Sarah Paulson is no stranger to the Emmys, having been nominated twice before. This year is though, she faces even stiffer competition in the Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie category for her role as Cordelia Foxx in FX’s “American Horror Story: Coven.” She’s up against her costars Jessica Lange, Minnie Driver and Kristen Wiig for the trophy. Does she have what it takes to win her first Emmy?
Since you can’t vote for yourself, whose names are you throwing on the ballot?
Ryan Murphy for directing “The Normal Heart.” Robin Wright for “House of Cards.” Matt Bomer for “The Normal Heart” and Margo Martindale for “The Americans.” And anyone in the cast of “Orange Is the New Black.” Anyone. And the show itself. Every single category for “Orange Is the New Black.”
What was the toughest thing you had to do this season?
“The toughest thing was to wear the prosthetics over my eyes once my eyes had been gouged out. But, it wasn’t the prosthetics itself that was the hard part. The hardest part was that it prohibited me from making real eye contact with my fellow actors. So, every time I had to do an intense scene or an emotional scene, or an intimate scene, I couldn’t see into anyone’s eyes and it just made me realize how much I use that in my work, the other actor’s face and reactions.”
Any fun experience during the show that you would like to share?
“That was probably the episode where I became The Supreme. Because I finally, after a season of watching everybody get to have special magic powers, and all I had was… I was a really great herbologist… I actually got to do some telekinesis, I got to teleport, I got to do everything and survived it all. So that was the most fun. And also just being the oldest member of the cast, in terms of the young girls section of the cast, I got to finally be like, ‘You know what girls, I can do all of it and you can only do one of them.’ So I liked that.”
For those who haven’t got a glimpse of the show, how do you entice them to watch?
“I guess what I would say if they’ve never seen it is, ‘Look, you don’t have to start at the beginning, you don’t have to watch Season 1 to begin watching Season 3 or 4. Every season stands alone so all you have to do is make a tiny commitment to watch 13 episodes, which we all know anybody can do in their bed over the course of a day and a half. So, there’s really no excuse.”
Do you sometimes fantasize playing any role from other series?
“That’s a toss-up between Robin Wright on “House of Cards” and Maisie Williams on “Game of Thrones.”
What was the last TV show you watched and how many episodes in one sitting?
“It was the second season of “Orange is the New Black” and I watched maybe six of them in one sitting. And then I think I gave myself a four hour break and maybe grabbed myself a sustaining meal, and then I went back and finished.”