EXCLUSIVE: 'Veep' Star Anna Chlumsky Reacts to 'Surreal' 5th Emmy Nom and Being Called 'the Meryl Streep of TV
Anna Chlumsky got a big surprise while announcing the nominees for the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Thursday morning.
In the middle of reading off the names of nominees, S.W.A.T. star Shemar Moore was handed a gold envelope that revealed that the 36-year-old actress had been nominated for her fifth consecutive Emmy for her role as the feisty Amy Brookheimer on Veep. Upon hearing the news, Chlumsky's mouth dropped.
"I especially wasn't expecting to be told at that point," she told ET's Leanne Aguilera of the nomination. "I didn't expect at all to be told that. So, that was nice. It caught me in a place where I was actually focusing on everybody else's good news."
As for earning yet another nomination, Chlumsky admitted, "It's surreal! ...It's not every day that you're nominated, let's face that. So, already, it's such a pleasure and encouragement, and then to be actually in the room [when] all that stuff is going on! Yeah, it's a little bit [Kurt] Vonnegut, but in a good way."
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While announcing her nomination, Moore referred to Chlumsky as the "Meryl Streep of TV," a title that clearly took the My Girl star off guard. "My gosh! I mean, hey, from everybody else's mouth to God's ears," she quipped. "I mean, well, Meryl Streep's on TV too sometimes. So, she's the Meryl Streep of TV."
Veep received 19 nominations in all, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus earning her eighth Emmy nod, and Matt Walsh and Tony Hale being recognized in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category. The HBO series is also up for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Hugh Laurie is nominated for his guest role on the show.
"Matt and Tony and Julia, obviously, I'm very proud of -- and our writers and director," she gushed before calling out some other shows that she's also thrilled got recognized. "I'm so happy Westworld and Handmaid's Tale are on there -- and I love Master of None and Atlanta."
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Chlumsky was also excited to see that Transparent's Judith Light and This Is Us' Sterling K. Brown nabbed nominations. "I was so happy! I mean, Sterling is on there and he's a friend," she gushed. "Judith is a friend and she's in my category, so I'm stoked about that."
Speaking directly to Brown, Chlumsky exclaimed, "Congratulations, Sterling! Well deserved. Muah!"
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