Watching New Celebs

I forgot that she was nominated for an Emmy this year.  For her role as Maggie Jacobs on the comedy series Extras, Ashley Jensen has earned a Best Supporting Actress (Mini-Series) nod and is competing against Alfre Woodard, Audra McDonald, Laura Dern and Eileen Atkins. I dare say, she’s in very good company.

I don’t know what her chances of winning an Emmy are. But if she does bring home the trophy, it would have to be well-deserved. I’ve loved her in Extras as the ditzy Maggie. She was hilarious in that program, amusing and funny without even making an effort to be so. But American viewers will probably be more familiar to her as Christina, Ugly Betty’s friend. Talented people like Ashley ought to be seen on television more…

We wish her well at the Emmy’s and hope she wins!

Below is an excerpt of this interview with Ashley Jensen and the USA Today:

Q: Extras, it appears, is off the air for good. Does that make the Emmy nomination more meaningful?

A: I’m still absorbing it all, to be honest. That I’ve even been nominated for an Emmy in America? I never thought I’d be working in America, let alone have an Emmy nomination. Being nominated — no one can take that away from me.

Q: When nominations were announced, did you celebrate with your husband?

A: He was in London. It was kind of tragic. The phone rang at about 7 in the morning, and it was my husband calling me, because (Extras writer and star) Ricky (Gervais) had called him and said that I’d been nominated. Ricky didn’t want to call me and get me out of my bed. I didn’t even know the Emmy nominations were out that week. I was on the phone with Terry, and then Ricky called me on my mobile.

Q: How do you feel about winding up the show?

A: It’s such a shame. Extras has been so warmly received over here. If you leave people wanting more, you’ve left in a really good place. The story was about a male-female relationship, a platonic one, so it didn’t have to do with unrequited love. It was very refreshing.

Q: You of course still have Betty. What happens to you this season?

A: Where did we leave it? I’m pregnant in order to get $100,000 to save the life of my supposedly dying husband who appears from Scotland. He’s back on the scene again. Is he really dying or is he back on drugs? As to what happens, beyond that, I have no idea. At the moment, I’m only a few months pregnant. I have a little pregnancy pad, which already made it to the British papers — is Ashley Jensen hiding a baby bump? Oh, God.