
Accepting her award on stage Saturday at the Creative Arts Emmys, Janney made sure to thank “the crew guy who got me a shot of bourbon before my first sex scene.” The actress has a history of delivering memorable lines from the podium. She previously joked “I just came” upon winning a Critics’ Choice Award for her role in the sex research series.
She also noted that this has been one of her favorite roles to play. Backstage, she explained: “She is closer to my personality than most characters I’ve played. I just loved the way she discovered what she was lacking in her life. It was such a quiet discovery.”
Janney emphasized how much the character stretched her as an actress. “I felt that Margaret Scully challenged me in ways that I’ve never been challenged before as an actress on so many levels — on an emotional level, on a physical level — and having to do sex scenes was extraordinarily nerve-wracking and stressful for me and something that I didn’t think I’d have to do at this age, frankly.”
But the anticipation isn’t over just yet for the seasoned actress. Janney is also up for supporting actress in a comedy Aug. 25 at the Primetime Emmy Awards for CBS’ Mom, in which she stars opposite Anna Faris.
“I’m really over the moon to be involved with two completely different shows and to love them both so much,” Janney told The Hollywood Insight after she received the news of her two nominations. “Being recognized for both is just a really wonderful feeling.”
Masters co-star Caplan is also vying for an Emmy for lead actress in a drama series.
Though prominently featured in season one of the period drama, Janney is only in the first episode of the second season. But Masters creator and executive producer Michelle Ashford recently told Hollywood Insight that they’re already working on bringing her back for the third season, acknowledging that Janney is “game for it.”
“Once we had Allison, we thought, ‘We’re never letting [her] go,’ ” said Ashford, who is determined to work through the inevitable scheduling conflicts.
Janney remains appreciative for the time she was able to spend on the series: “It’s just an incredible storyline, and I’m just so lucky that I got to play this part.”
