Voting is underway for the 76th Primetime Emmys, and this week we are talking to several first-time Emmy nominees. The awards will be presented Sept. 15 on ABC.
Many actors will claim to have been surprised by an Emmy nomination. Matt Berry seems to mean it. While “What We Do in the Shadows,” the gleefully grotesque FX vampire comedy, has piled up a score of Emmy nominations, none were for performance.
So when Berry’s agent called in mid-July and asked to FaceTime, Berry, a prolific singer-songwriter who was busy at his drum kit recording a new folk-pop album, had no idea why.
“I can honestly tell you I was not expecting an Emmy nomination,” he said. But it was — a nomination for best lead actor in a comedy series, his first in any category.
Berry, 50, an English actor best known for cult comedies like “Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace” and “Toast of London,” stars as Laszlo Cravensworth, a 300-year-old English aristocrat turned vampire. An avatar of decadence with a thing for orgies and cravats, he is played by Berry with a debauched joy and an accent that somehow suggests cut glass, crushed velvet and many, many quaaludes.
Berry, whose gift is for making the most outlandish circumstances feel oddly plausible, recently wrapped the show’s sixth and final season. He didn’t seem to regret it. “I’m one of those that is very keen to cut loose when I’m onto a good thing,” he said. And despite the occasional wire work — he has an entirely serious fear of heights — “Shadows” had been good.
Reached at his home in Bedfordshire, England, Berry discussed Victorian style, vampirism’s upsides and the most outlandish things the show has ever made him do. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
You’re approaching your nomination with humility. How would Laszlo respond?
Well, he might have wondered why he hasn’t got one before. He would have thought, “About time!” Or he wouldn’t have been interested. It’s too here and now. He doesn’t really live in the present. If it wasn’t instant gratification, I don’t think he would be keen to learn about it.
Laszlo seems to really enjoy his life. What can we learn from him?
He attacks and grabs life as opposed to letting things happen. He has no interest in technology or any kind of science. He thinks it’s mostly nonsense. I quietly envy that.
How would you describe his style?
He hasn’t altered his style since the 1880s. He doesn’t think that modern-day dress is as elegant. So he hasn’t updated himself. Plus, he doesn’t need to. There’s no one telling him what to do. He can wear whatever he likes.
That’s like me once I cut bangs. I never went back.
Good on you.
What’s the fun of playing Laszlo?
Improvising was obviously encouraged and expected. That’s where I’m happiest. And just watching the others — because everyone’s preposterous, everyone’s larger than life. To sit and trade insults, trade all kinds of things, with the others, in character, it’s such good fun.
We were in Toronto. I’ve got nothing against the place. I’ve had fantastic times there, but it’s cold and we were in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. But inside that warehouse is the most convincing turn-of-the-century mansion, and once you are inside that, everyone’s in costume and everyone’s in the moment. Toronto and six feet of snow just disappears.
What’s the most outlandish thing you’ve ever been asked to do in the show?
I have a real problem with heights. The wire work has been challenging, to say the least. I’ll tell you why. I’ve got to look as if I’m not afraid when being hoisted 50 feet into the air or being lowered 50 feet to the ground. I tell them every year that I’m afraid of heights. It doesn’t make any difference.
Maybe they like to torture you.
I think so. Occasionally there’s a double, but nine times out of 10, they’ll get me to do it. They know that I’m terrified.
Has a scene ever been so outlandish that you’ve resisted it?
No, because I’m in favor of things being highly ridiculous and hopefully memorable. No, I would encourage it.
Have you ever been told you’re doing too much?
Weirdly, no. Because I don’t fire up my guns at once. I’m more than happy just to nod my head and say nothing if it works. I don’t always have to be booming and over the top. Not at all. But occasionally, they want something larger.
And you are capable of large. All of these characters are already dead. Nothing they do matters. How do you play those stakes?
But it does matter, because their whole existence has to be a secret. There are stakes because they don’t want a mob at the door, they don’t want to be pulled out of their own house and ripped to pieces. They are immortal, but they’re still surviving day to day.
Many comedies are built on characters changing, growing, becoming better versions of themselves. Not this one.
They can change; they can be put in a situation that they’ve never faced before. That’s where a lot of the comedy comes from. But the thing about these characters, they don’t need to develop, because you’re joining them at full speed. That I found really freeing.
Are there any vampire powers that you would enjoy?
I don’t think so. Other than advanced hearing, there isn’t anything that I would be interested in. I mean, I suppose the flying thing, but you’ve got to turn into a bat.
Do you have a sense of why the Television Academy recognized you only this season? And why you and not your castmates?
No idea whatsoever. I’ve done the same thing for six seasons. I don’t know why it’s this one. And why it’s me? No idea, again. Absolutely none. I wouldn’t have a clue. It could have been any of us.
Did it hurt to say goodbye to the show?
No. I don’t think it’s outstayed its welcome. So now is a great time to go.
Read More: Matt Berry Is Afraid of Heights, Not Comedy
