Cristin Milioti, First-Time Emmy Nominee for ‘The Penguin,’ is “Ready to Get in There Again”

Cristin Milioti, First-Time Emmy Nominee for ‘The Penguin,’ is “Ready to Get in There Again”

It’s a good day to be Cristin Milioti. The actress snagged an Emmy nomination for her work opposite (fellow nominee) Colin Farrell on the HBO Max and DC series The Penguin, which snagged a total of 24 nominations across a wide variety of creative categories. (See the full list of nominations here.) Milioti also is a part of the Black Mirror family, and the Netflix limited series received 10 nominations this morning. Hot on the heels of the reveal, Milioti got on the phone with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss her first Emmy nomination, why she’s been on so many planes as of late and how playing the inimitable force that is Sofia Falcone has influenced what’s next.

How are you feeling?

I feel really good, it’s so nice. I feel so thrilled for our show. You never know how these things are going to go, and I’m so blown away by the amount of nominations we have and that so many members of our incredible crew got nominated. I’m also really thrilled to see the nominations for Black Mirror as well.

It’s a good day for the Cristin Milioti universe. The amount of nominations for The Penguin is so impressive at 24 and across so many creative categories. Did any nomination jump out to you in terms of someone you worked closely with or someone who went above and beyond?

[Creator/showrunner] Lauren LeFranc and [director] Helen Shaver. Lauren’s writing is unbelievable as is Helen’s direction, especially. We worked together on the Sofia-centric episode that covered Sofia’s whole backstory. I love Helen immensely. It’s so hard to choose because our hair and makeup team, editors, so many people got nominated and it’s so, so exciting.

Have you texted with or talked to Colin Farrell?

I texted him to say that I am so proud of him and I love him to bits because to know him is to love him.

I remember when the Sofia episode debuted, there was an immediate conversation happening on Reddit and across social media about how you deserved an Emmy for your work. Did you pay attention to that swirl and how do you approach tuning it out or taking it in?

For my own brain, I stay far away from the internet as a rule, but I’ve had a lot of extremely meaningful interactions with both people inside of our industry and outside about how much the episode affected them. That episode certainly affected me just by working on it. It’s one of my favorite things that I’ve been a part of. I felt the energy around it, whether it was through interviews or literally talking to people on the street in my neighborhood. It’s rare when the feeling you have about something is matched by the world. It’s been so overwhelming and I’m so grateful for it.

You’ve also had a lot of interactions with fellow actors and been in a lot of new rooms over these past few months. Who’s the coolest person you’ve met or what’s the most meaningful conversation you’ve had with a fellow artist?

Oh my gosh, this has been overwhelming — in the best way. I’ve had a really lovely talks with Kathy Bates and Jodie Foster. I’ve had chats with both that have been so mind-blowingly meaningful to me as someone who worships their work. That’s been pretty incredible.

You got cast in a pilot, Seven Sisters, opposite Elizabeth Olsen. Is that done filming?

We wrapped that, but I’m going to go start work on a movie next week. I have been on a lot of planes lately.

How did the pilot go? The premise is so interesting, about a woman who starts communicating with a voice no one else can hear that leads to the unraveling of her family.

It was great. What a fabulous group.

And the movie, has that been announced yet?

I don’t think it’s been announced yet. But it’s a very exciting, strange movie that I find both scary and moving.

Speaking of movies, there were a lot of articles published this morning about what a win The Penguin’s nominations are for DC and for comic book adaptations in general. As a member of the DC family, have you seen Superman?

I have not seen the new Superman yet, but again, I’ve been on a lot of plane rides recently. I’m going to get over there [to the theater] eventually.

I can imagine that a role like Sofia has impacted how you want to move forward as an actress or how much you want to push yourself?

It made me want to push myself further, and it also really spoiled me. There was so much that I got to do on this show that I’ve been waiting to do and wishing to do, and it was an extraordinary experience. The fact that I got to do that and explore with people I got to explore with has certainly made me more exacting because I’m trying to experience more of that, at least to the best of my ability with the little amount of control that someone has as an actor. But I’m looking for roles and collaborators like the ones we had on The Penguin. I want to get in there again.