Emmy Contenders chats 2019

Giancarlo Esposito talks about returning to the Emmys, seven years after his first nomination for “Breaking Bad,� in a video interview at the Los Angeles Times.

Mandy Moore gets old and frail in the third season of “This Is Us,� she says in this video interview.

The second season of “This Is Us� might have brought clarity to a lingering question — how did Jack Pearson die?

When “The Daily Show� host Trevor Noah stopped by The Times’ office for a video interview in late April, 18 Democrats had announced plans to run for president.

One of the bounties of the current golden age of TV has been the blurring of genre boundaries, affording more complex life to the likes of Netflix’s “Dead to Me.�

In the upcoming HBO miniseries “Chernobyl,� Jared Harris plays Valery Legasov, the real-life scientist the Soviet government called when an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was reported.

Should you pull up next to Anthony Carrigan at a Los Angeles stoplight and hear the poppin’ sounds of Huey Lewis and the News or maybe some deep cuts from Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears, know that the actor is probably getting into the head space of NoHo Hank, the joyful Chechen mob boss on HBO’s “Barry.�

Joey King will tell you that when it came to preparing for her role as Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the young woman whose twisted upbringing would make headlines after her involvement in the death of her mother, that it was as much a mental journey as it was a physical transformation.

Some actors become so associated with their roles, they fool the public.

When it comes to “The Marvelous Mrs.

Anna Chlumsky has earned five Emmy nominations for playing perpetually high-strung political operative Amy Brookheimer in “Veep.�

Netflix’s “Dead to Me� is a dark comedy, serious drama and mystery all at once.

In only three seasons, it has already been a long, strange trip for Kevin Pearson.

Calum Worthy describes the first season of Hulu’s true-crime anthology series “The Act� as “a character study.�

When “Better Call Saul� ended its fourth season, Bob Odenkirk’s resourceful, disbarred lawyer Jimmy McGill had been reinstated, announcing to long-suffering legal and life partner Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) that he intended to now practice law under the name Saul Goodman.

The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling of Netflix’s popular series “GLOW� will be returning for a third season a bit later this summer, and star Marc Maron reveals that the show will (probably) be exploring the weird, romantic tension between his character, director Sam, and Alison Brie’s lady wrestler Ruth (a.k.a.

Picking a favorite episode from this past season of “The Good Place� would pose the kind of existential conundrum that the NBC comedy so expertly explores.

NBC’s “The Good Place� may be one of the twistiest sitcoms out there, but what may shock its fans most of all is that star Manny Jacinto can actually string more than two words together.

Many viewers of “Succession,� HBO’s meditation on family-owned media dynasties, find it hard to keep a straight face whenever the show’s scene-stealing character, Tom Wambsgans, is on-screen.

Michael Angarano wasn’t afraid, and he has “Will and Grace� to thank for that.

We’re about a month away from the series finale of “Veep,� and Reid Scott, who has memorably played ambitious slimeball Dan Egan through the show’s run, says fans need to be prepared for a “Sopranos�-style shocking sendoff.

Through “Veep’s� seven seasons, the universally despised Jonah Ryan has been called the Pointless Giant, Jimpanzee, the 60-Foot Virgin, Jono Ono and the Cloud Botherer among many, many other things, most of which we can’t print here.

Television’s big awards night isn’t until the fall, but why wait till then to catch up with the Emmy season’s hottest contenders and your favorite actors?

“Bodyguard� and “Game of Thrones� actor Richard Madden dropped by the Los Angeles Times video studio and answered questions about wearing too much — and too little.

When told he has 339 acting credits currently listed on IMDb, Mark Hamill could neither confirm nor deny that total.

Six-time Emmy nominee Christina Hendricks thought her show “Mad Men� was “hilarious,� but most would probably agree it was a drama with comic moments.

Comedy Central’s “Broad City� ended its five-season run in March, but its creators still feel a bit verklempt about it, judging from their appearance at a Los Angeles Times Envelope Live event this month.

Ken Jeong thought he might title his first stand-up comedy special “Full Circle� or “First Date,� owing to the fact that it was filmed at the Ice House in Pasadena, the comedy club where his wife first saw him perform.

Wanda Sykes lays it all out for any supporters of the president who might be in her audience.

Ellie Kemper still gets emotional thinking about where the titular character she plays on Netflix’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt� finds herself at the series’ end.

Know why executive producer George Clooney wanted Kyle Chandler to play the obsessive Col.

If Christopher Abbott looks like he’s acting, then he’s not doing it right.

In “Replay,� arguably the best episode of Jordan Peele’s new “Twilight Zone� reboot, Sanaa Lathan plays a mother determined to get her son to his first day of college.

Comedy Central’s “The Other Two� can be a festival of indignities large and small for its titular, 20-something siblings.

When you’re an overnight sensation at just 13 years of age, life can be a series of premieres and award ceremonies and video shoots.

Oscar winner Timothy Hutton isn’t particularly known for appearing in the horror genre — “The Dark Half,� “Secret Window� among the few exceptions in his 80-plus credits.

Playing a master of manipulation has Eric Bana questioning his own actions a bit more than usual these days.

In Bravo’s eight-part true-crime anthology series “Dirty John,� Connie Britton plays Debra Newell, the four-time divorcée and wealthy Newport Beach business owner who meets and falls in love with a man who is not what he seems.

Kayce Dutton is the favorite son of the powerful, Montana-ranching Dutton clan on Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone.�

If you’ve ever dipped into Rod Serling’s “Twilight Zone,� chances are you’ve watched the classic “Eye of the Beholder� episode.

Sara Gilbert has spent most of her life on TV.

Adam Scott stars in “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet,� an episode of Jordan Peele’s new “Twilight Zone� reboot that is a re-imagining of the classic William Shatner fear-of-flying episode on the original Rod Serling series.

In the glut of TV series this season, it’s pretty safe to say only “PEN15� offered a close-up shot of menstrual blood on a scrunched up wad of toilet paper.

When Carmen Ejogo was approached about starring in Season 3 of HBO’s “True Detective� — as the wife of one-half of the detective duo that includes Mahershala Ali — she was conscious of the show’s reputation as a male-driven franchise.

American audiences know Ruth Wilson through her ongoing role on TV shows like “Luther� and “The Affair,� but her latest project, Masterpiece’s “Mrs.

As Andrew Rannells moves forward, he’s also looking back.

Lillian Dolomite Kaushtupper is the lusty, shady, gentrification-battling landlady with a dark past that seemed only to get darker and darker with each season of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.�

If Comedy Central’s “The Other Two� is about the older siblings of a 13-year-old sudden superstar who are flailing to stay afloat, Molly Shannon’s character is the mother duck gliding placidly beside them.

There’s a reason why the friendship between Aidy Bryant and Lolly Adefope’s characters feels so authentic in Hulu’s “Shrill,� and that reason’s name is Ariana Grande.

Kate Beckinsale has starred in period dramas (“Much Ado About Nothing,� “Emma�), action films (the “Underworld� series, “Van Helsing�) and comedy (“Serendipity,� “The Last Days of Disco�).

Topher Grace is probably still best known for the sitcom “That ’70s Show.�

It has been 30 years since “The Karate Kid Part III,� and Ralph Macchio is still alive — and kicking.

When it comes to the adaptations of Victor Hugo’s famous novel “Les Miserables,� the most famous versions are the Tony Award-winning musical and the Oscar-winning film.

It’s not as if Eric McCormack hadn’t been keeping busy since his now-iconic sitcom, “Will and Grace� ended its initial run in 2006.

“The Passage� is a horror series, among many other things.

It’s hard to watch “Sorry for Your Loss� without taking in the comments.

For Sharon Horgan, the process of saying goodbye to “Catastrophe� isn’t something she has gotten around to just yet.

Steve Zahn doesn’t remember his first brush with the Internet — couldn’t tell you about the first email he typed, or his first browser search.

Mireille Enos won high praise for her leading role in “The Killing,� playing a tightly wound detective investigating the murder of a teenage girl.

So Cat Deeley doesn’t think she can dance. Actually, she doesn’t just think it; she’s sure of it.