'More community than competition': Emmy nominees reflect ahead of Monday's awards show
LOS ANGELES â Tony Shalhoub has spent most of the past two decades in contention for a Primetime Emmy thanks to two shows: USA Networkâs âMonkâ â which yielded him three trophies â and Amazon Prime Videoâs âThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,â which he won for in 2019. Shalhoub's run as Adrian Monk ended over 12 years ago. And his role as Abe Weissman is nearing its finale; âMaiselâ is currently filming its fifth and final season.
For the fourth time since 2018, Shalhoub is up for best supporting actor in a comedy series.
â(Itâs) killing me,â the actor told USA TODAY about the showâs final season at The Hollywood Reporter and SAG-AFTRAâs Emmy nominee party Saturday night in West Hollywood. âItâs been such a great job. But they all come to an end. And I think weâre going to go out on a real high note.â
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Shalhoub, 68, called the Emmys âmore of a community thing than a competition,â but he admitted thatâs an easier stance to take when you own five of those six-pound statuettes (he won a Daytime Emmy in addition to his four Primetime awards). Others at Saturday nightâs event are looking for their first, including Sheryl Lee Ralph, who's up for best supporting actress in a comedy series in ABCâs âAbbott Elementary,â alongside her castmate Janelle James. Itâs the first nomination for both.
âI had no idea how quickly my life would change with this nomination,â said Ralph, 65. âThe kind of phone calls you get. The way business changes. Everything has been so different.â
Ralph wouldnât divulge details, but gushed about her awards-season experience as a nominee, calling it âeverything youâd expect the first to be.â
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That doesnât always guarantee it to be memorable. Christina Ricci replied ânot muchâ when asked what she remembered about her first nomination. It came back in 2006 for her guest role on ABCâs âGreyâs Anatomy.â Ricci is a nominee again, this time for best supporting actress in a drama series for her performance on Showtimeâs âYellowjackets.â
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Saturday nightâs party attendees werenât exclusively Emmy nominees, past or present. Rachel Zegler is currently filming the âHunger Gamesâ prequel in Germany. But the actress, 21, returned to the States and appeared alongside Gal Gadot at D23, the Disney fan expo, in Anaheim this weekend to unveil a first look at the new live-action âSnow White.â On Saturday night, the âWest Side Storyâ star popped by the party as a fan.
âIâm just here to support everybody named Oscar Isaac, and everybody named Andrew Garfield and everybody in 'Squid Game,'â Zegler said. âI just listed all of my favorites. If they ever want to get coffee, Iâm here.â
Isaac and Garfield have more in common than Zeglerâs support. Both are first-time Emmy nominees, and theyâre competing against each other in the same category: best actor in a limited series.
Or as Shalhoub might say, they happen to be in the same community.