At the age of 20, Timothy Hutton won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing a troubled teen in Robert Redford’s “Ordinary People.” Now, 34 years later, Hutton has received his first Emmy nomination for “American Crime,” the ABC miniseries in which he and Felicity Huffman play parents whose son is murdered. The wrenching, racially-charged drama received 10 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for Hutton.
How are you going to celebrate?
I don’t know yet. A couple of friends called, and there might be a dinner in the works later on. For the afternoon, I’m probably doing to take my son and his friend fishing. And on a day like this, it doesn’t matter if we get skunked.
Does it change your view of awards to have won the Oscar at the age of 20?
Back when I was 20, I felt like it was a very specific time involving a specific movie. And because I was in the middle of shooting “Taps,” I was quite distracted when the awards stuff was going on. But all these years later, to be on a project that means as much as “Ordinary People” did then, it means a lot to have this happen.
Also read: Emmy Nominees 2015: The Complete List
Have you watched the other nominees? Do you have a sense of who your stiffest competition is in the category?
I’m not thinking about it that way right now. I have seen the different people — Richard Jenkins, of course, and David [Oyelowo] in “Nightingale,” and Mark Rylance is amazing in “Wolf Hall,” and Ricky [Gervais]…
This is a dark, challenging role, and your character undergoes a real change that isn’t necessarily for the better.
There were difficult scenes, but it was such a well put together production that the filming of it was actually quite peaceful. The writing was so strong, and everybody was focused and dedicated to what they were doing, and I was so fortunate that Felicity Huffman was playing the role of my wife. It just felt like the right situation, the right circumstances. And we were locked in. I’m very excited that we all get to meet up in a couple of weeks for Season 2 with a lot of the same actors, but different characters. It’s a special, unique experience working on this show.