Uzo Aduba Recalls Hearing Voice of God – Morgan Freeman – During Her First Emmy Win (Video)
“That was crazy, I was like, this is the voice of God from ‘Bruce Almighty!'” actress tells TheWrap
Beatrice Verhoeven | August 25, 2015 @ 4:26 PM
Last Updated: September 28, 2015 @ 4:13 PM
A year after Uzo Aduba won the Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, she is nominated for another Emmy for the same role, but in the category for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama series.
Aduba, who plays Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black,” sat down with TheWrap’s Itay Hod to talk about her emotional acceptance speech at last year’s event, and the primary reason for her sentimental speech was her mother.
“Firstly, I felt emotional, my mom came with me, and she’s sitting right next to me, and I just thought about everything that she has poured into not just me but all of her children,” Aduba said. “Just thinking that she put all of her energy, all of her sacrifice into us… She always believed in me and been my greatest champion, and I just felt that overwhelmingly take over for me.”
In the interview, Aduba also revealed that the day she got the role in “Orange Is the New Black,” she had quit acting and was working to become a lawyer: “I thought I could be a lawyer because I can talk a lot.”
Hearing her name being called by Morgan Freeman when she won the Emmy sent her over the edge.
“That was crazy, I was like, this is the voice of God from ‘Bruce Almighty!’ I was just feeling so grateful that Jenji [Kohan] had invited me to be part of the show and that I didn’t have to give up the thing that I loved so much. “
Aduba has also won a Critic’s Choice TV Award for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series and a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.
She has been on the show since its premiere in 2013, where her character initially develops a lesbian obsession with Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling).
Emmy 2015: The Nominees From 'Game of Thrones' to 'House of Cards' (Photos)
The 2015 nominees were announced Thursday, July 16. The 67th Annual Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on Fox on September 20 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.
Michael Kelly, "House of Cards"; Taraji P. Henson, "Empire"; Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent"
Netflix; Fox; Amazon
Drama Series
“Better Call Saul” “Downton Abbey” “Game of Thrones” “Homeland” “House of Cards” “Mad Men” (pictured) “Orange Is the New Black”
AMC
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men” Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards” Jeff Daniels, “Newsroom” (pictured) Kyle Chandler, “Bloodline” Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul” Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”
HBO
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Viola Davis, “How to Get Away With Murder” Claire Danes, “Homeland” Taraji P. Henson, “Empire” Tatania Maslany, “Orphan Black” (pictured) Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men” Robin Wright, “House of Cards”
BBC America
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jonathan Banks, “Better Call Saul” Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline” Jim Carter, “Downton Abbey” Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones” Alan Cumming, “The Good Wife” Michael Kelly, “House of Cards” (pictured)
Netflix
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey” Lena Headey, “Game of Thrones” Emilia Clarke, “Game of Thrones” (pictured) Christine Baranski, “The Good Wife” Christina Hendricks, “Mad Men” Uzo Aduba, “Orange Is the New Black”
Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent" (pictured) Louis C.K., "Louie" Anthony Anderson, "black-ish" William H. Macy, "Shameless" Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes" Don Cheadle, "House of Lies" Will Forte, "Last Man on Earth"
Amazon
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep" Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation" Lily Tomlin, "Grace and Frankie" Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie" Amy Schumer, "Inside Amy Schumer" (pictured) Lisa Kudrow, "Comeback"
Comedy Central
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (pictured) Adam Driver, “Girls” Keegan-Michael Key, “Key & Peele” Ty Burrell, “Modern Family” Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” Tony Hale, “Veep"
Fox
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik, “The Big Bang Theory” Niecy Nash, “Getting On” (pictured) Julie Bowen, “Modern Family” Allison Janney, “Mom” Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live” Gaby Hoffmann, “Transparent” Jane Krakowski, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” Anna Chlumsky, “Veep"