Tatiana Maslany, Semi Chellas, Michael J. Fox among Canadian Emmy noms
Kudos poured in from the Clone Club and celebrities alike on Thursday as Canadian Tatiana Maslany got her first Emmy Award nomination for her widely acclaimed performance on “Orphan Black.”
“Ahhhhhhh!!! #notsnubbed,” fellow Emmy nominee Amy Schumer wrote to Maslany on Twitter, where the “Orphan Black” star was trending in the U.S.
The 29-year-old Regina native is up against some heavy hitters in the outstanding lead actress in a drama series category.
Her Emmy competition includes Taraji P. Henson for “Empire,” Claire Danes for “Homeland,” Robin Wright for “House of Cards,” Viola Davis for “How to Get Away with Murder” and Elisabeth Moss for “Mad Men.”
Maslany’s co-star, Jordan Gavaris, tweeted: “Holy FISHSTICKS! Congratulations to the hardest working woman in show business on her #EmmyNomination! Beaming with pride this morning!!!”
Maslany herself was humble about the news, simply writing on Twitter: “#CloneClub & #clonesbians, this bud’s for you. Thanks buddies :)”
Maslany has earned legions of fans for portraying 10 clones with vastly different looks and personalities on the Space sci-fi hit, which also airs on BBC America.
Maslany was one of several Canadians nominated Thursday, with others including Semi Chellas, Jeremy Podeswa, Michael J. Fox and brothers Jeff and Mychael Danna.
Chellas, from Calgary, picked up her fifth Emmy nomination for “Mad Men,” in the best writing in a drama category. It’s the fourth year in a row she earned a nomination.
Toronto-born Podeswa is nominated in the best direction in a drama category for his work on “Game of Thrones.”
Edmonton native Fox is nominated in the best guest actor in a drama category for his role on “The Good Wife.”
The Danna brothers, who grew up in Toronto, are nominated for two awards for the pilot episode of “Tyrant.” They’re up for the best music composition for a series and best theme music awards.
It’s the second Emmy nomination for Jeff, and the third for Mychael, who in 2013 won an Emmy for the miniseries “World Without End” and an Oscar for the “Life of Pi” score.
Homegrown show “Degrassi” also picked up a nomination for best children’s program, and “Property Brothers” is up for best structured reality series.
“Property Brothers” co-star Jonathan Scott was installing cabinetry in Scarsdale, N.Y., when his phone began “blowing up” with news of his show’s nomination. It was a similar scenario for his identical twin and co-star Drew, who was working elsewhere in the state on a negotiation for the real estate/home reno series.
“My makeup artist was holding my phone and she said: ‘ You have it on vibrate. It’s been vibrating nonstop for the last 20 minutes so you better check on it,”‘ Drew recalled in a phone interview Thursday from White Plains, N.Y.
“I thought it was my parents or somebody messaging, but sure enough, it was everybody under the sun who saw the announcement. So we’re excited.... It’s quite the honour.”
Drew said he was also happy to see Maslany nominated.
“Tatiana is actually a fan of our show. I’ve tweeted with her a little bit, and, I mean, she fully deserves that nomination, too. Just a stellar actress.”
The Emmys will be handed out on Sept. 20.