Inside our Emmy Awards ‘For Your Consideration’ events
Ahead of the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, we’ve been welcoming high-profile creatives – from Matt Bomer to Quinta Brunson – into the Houses for member screenings and Q&As
Thursday 5 September 2024 By James Williams
On Sunday 15 September, the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles will welcome some of the television industry’s biggest names for the 2024 Emmy Awards. And as part of the voting process, we’ve been hosting a series of ‘For Your Consideration’ member screenings, inviting actors into the Houses for some special Q&As.
On Thursday 16 May, Gillian Anderson joined us at Soho House West Hollywood to discuss Scoop, a frontrunner for Best TV Movie. Despite favourable reviews for her portrayal of British broadcaster, Emily Maitlis, Anderson admitted that she was initially reluctant to take on the role.
‘I was nervous about playing Emily because she’s so well known. She actually lives in my neighbourhood. In fact, I’d just seen the first screening of the film and the next day I was with my dog in Hyde Park when Emily ran past with a friend. My instinct was to shout after her, “I just saw our film and I really liked it” – but fortunately, I didn’t.’
‘I wanted [season three] to be funnier and a little brasher, which is always a balance when you’re on network television. I want the audience to always have emotional reactions to our show and not always feel they know what’s going to happen,’ she explained. ‘I’m not here to reinvent the wheel with Abbott. I love tropes. I think tropes are beautiful. Whenever I’m trying to go back to the best forms of storytelling, I will crack open “Mary Had A Little Lamb”, Goldilocks And The Three Bears, because these stories are compelling for a reason.’
‘It just felt pretty electric off the bat,’ said Einbinder on the chemistry between herself and Smart. ‘We have the same spark we had from our very initial audition. And that can’t be fostered, especially when we have to go toe-to-toe in so many scenes. I think we just lucked out.’
‘Johnny and I sat down at a coffee shop before shooting and I said to him, “Can you believe some of the things we have to do together?”,’ Bomer laughed. ‘We had an intimacy coordinator, but it was so great to have a scene partner I could trust implicitly. We gave each other the freedom to keep those scenes in the moment, so they weren’t over-choreographed. It was spontaneous and hopefully reflective of the characters’ dynamics together.’
‘It’s the best show I’ve ever worked on,’ she said. ‘The leads steering the ship [Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez] set a beautiful tone and a phenomenal working environment. They’re just so warm and loving. I’m proud to be a part of something that’s beginning to stand the test of time and it’s not getting old or stale.’
‘So there’s a lady running for president who looks a lot like me and people are very excited,’ she joked, referring to her Saturday Night Live impersonation of Kamala Harris. ‘People have been yelling at me a lot saying “you getting ready?” or whispering “hello, madam president”. But Bridesmaids is something people will always talk to me about. I once went to Starbucks and when the cup came, instead of saying my name it said, “For the woman who took a s**t in the street!”’
Visit our events page for more details on what’s happening around the Houses this month
