Gilpin won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy for her role as Sarah Westcott Warren in Widow’s Bay. She appeared in the flashback episode “Our History,” playing the wife of the town’s founder, Richard Warren, portrayed by Hamish Linklater.
Rather than giving a traditional thank-you speech, Gilpin read a poem she had written after Linklater encouraged her to prepare for the possibility of winning.
“I was on the same flight over as my co-nominee Hamish Linklater, and he came over to my row and was like, ‘Have you written a speech?’” Gilpin recalled after the ceremony.
She initially told him she did not expect to win. But Linklater insisted that winning was possible and told her to prepare something.
“So he scared the shit out of me, and I wrote a quick manic poem,” Gilpin said.
The poem mixed heartfelt thanks with jokes about Hollywood, acting and her own personality. One line in particular got a loud reaction from the Emmy audience:
“Let’s all lean toward Sam Shepard and less toward Sam Altman.”
Gilpin also joked about coming from a family that includes nurses, a priest and a teacher while describing herself as a “spray-tanned, narcissistic society leecher.”
But beneath the humor, she made it clear that acting means a great deal to her.
“Our business is stupid, but actors are the bomb,” she said, before thanking generations of performers and mentioning actors including John Martindale and Cristin Milioti, as well as her parents.
She ended the poem by thanking her family, friends, brothers Sam and Harry, and her late dog Babe.
Gilpin later explained that Babe remains an important part of her life. She even named her first daughter after the dog.
A special experience on Widow’s Bay
Gilpin said working on Widow’s Bay felt very different from a typical television production.
Her flashback episode was filmed after the main cast and crew had completed the show's contemporary storyline. That made the episode feel almost like a small independent movie within the larger series.
“The episode that Hamish and I did, it’s like we did this strange little period indie movie at the end of the actual filming,” she said.
She praised creator Katie Dippold and director Hiro Murai, saying the show’s success gave her hope for the television industry.
Gilpin was especially happy to see an unusual and original series find a mainstream audience.
“Something so original and niche and strange and human having success in the mainstream — it gives me hope,” she said.
Could Sarah return?
In Gilpin’s episode, Sarah appears to die while trying to leave the island. But the actress would happily return if the show’s story could find a way to bring her character back.
“I feel like by her genius demented ‘Widow’s Bay’ lore math, it doesn’t make sense for her to come back,” Gilpin said.
Then she added: “But like, come on, just find it so I can come back.”
Gilpin said she loved working on the series and would welcome another opportunity to return.
Widow’s Bay finished the second night of the 78th Emmys with eight wins, making it the most-awarded program of the night so far. For Gilpin, the recognition was not only a personal achievement but also a sign that audiences and the industry are still willing to embrace unusual, creative stories.
Tags:
Celebrity
