When it comes to turning Emmy nominations into Emmy wins, Julia Garner is so far batting a thousand. The actor was nominated in 2019 and 2020 in the supporting actress in a drama series category for “Ozark” — and she won both times.
Now, Garner has doubled her Emmy nominations tally to four, picking up another supporting actress nod for the final season of “Ozark” and also landing one for her “Inventing Anna” role, as lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie.
Given her “Ozark” success, that nomination wasn’t a shock. But the success of “Inventing Anna” at the Emmys — including in the key limited or anthology series category — was a bit of a surprise, especially given the expectation that another Netflix series, “Maid,” would make the cut.
Yet in hindsight, it shouldn’t have been a surprise at all. By now it’s clear that Julia Garner should be added to the list of awards catnip — the roster of stars that continue to amaze on screen, and whose work has not gone unnoticed by industry voters. Think of other awards favorites like Olivia Colman or Sarah Paulson (who returns to the Emmy table this year with “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” her eighth nomination).
Garner has clearly impressed over the years on “Ozark” as Ruth Langmore, but has also shown her range in recent years via “Waco,” “The Americans,” “Dirty John” and now, “Inventing Anna.”
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In playing socialite huckster Anna Delvey, Garner had to perfect a bizarre, one-of-a-kind accent while playing a character whose demeanor is more or less bored psychopath. Shondaland’s Betsy Beers told me why they felt so fortunate to land Garner for the role.
“She is perfect because she can do anything and is just an astoundingly talented actress,” Beers says. “She, like Anna, is a chameleon, and has the uncanny ability to truly become the character she is playing. She dug into the research, and watching her become Anna was a joy to behold. And perfecting that accent was no easy task!”
In a year boasting some of the best performers and performances in recent memories, nearly every Emmy category is super-competitive. And that especially goes for Garner’s fields; In supporting drama actress, she’s up against an overdue nod for Rhea Seehorn (“Better Call Saul”), two stars from the hottest show on TV (“Severance’s” Sarah Snook and J. Smith-Cameron), a nominee looking to make history (“Squid Game” star Jung Ho-yeon), another double nominee in Sydney Sweeney (“Euphoria”) and two icons: Christina Ricci (“Yellowjackets”) and Patricia Arquette (“Severance”).
The lead actress in a limited series field is also stacked, with Paulson, Toni Collette (“The Staircase”), Lily James (“Pam & Tommy”), Margaret Qualley (“Maid”) and Amanda Seyfried (“The Dropout”).
But never count the awards catnip out. Garner is next set to star as Madonna in a biopic on the legendary performer, and also is busy getting into the production game — signing a deal with Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements’ Tomorrow Studios. When we broke news of Garner’s next project, the international jewel heist mystery “Balabusta,” without knowing much more about it, I just know I need to see it.
Adelstein told me how the Garner deal is “probably one of the best we’ve ever made.” Added Clements: “She is so bright, so prolific… oh my goodness, that woman is going to be an Oscar winner.”