Uzo Aduba has just been awarded her first Emmy nomination for her role as the loveable oddball Suzanne—affectionately known as “Crazy Eyes”—on Netflix’s smash hit dramedy Orange Is the New Black.
How did the 32-year-old actress find out about her career-changing nomination? “I was in traffic,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I was in traffic and, true story, I just happened to look down and see my phone ringing and I was like ‘Oh it’s my publicist, let me pick up the phone.’”
Aduba answered the call entirely unaware of the important news she was about to receive. “I was like, ‘Are you kidding?” she laughed. “I couldn’t stop saying, “Are you joking?”
The actress stayed remarkably humble throughout her interview, particularly when speaking about the fame her part in the show has given her. “All I wanted to do was tell a good story,” she said of her early time as a cast member. When asked about Suzanne on OITNB, Aduba expressed lots of love and hope for her character. “Where I work from,” she said, “it’s really trying to hold as firmly to the truth and integrity of Suzanne and to fight as hard as I can for her every day.”
Aduba hopes that her character will get to experience positive personal growth during season 3, which began filming in June. “I would love for her [Suzanne] to know her worth, to stop seeking outside of herself. I would love for her to know, rather than to seek, love, to know it inside her that she is enough.”
Orange Is the New Black has received over ten Emmy nominations this year, including Laverne Cox’s historical nod.
Image courtesy of Nancy Rivera/ACE/INFphoto.com