“American Horror Story: Hotel” star Sarah Paulson scored her fourth Primetime Emmy nomination on Thursday, and spoke to TheWrap about being completely surprised by it — despite executing the daunting task of playing two characters who also happened to share the same body.

“I did not think I was going to get it. These kind of things are always very nerve-racking,” Paulson said hours after the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced the nominees. “It sounds super silly, but I really wanted the nomination for the character I played. I just thought Bette and Dot, I just thought it would be so wonderful if they got nominated.”

One might assume that after three previous nominations — two for “American Horror Story” and one for her role in HBO movie “Game Change” — Paulson would be used to the recognition, but she remains humble and in touch with her inner child after scoring a spot in the Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or a Movie category.

See video: 'American Horror Story' Star Sarah Paulson on Sleeping With the Emmy, Politics of Awards Season

“I never have confidence that those things are going to happen because I’m still too much of a little kid who dreamt of being an actress,” Paulson said. “And having these things happen would be something I would fantasize about, so the fact that it’s happening is a bit surreal.”

TheWrap’s Q&A with Paulson just moments after she was nominated on Thursday morning.

Also read: Emmy Contender Sarah Paulson on Challenges of Playing 'AHS: Freak Show' Role: 'It Was Really Scary'

TheWrap: What was your immediate reaction to getting nominated again?
Sarah Paulson: I screamed. I always tend to scream a little bit. I can’t help it. I’m like a five year old. I sort of yelped with joy, and then it was very quickly followed by the excitement about how many nominations the show got… Sometimes not everyone gets in, so it was just so wonderful to see how much love the show got. I felt very proud to be a part of it.

Did you think anybody that you’re a fan of got snubbed?
I really love Janet McTeer. I really love Cynthia Nixon. I love Susan Sarandon, so I was expecting all of them to be in there. It just goes to show you that nothing is guaranteed. So as many people who were excited for me and expecting it, I sure was not. I just wasn’t.

Who is your stiffest competition in your category?

I think all of them. It’s a very extraordinary list of actresses [Regina King, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Zoe Kazan, Mo’Nique]. All of them, except for Mo’Nique, I actually know and are people I would consider friends, so it’s very sweet company to be in… the Emmys will be a blast for me, no matter what.

Are there any people who discouraged you along the way on your path to stardom that can now eat their words? Who would be the Emmy revenge target of your speech if you win?
No one ever discouraged me. But there were plenty of people when I was running around the room re-enacting scenes from the my favorite movies who would probably like to have put earplugs in their ear, and when I was screeching “The sun will come out tomorrow” at the top of my lungs, are probably thinking they saw some early work of mine… No one was ever discouraging me. I had a very supportive bunch.

Then on the flip side, who would you like to thank for supporting you?
My sister and my best friend, Amanda, who has always been a huge champion of mine. My sister Elizabeth, in particular, has always been — there were many years when I wasn’t working, and nothing was taking off, and I wasn’t getting traction anywhere. I worked a little bit, and I wouldn’t work again for a long time. My sister just always had enormous faith in me and somehow it was enough to make me think that maybe she was right, and I just kept going.

19 Biggest Emmy Snubs and Surprises: 'Empire,' Tatiana Maslany, and 'The Big Bang Theory' (Photos)

Snub: "Empire," Fox
Drama Series
"Empire" skyrocketed to become TV's top-rated drama in its freshman year, but apparently that wasn't good enough for the Academy.
Fox
Surprise: Tatiana Maslany, "Orphan Black,"
Lead Actress - Drama
Tatiana Maslany finally got an Emmy nod, and it only took her playing eight characters on one show to get it.
BBC America
Snub: "The Big Bang Theory," CBS
Comedy Series
"The Big Bang Theory" has become almost an automatic nomination, and while it's nice to see new blood, we didn't necessarily expect it.
CBS
Surprise: Anthony Anderson (pictured left), "Black-ish"
Lead Actor - Comedy
Fresh off hosting the "BET Awards," Anthony Anderson scored his first Primetime Emmy nomination for the breakout ABC comedy. To be fair, "Hang Time" was on Saturday mornings.
ABC
Snub: Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Lead Actress - Drama
It's 2013 all over again for last year's Best Actress winner Juliana Margulies. The Golden Globes didn't forget her -- what's up, TV Academy?
CBS
Snub: Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"
Lead Actor - Comedy
Rough one for "BBT" and its resident all-star Jim Parsons and four-time winner. His six-year nomination streak ends exactly right there.
CBS
Snub: Terrence Howard, "Empire"
Lead Actor - Drama
Voters showed the love for Taraji P. Henson's Cookie, but nothing for Lucious? Terrence Howard had a super-busy year -- he has two TV shows on Fox alone -- but he's still seeking his first Emmy recognition.
Fox
Surprise: Keegan-Michael Key (pictured left), "Key & Peele"
Supporting Actor - Comedy
The chrome-domed comic gained fame for playing Luther, President Obama's "anger translator," and now he has an Emmy nod to show for it.
Comedy Central
Snub: Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"
Supporting Actress - Drama
The veteran actress won the award for the first two seasons of the historical drama and earned noms for the last two -- but her Dowager Countess was abandoned after season 5.
Masterpiece
Snub: Mandy Patinkin (pictured right), "Homeland"
Supporting Actor - Drama
Though "Homeland" returned to the Best Drama race, Patinkin was passed over after getting nominations for the last two years.
Showtime
Surprise: Michael Kelly, "House of Cards"
Supporting Actor - Drama
The character actor scored his first Emmy nomination for playing political fixer Doug Stamper in Netflix's Washington, D.C.-set drama.
Netflix
Snub: "Survivor's Remorse," Starz
Drama Series
Starz had high hopes for the LeBron James-produced drama about a rookie NBA player -- but fell short of the rim.
Starz
Snub: "Jane The Virgin," The CW
Comedy Series
The rookie series earned recognition from the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Television Awards, but the Emmys continue to have a bias against CW shows.
The CW
Snub: Judith Light, "Transparent"
Supporting Actress - Comedy
While "Transparent" stars Jeffrey Tambor and Gaby Hoffman both got noms, the Academy overlooked the former "Ugly Betty" nominee who plays the ex-wife of Tambor's late-in-life transgender woman.
Amazon Instant Video
Surprise: Niecy Nash, "Getting On"
Supporting Actress - Comedy
The actress is the lone nomination for the critically acclaimed but low-buzz HBO sitcom, which is set in a hospital's geriatric care unit.
HBO
Surprise: Gaby Hoffman, "Transparent"
Supporting Actress - Comedy
The actress scored two nominations, for her guest role on HBO's "Girls" as the sister of Adam Driver's character as well as her role as the dysfunctional youngest daughter of transgender professor Maura Pfefferman
Amazon Instant Video
Snub: Jesse Tyler Ferguson (pictured right) and Eric Stonestreet (left), "Modern Family"
Supporting Actor - Comedy
Though "Modern Family" scored its sixth straight nom for Best Comedy, several members of its much-honored cast got the could shoulder, including five-time nominee Jesse Tyler Ferguson and three-time nominee (and two-time winner) Eric Stonestreet.
ABC
Surprise: Emmy's new "Two Percent Rule" leads to eight nominations instead of usual six
Supporting Actress - Comedy
Under Academy rules, the number of nominees can grow if additional contenders are within 2 percent of the votes of the sixth (and final) nominee. So an already competitive category is bursting with familiar names (Julie Bowen, Mayim Bialik, Allison Janney) as well as newcomers (Niedy Nash, Gaby Hoffman, Kate McKinnon).
Various