For Variety, it’s a huge get – to have both Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys on the cover of the latest issue, joint photo shoot, joint interview, and it’s Emmy season.
They have five nominations between them, repping The Diplomat, The Beast in Me, and of course Widow’s Bay, the breakout television hit of the season.
Keri and Matthew do not perform their celebrity often. When they appear at award shows their body language often looks like they stumbled into the wrong ballroom and just decided to stay and see if anyone notices and kicks them out. Of course they belong there, because of the quality of their work – outside of their work, these two are rarely on the circuit…
Until now. This was a decision made with their teams that they clearly co-signed because of the Emmys. Emmys voting begins on Monday and runs to August 26 so they’ve timed this perfectly, covering an industry trade, just as the members of the Television Academy are making their choices. And it’s the first time, really, they’ve played the campaign game this openly. I like the strategy. It feels special. Since they happen to both be in the running at the same, with the surprise of Widow’s Bay and how well-received that series has been, plus the cult favourite status of The Americans, and given Keri’s long and stable career, and excellent reputation – she’s no stranger to the voters, but they haven’t awarded her at the Emmys, at least not yet. Matthew has an Emmy but Keri’s yet to win. She did, however, win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards aka The Actors earlier this year so she’s coming into the Emmys with that momentum.
And still, even though they’re front and center on the cover of Variety with the Emmys looming a few weeks away, I’m not sure it changes what they call their fame balance. In the piece, they talk about how they’re famous but not that famous – and they’re not wrong. No doubt, some of us are very into them, both as individual actors and as a couple, but they’re also not Tom and Zendaya.
They actually can move around New York relatively undisturbed. And get a great table at a restaurant when they need to, a perk that Matthew admits he enjoys. And, most importantly, work steadily and rewardingly. If there exists an ideal level of celebrity, that would be it.
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