Film and TV may be largely on hiatus during the ever-escalating WGA strike, but that doesn’t mean awards have to cease. On Wednesday, this year’s Emmy nominations were announced, and among the lucky ones was Jessica Williams for Apple TV+’s Shrinking. Uproxx’s Brian Grubb called her the “funniest part of the show, for sure, and a barrel of charisma that pops off the screen.” Good for her! And good for the novel way she celebrated the occasion.
Deadline rang up Williams after she earned her first-ever Emmy nom, but she was a little busy at the time.
“What was great about playing Gaby—sorry, I’m getting ready to go picket while talking to you at the same time,” she told the publication.
She did continue, though:
“What was great about Gaby was knowing how they wanted her to counterbalance Harrison [Ford’s] character [Dr. Paul Rhoades] and Jason [Segal’s] character [Jimmy Laird] while she also has her own life and her own stuff going on … So [to bring her to life], I just worked backward. I knew her beats in general but she was also someone who says what she thinks and wears her heart on her sleeve. Harrison, Jason and Christa Miller were great scene partners so I always felt supported, and that I had the freedom to be Gaby.”
On Shrinking, Williams plays a therapist at a center dedicated to cognitive behavioral therapy, alongside Segel’s protagonist, Jimmy. It’s a funny, at times heavy show, and it gives Williams the chance to car karaoke with Harrison Ford, who plays a senior therapist at the center who has Parkinson’s.
You can stream Shrinking on Apple TV+
(Via Deadline)
