What does it mean to you to be recognized by the Academy for your performance?
JASON ISAACS (The White Lotus) I never dream about it; I never think about it. I do it for the doing of it. I can’t pretend it doesn’t feel lovely, but I just don’t take it personally. I’m just a conduit for bringing these wonderful stories to life. … The one thing the 23 nominations [that The White Lotus received] have in common is three-dimensional, surprising characters. Watching the final show, I was blown away by everybody; the standards across the board are so extraordinary. That’s because of the writing ability and how it lifts everyone up and encourages them to go bigger and more truthful.
CRISTIN MILIOTI (The Penguin) You never know how these things are going to go, and I’m blown away by the amount of nominations we have and that so many members of our incredible crew got nominated.
Nobody Wants This creator Erin Foster and stars Adam Brody and Kristen Bell.
Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage
ERIN FOSTER (Nobody Wants This) I was actually on an ADR session with Kristen [Bell] and I was like, “Kristen, you know that Emmy nominations are about to come out,” and she was like, “Erin, those things don’t matter.” And I’m like, “OK, well, they matter to me, so I am not going to play cool about it.” And then when we were watching, I was like, “Kristen, you just got nominated for an Emmy,” and I didn’t realize it was her first Emmy nomination. I assumed she’d been nominated 10 times. And then we got ours, and my husband was downstairs at the gym, and he came upstairs right before they were being announced, and we watched together, and then he went back downstairs. It was really cute.
When was the moment you realized you might get the nomination?
OWEN COOPER (Adolescence) I was waiting and waiting, because I got back from school, and then I had to wait an hour and a half until nominations came out. I didn’t want to hype it up too much. If I didn’t get nominated, then I’d be a bit worried about it. But then I did, and it was really crazy. [The show’s] just massive.
COOPER KOCH (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story) I don’t know if I ever thought it would happen. I hoped that it would.
What other nominees are you rooting for?
MILIOTI I’m thrilled to see the nominations for Black Mirror [Milioti starred in one episode this season], as well.
KOCH Severance, The White Lotus, Only Murders in the Building.
JENNY SLATE (Dying for Sex) I feel so happy for everyone who is nominated, but there are certain nominations — like Brian Tyree Henry, I love that person so much. I met him through the [awards] circuit. Marcel the Shell With Shoes On was nominated for an Oscar the same year he was, and we sat next to each other at a lunch and talked the whole time. He texted me saying, “Congratulations,” and I texted back saying, “I’m at the UPS store shipping a lampshade and haven’t been on the internet. Please tell me you’ve also been nominated, don’t break my heart right now.” And he’s like, “Yes. Yes, I was.”
COOPER I have to go with Pedro Pascal because I’ve watched both seasons of The Last of Us, and they were just amazing. And Bella Ramsey got nominated, and they’re really good.
FOSTER I love The Studio. I feel like The Studio really is a shoo-in for being the favorite this year, so I guess they’re our biggest competition. So if I can wish ill upon those people, I guess that’s who I should wish it toward. (Laughs.)
Who is the coolest person you’ve met on the campaign trail this season?
MILIOTI I’ve had lovely talks with Kathy Bates and Jodie Foster that have been mind-blowingly meaningful to me as someone who worships their work.
What feedback have you gotten from audiences about what your show has meant to them?
KOCH After episode five, I had a couple friends who I think had experienced some similar things in their life in terms of abuse or whatnot. I remember them being incredibly moved and seen and feeling shook to the core in a good way and feeling like, “Wow, I feel represented here.” I think that’s just so special.
SLATE This show provokes a lot of thinking about, “What are the ways that I think I’m keeping myself in a place of safety, but are actually taking the wind out of my sails?” I’ve talked to a lot of people who’ve had their own light-bulb moments while watching the show — strangers in an airport, people who have interviewed me, friends of my mother-in-law, and even my older sister and her colleagues at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
MILIOTI I’ve had a lot of meaningful interactions with both people inside and outside of our industry about how much episode four [which focused on what led Sofia to Arkham Asylum] affected them. That episode certainly affected me. It’s one of my favorite things that I’ve been a part of. I felt the energy around it, whether it was through interviews or talking to people on the street in my neighborhood. It’s rare when the feeling you have about something is matched by the world.
Chris Gardner, Seija Rankin, Brande Victorian and Steven Zeitchik contributed to this report.
This story appeared in the July 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.