Earlier this awards season I warned you not to count out Sophie Okonedo (“Ratched“) when making your Emmy nominations predictions. Well, not enough people listened to me, as she was the only Drama Guest Actress nominee who surprised pundits on nominations morning. The other four — Alexis Bledel (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Phylicia Rashad (“This Is Us”), Mckenna Grace (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Claire Foy (“The Crown”) — all placed within the Top 5 of Gold Derby’s combined odds. Now that Okonedo has secured the nomination, the hard part is over. I now think she’s going to win that Emmy.
Netflix‘s period drama series is based on the 1962 novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and the 1975 film of the same name. Okonedo joined the “Ratched” cast in the fifth episode, “The Dance,” as a new patient at Lucia State Hospital named Charlotte Wells. Charlotte is treated for dissociative identity disorder by Dr. Richard Hanover (Jon Jon Briones) and Nurse Mildred Ratched (Sarah Paulson), with some of her multiple personalities being Ondine, a boastful musician, Apollo, an aggressive athlete and Baby Taffy, an innocent child. “The Dance” is the episode Okonedo officially submitted for Emmy voters to watch and judge.
The actress later appeared in the final two episodes of the season, “The Bucket List” and “Mildred and Edmund,” as she escapes the mental institution with the help of her new friends. Even though Okonedo has an unforgettable presence on the show, she actually only appeared in three out of eight episodes, or less than 50%, which made her eligible for the guest star category. However, all of her extended screen time in those eps will definitely work in her favor when Television Academy members go to mark their ballots this August.
Don’t forget, the Emmys often go crazy for actors who undergo dual roles — just ask Toni Collette (“United States of Tara”), Lindsay Wagner (“Bionic Woman”) and Sally Field (“Sybil”). More recently, Tatiana Maslany claimed the trophy for playing countless clones on “Orphan Black.” There’s just something about an actor showing off their range that acts like catnip to voters.
While this is Okonedo’s first Emmy nomination, she is no stranger to awards shows. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Hotel Rwanda” (2004), a Golden Globe for “Tsunami: The Aftermath” (2006), and three BAFTA TV Awards for “Mrs Mandela” (2010), “Criminal Justice” (2008) and “Criminal: UK” (2019).
The fact that “Ratched” comes from prolific producer Ryan Murphy also can’t be ignored. Eleven actors have already claimed victory for their work on his various shows, and now Okonedo could be the 12th. They are: Kathy Bates (“American Horror Story: Coven”), Sterling K. Brown (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”), Darren Criss (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace”), James Cromwell (“American Horror Story: Asylum”), Neil Patrick Harris (“Glee”), Jessica Lange (“American Horror Story: Murder House” & “AHS: Coven”), Jane Lynch (“Glee”), Gwyneth Paltrow (“Glee”), Paulson (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”), Billy Porter (“Pose”) and Courtney B. Vance (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”).
In her recent interview with Gold Derby, Okonedo explained how playing multiple characters was “quite difficult and quite juicy and I had so many different ways I could go with it. Right up until they said ‘action,’ I had no idea how I was gonna do it.” The actress also decided to leave some of the mystery surrounding Charlotte up to the audience’s own interpretation, revealing, “It was more helpful to play each character as truly as possible and not worry about how they joined.”
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