Anthony Anderson (ABC)
“Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson scored his first Emmy nomination on Thursday, and despite being on a layover when he learned the news, he was beyond elated.
“I am completely over the moon right now,” he told Access Hollywood on his London Heathrow stopover as he reacted to his Emmy nom for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, for playing family patriarch Andre “Dre” Johnson in ABC’s “black-ish.”
Anthony will resume production on his hit comedy’s second season later this summer, but he’s already received a hearty congratulations from his co-stars, who were among the well-wishers who had his cell phone buzzing all morning.
The funnyman spoke to Access Hollywood on Thursday, sharing his story about how he got the news.
AccessHollywood.com: I heard you were in the air when [the news broke that you had been nominated]. Is that right?
Anthony Anderson: I was. … [I] had no idea this was going on. I have a three-hour layover here at Heathrow airport on my way to South Africa. I turned my phone on and it literally jumped out of my hand because of all the text messages and phone calls I received and I still didn’t know what was going on. So as I’m starting to scroll down the text messages — my incoming text messages — I get a call from manager and the first thing he says is, ‘What a hell of a year you’ve had.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s been a great year, man. It’s been a great year, man. What’s going on?’ He was like, ‘You don’t know?’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t know man, I’m just getting off a plane. … What’s going on?’ and that’s when he tells me about the nomination, so I’m excited.
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Access: Did everyone know before you, or did you get to tell family members and loved ones? What’s the reaction from those closest to you?
Anthony: Everyone knew before I did. Friends, family, high school drama teachers — everybody knew before I did, but it’s cool. I don’t mind being the last to know when this is the news.
Access: That’s awesome. How soon do you guys start filming again?
Anthony: Our table read is the 27th or 28th, and our first day filming is August 3.
Access: Who from the cast has reached out to you and what have they said?
Anthony: Kenya [Barris] who created the show reached out to me and just said, ‘Mother ****ker.’ Tracee [Ellis Ross] reached out to me, all of the parents of all of the children on our show have reached out and little Miles [Brown], who plays Jack on the show, sent me the cutest little video, and I was sitting here, it almost made me tear up as I sat here in this lounge, watching the video from my TV son, congratulating me and telling me to go get that Emmy and bring it home. I was like, ‘OK, all right son. I will. I will.’
Access: Adorable! Has anyone come up to you in Heathrow and congratulated you? Have you had a physical shake of the hand or anything like that?
Anthony: Not in congratulations of the Emmy nomination. I don’t know if they even care about that or if the news has reached here. Who knows? But they have come up and told me they love my work, they love the show, when are we coming back for a second season? And I was like, ‘We’ll be back in a few weeks,’ and then that’s when I drop the Emmy nomination on them. I’m like, ‘It’s interesting that you bring up ‘black-ish,’ I was like, ‘because just as I was walking here to the lounge, I got the call that I got an Emmy nomination.’
The cast of ‘black-ish’ (ABC)
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Access: What are you going to do in South Africa? Are you working down there or are you having fun?
Anthony: I’m hosting the MTV Africa Music Awards this Saturday, so I’m there to do that. And then I’m just gonna take a little relaxing time for myself. I’m going to go down to Cape Town, and just sit on the water and go over to Robben Island and see Mandela’s cell, and go to [Table] Mountain and see where these two oceans meet and I’m just going to sit back and relax, recharge this battery and come back a new man in a week.
Access: That must have been really exciting to see who you got nominated alongside.
Anthony: It is, it is and I’ve either worked with or know everyone on the list. I mean, Jeffrey Tambor and I have been bumping into each other for years, Don Cheadle’s a very good friend, you know Louis C.K. I know through Chris Rock, William H. Macy — I was actually on ‘Shameless’… I’ve never met Matt LeBlanc, but while I lived in New York, doing ‘Law & Order,’ I would see Will Forte all the time, so we’re all connected somehow.
The Emmys air September 20 on Fox. “Black-ish” returns to ABC on Wednesday, September 23 at 9:30/8:30c.
— Jolie Lash
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