The 65th annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place on Sept. 22, 2013, at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles. Here is what this Emmy winner said backstage in the Emmy Awards press room.
CLAIRE DANES
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
You started your acting career when you were quite young. Why do you think you've avoided the pitfalls that other actors have fallen into when they started at a young age? Do you feel like you're coming into your prime?
I think I was very fortunate to live in a time where not everybody had cameras on their cell phones. I was a sloppy kid, but there weren't millions of civilians to catch those sloppy moments and post them on the Internet. There was no "going viral" back in the day. So I think that was helpful. And also, I took three years off to go to college. I was an idiot in the privacy of my own dorm room.
I feel hugely blessed to have found this role [in "Homeland"] with this group of people, the show that is so challenging in all the right ways. It's a good gig! And I hope it lasts a while, because it's so compelling to me, personally and creatively. I'm very, very fortunate.
What are you going to do to celebrate getting another Emmy Award tonight?
We have a tiny person now. We have a 9-month-old, and he's on East Coast time, so he's going to be waking up pretty early. So our curfew has to be earlier than it ever has been before. I'll also go to some parties and celebrate, for sure. I also have a bear of a day on [Sept. 24, 2013]. I have to fly in the morning and have to get my head on straight to prepare for that epic day back in Charlotte.
At what point will you tell your son Cyrus about your Emmy Awards experience tonight?
[She makes baby noises.] That's the level of communication we [have with the baby] have right now. I'm just hoping he's not going to impale himself on this thing. [She holds up her Emmy Award.] I'm going to keep it very elevated at a place where he can't injure himself terribly. It's going to be a while before I let him watch any "Homeland" episodes. Let's put it that way.
