The Hollywood Reporter Award Special 23B, August 1, 2022

I first met Michael (that’s what he went by in college, so that’s what I still call him) White in an acting class during our freshman year at Wesleyan. There were two acting classes, and we were in the bad one — the B group, so to speak. Michael was already a little bit famous on campus, having done a scene that made a big splash in No Doze Theater, an all-night theater production that ran during finals. But what stuck out to me was that he wasn’t wearing socks — it was January in Connecticut. He still doesn’t really know how to dress for the winter. We remained close friends for years before ever working together. When I was just starting out and would travel to Los Angeles for…

The White Lotus was a reunion for Connie Britton and creator Mike White, who wrote the 2017 feature Beatriz at Dinner, starring Britton alongside Salma Hayek. As the wealthy Nicole Mossbacher in Lotus, Britton says she had the opportunity to play a character with real nuance who reflects our reality back to us as viewers — and the role has earned her a fifth Emmy nomination (she garnered nods for American Horror Story, Nashville and Friday Night Lights). Britton spoke with THR about the process of approaching this character and crafting her arc with White and what it was like working during the height of COVID on such a singular project. Did you think of the show as an Emmy-caliber project when you signed on? It [was] really just about…

To answer the question on everyone’s mind: Yes, that’s how Martha Kelly really talks. The comedian turned actor — who rose to prominence as a stand-up before making her screen debut playing a deadpan insurance agent opposite Zach Galifianakis on FX’s Baskets — is known for her distinctively muted voice and unsettlingly dry delivery. But it’s not shtick: “This is just how I sound,” she explains. She’d never felt like her acting skills were particularly strong — in fact, she only agreed to Baskets because Galifianakis is a close friend and had written the part for her. “He made it seem as un-scary as possible. I still thought that I was going to get fired on the first day.” While Kelly may have had doubts about her abilities, the response…

“I want people to kind of divorce themselves from Insecure, in a way.”ISSA RAE The Rap Sh!t creator, to Deadline, on how she hopes audiences receive her newest HBO Max show, after the booming success of Insecure. “They should’ve put me in.”SYDNEY SWEENEY The Euphoria star, on Instagram, after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for the Boston Red Sox at a game in which the Sox ended up losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in a historic blowout of 28-5. “I popped up after surgery that morning going, ‘Let’s go to work!’”BOB ODENKIRK The Better Call Saul actor, to NPR, on recovering post-heart attack, claiming it was “easier” to act and get in the moment after the experience. “All my chances came from the fact that I’m from theater.”PARK…

OUTSTANDING VARIETY SPECIAL (LIVE) The 64th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS) The Trevor Noah-hosted celebration of music aired April 3 (more recently than any rival), featured performances from winners Silk Sonic and Olivia Rodrigo, and landed five Emmy nominations (tied for category best). But only the 2021 Grammys telecast attracted fewer viewers, and no Grammys telecast has ever won this award. The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back! (CBS) This commemoration of Broadway’s rebound from COVID aired in September (another Tonys has aired since), was hosted by Tony winners Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr. and featured musical performances and award presentations. But with just two noms, it’s tied for a category low, and a Tonys telecast hasn’t won this prize since 2017. The Oscars (ABC) March’s telecast will forever be remembered…

Alex Borstein is an actress and writer — primarily of the comedy variety — who has excelled in an unusually wide variety of formats, from sketch comedy (she made her name on Fox’s MadTV from 1997 through 2002) to voice acting (most notably as the voice of Lois Griffin, among others, on Fox’s Family Guy from 1999 through the present) to films (ranging from 2004’s Catwoman to 2005’s Good Night, and Good Luck) to series TV (most recently Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, on which she plays Susie Myerson, a bartender turned talent manager). The 51-year-old Golden Globe nominee, two-time SAG Award nominee, two-time Critics Choice Award winner and three-time Emmy Award winner (twice for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and once for Family Guy), who is Emmy-nominated this year for best…