Emmy winners Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tony Hale talk huge night for 'Veep'

Emmy voters showed their deep support Veep on election night, as HBO’s political comedy took home four trophies on Sunday. (The show also claimed an Emmy for casting at the Creative Arts Emmys last weekend.) Last night’s wins included Outstanding Comedy Series (thus ending Modern Family‘s five-years-in-a-row streak), Lead Actress (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, her fourth win in this role), Supporting Actor (Tony Hale, his second), and Writing (for “Election Night,” which was co-written by former showrunner Armando Ianucci, who departed the show after this past season). EW caught up with the President and her bag man as they celebrated Veep‘s landslide victory.

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS

EW: Was winning the best comedy Emmy in Armando’s final year extra meaningful?

JLD: It was meaningful to me because we’ve been pounding away at this for four years, and to have won under these circumstances…. That season was so crazy, and that it’s Armando’s last season makes it particularly tender and touching.

Modern Family had won five years in a row. Were you hopeful? Were you thinking you had a shot now?

I was not super confident because the competition is stiff — Modern Family, Transparent, come on! But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t wishing… When we won writing, I thought, “Holy s—, something’s happening.”

What were you thinking would happen in the [Lead Actress] category? Congrats — that is a huge streak.

I didn’t think it would happen because there were other women that I thought would have won tonight — or frankly anybody in that category. And also because I’d won three times before for this, I thought people would be like, “All right, we’re sick of her.” So I was shocked.

How would you sum up the night for Veep?

Um, how do I say it? (thinking for a moment) We won the vote.

TONY HALE

EW: How were you feeling about your chances? Were you thinking this was going to be 2013 again?

I try not to go there before because it’s too much of a mental game, but then when they said the writers won, that was so beyond thrilling because what they do allows us to do what we do. I went out of my skin when they won.

And how did you feel when you won?

Out of body. There were a couple things. I was first out of my mind that Ricky Gervais was giving the award. I’m such a crazy fan of us that just seeing him l was like “Uhhhhhh,” and then I had to grasp: ‘Oh, I’m up there, I better start talking.”

Dethroning Modern Family was a big deal. What does it mean to the show to finally win the Outstanding Comedy trophy?

Well, to me it’s not about dethroning Modern Family. Just to win for the show was so exciting… It’s very affirming. Especially as we’re about to start shooting again. It’s just a great energy boost to keep going.

And Julia winning for the fourth time in a row—

My gosh. She would win for the rest of her life because I have first-hand experience of how good and talented she is. I want her to win every accolade out there.

It was a big day for the Bluths (Hale’s former Arrested Development co-star Jeffrey Tambor won an Emmy for Transparent).

My TV Dad! We were doing press in the back and that made it so special to do it with him.

What was the strangest thing that happened to you tonight?

I was petrified my zipper was down on stage. It wasn’t. But I checked and it was fine.