This story about Rachel Brosnahan first appeared in the Down to the Wire issue of TheWrap’s Emmy magazine.
This Emmy’s season marks Rachel Brosnahan’s second go-round for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, a category she won last year for her portrayal of Miriam “Midge” Maisel on Amy Sherman-Palladino’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” This time around, she’s up against such formidable adversaries as Natasha Lyonne from “Russian Doll,” Christina Applegate from “Dead to Me,” Catherine O’Hara from “Schitt’s Creek,” Phoebe Waller-Bridge from “Fleabag” — plus the most nominated and winningest woman in the history of the category, Julia Louis-Dreyfus from “Veep.”
“I am ready to lose gracefully, and stand on my feet and clap my ass off for Julia Louis-Dreyfus in September,” Brosnahan said, laughing to acknowledge that Louis-Dreyfus had won the category six years in a row before last year, when she wasn’t eligible.
“She is a goddess of comedy. She’s been one of my heroes — icons — for as long as I can remember, and ‘Veep’ is one of my favorite shows on TV. I’m a big, big Julia Louis-Dreyfus fangirl.”
The “Maisel” star also made a point to appreciate how rare it is to get any recognition at all. “I’m really lucky to be a part of a show that has caught wind, that’s broken through the Peak TV-ness of it all,” she said. “There’s so much good TV on, and this show has been particularly visible. Because I’ve been a part of great shows that didn’t get eyeballs on them.”
To get this much notoriety for a comedic performance is also a feat that’s not lost on Brosnahan, who had never before acted in a comedy.
“It remains a very different side of me as a performer,” said the actress, whose first Emmy nomination came for “House of Cards” in 2015, and whose other work includes “The Blacklist” and “Manhattan.” “I don’t come from comedy — it’s been terrifying every step of the way.”
But diving into a new skill headfirst is something Brosnahan and her character have in common.
“The hardest thing about Season 2 is that Midge is no longer an amateur comedian. She’s learning, and she’s learning fast, and by the end of Season 2, you have to believe that she’s ready to go on tour. I definitely felt that pressure to make sure that Midge and I were at the same level. She’s just a woman who’s funny, and I have a funny woman writing the dialogue that makes her funny,” she said, referring to Sherman-Palladino. “So thankfully, I got to learn, alongside Midge, the more technical aspects of playing a comedian.”
Read more from the Down to the Wire issue of TheWrap’s Emmy magazine.
2019 Emmy Contenders, From Sophie Turner to Tony Hale to Cicely Tyson (Exclusive Photos)
Actress Sophie Turner, "Game of Thrones"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
Makeup: Toby Fleischman
Hair: Creighton Bowman
Stylist: Jordan Grossman
Actor Michael K. Williams, "When They See Us"
Photographed by Jill Greenberg for TheWrap
Groomer: Steve "Sincere" Gilles
Actress Niecy Nash, "When They See Us"
Photographed by Jill Greenberg for TheWrap
Stylist: Willie Sinclair
Hair: Robyn Michele
Makeup: Merrell Hollis
Jharrel Jerome, "When They See Us"
Photographed by Jill Greenberg for TheWrap
Groomer: Jessica Smalls
Actress Marsha Stephanie Blake, "When They See Us"
Photographed by Marissa Mooney for TheWrap
Actress Mandy Moore, "This Is Us"
Photographed by Marissa Mooney for TheWrap
Makeup: Jenn Streicher
Hair: Matthew Collins
Stylist: Kevin Michael Ericson and Cristina Ehrlich
Actor Tony Hale, "Veep"
Photographed by Yuri Hasegawa for TheWrap
Groomer: Martel Thompson
Actress Julia Garner, "Ozark"
Photographed by Marissa Mooney for TheWrap
Actor Michael Kelly, "House of Cards"
Photographed by Marissa Mooney for TheWrap
Actor Billy Porter, "Pose"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Actress Anna Chlumsky, "Veep"
Photographed by Nick Rasmussen for TheWrap
Hair: Creighton Bowman
Makeup: Tamah Krinsky @ The Wall Group
Stylist: Cat Pope @The Only Agency
Cast of "Pose"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Actress Marin Hinkle, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
Photographed by Ash Thayer for TheWrap
Hair: Clayton Hawkins at Starworks Artists
Makeup: Kathy Jeung at ForwardArtists.com
Actress Cicely Tyson, "How to Get Away With Murder"
Photographed by Leslie Alejandro for TheWrap
Make/Hair Artist: Tre Major
Dress & Matching Topper by:
B Michael Couture
Actor Hugh Grant, "A Very English Scandal"
Photographed by Benjo Arwas for TheWrap
Jonathan Van Ness, "Gay of Thrones" and "Queer Eye"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Groomer: Helen Robertson
Host Trevor Noah, "The Daily Show"
Photographed by HollenderX2 Photography
Actor Anthony Carrigan, "Barry"
Photographed by Shayan Asgharnia for TheWrap
Groomer: Simone for Exclusive Artists using Skyn Iceland
Actress Joey King, "The Act"
Photographed by Marissa Mooney for TheWrap
Hair: Dimitri Giannetos
Makeup: Melanie Inglessis
Stylist: Kristina Taylor
Actor Jared Harris, "Chernobyl"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Actor Chris O'Dowd, "State of the Union"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Creator and actor Ryan O'Connell, "Special"
Photographed by Nick Rasmussen for TheWrap
Groomer: Paige Davenport
Stunt coordinators PeeWee Piemonte and Julie Michaels, "SEAL Team"
Photographed by Ian Spanier for TheWrap
1 of 24
Stars and creators of the season’s biggest shows stop by StudioWrap