“American Horror Story” star Sarah Paulson has been nominated for three Emmys over the course of her career, but she said in TheWrap‘s latest episode of “Drinking with the Stars: Emmy Edition” that she won’t be satisfied until she wins one because it’s been a dream of hers since she was a little girl.

“I was one of those girls who dreamt of doing this when I was a really small child. I’ve watched the Emmy Awards for as long as I can remember,” Paulson told TheWrap’s Greg Gilman. “I have a lot of friends who have them, and believe me, I’ve been known to be in the rooms of their houses with these Emmys for a little too long, just stroking them.”

“I think one time I took a nap with one, and that was a little disconcerting to my friend,” she added.

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While talent matters to members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, so does the politics of campaigning for an Emmy. Paulson, however, is confident that the strongest performance usually beats even the best campaigns spearheaded by public relations gurus.

“I think it bummed me out only in the beginning when I realized there was any of that that went into it. I had this unicorn magical thought of, ‘The person that deserves it will win it!'” Paulson joked. “And that doesn’t always happen, and sometimes it really does.”

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“For every time it doesn’t, there are five times when it does,” she continued. “There is sort of an awakening when you realize that this is a business, and not just a place where you get to go frolic in your imagination and play.”

Paulson stressed that although awards are an honor for any actor, trophies shouldn’t be sought as a means of professional validation.

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“I think there is award worship, in general, but I think it’s only negative in terms of what you do with it,” Paulson said. “If you decide without it you’re nothing, or your work has meant nothing if you never win one — there are incredible actors who have never won an Academy Awards or Emmys, who deserve to.”

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