A version of this story about Julia Louis-Dreyfus first appeared in the Down to the Wire issue of TheWrap’s Emmy magazine.
She could break the Emmy record for consecutive acting wins for the same show, and the record for most Emmys won for one role, with six. She could tie Cloris Leachman for the most ever won by a male or female performer, with eight. She could win her third consecutive Outstanding Comedy Series award for executive producing Veep, and push her total number of wins into double digits.
Yes, Julia Louis-Dreyfus could be the Queen of the Emmys once again, which she admits is slightly uncomfortable but also quite nice. “It is sort of an embarrassment of riches, there’s no doubt about it,” she told TheWrap. “But I’m very proud to have won like that.”
She paused. “I lost a lot, too, FYI. There was a long period of time where I was nominated, which was awesome, but I lost. And that makes the winning that much more sweet.
“But at this point I can honestly say that the pressure is about the work itself. The awards are great, and I won’t say that I don’t want to win, because it would be awesome. But the Emmys are in September, when we’re about to start shooting, and it would be a reminder of the work at hand.
“Not to undermine the value of trophies, but they remind you that you have to do the work.”
This past season, she said, she had to work through the post-election blues when “nothing felt funny,” at the same time taking some characters into new spaces. “There were layers peeled back,” she said, “and that was fun, because our actors are capable of going into deeper and darker places.”
And now, as the team begins to plan Season 7, she faces the usual challenge: “We feel very protective of what we’ve done thus far, and we don’t want to sully it.”
But first, there’s one more trip to the Emmys on her calendar. “Going to these awards shows has changed in my lifetime,” she said. “I remember the first time I went, I think I just bought a dress. It was a very different scene, and now it’s about so many other things.
“So you just try to stay loose, pack some food into your evening bag and keep a sense of humor about it.”
Read more in the Down to the Wire issue of TheWrap’s Emmy magazine.
