Test Your Emmy Smarts With Our Short Quiz
Aaron Paul – Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Breaking Bad)
Paul made numerous guest appearances on various TV series before landing his breakthrough role as the twitchy lab assistant Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad in 2008. On which of the following series did he first appear in a bit role?
a) Beverly Hills 90210; b) Third Rock from the Sun; c) NYPD Blue; d) CSI Miami
Answer: a. Beverly Hills 90201
In April 1997, Aaron Paul played “Chad” in an episode entitled “Fortune Cookie” during the ninth season of the classic nighttime soap. (He appeared later on Third Rock from the Sun, NYPD Blue, and CSI Miami.)
Jon Hamm – Best Actor in a Drama (Mad Men)
The legend of Hamm’s landing the career-making role of Don Draper in Mad Men includes multiple auditions and the producers briefly considering another actor as the hard-drinking, philandering, ad man. That actor later went on to star in his own cable series. Who was it?
a) Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad; b) Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom; c) Thomas Jane, Hung; d) Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Answer: c. Thomas Jane, Hung
Hamm revealed last year that Jane was considered for the role of Don Draper during development of Man Men, which debuted in 2007. Allegedly, Jane turned down the offer because he “didn’t do television.” Two years later, he snagged the lead role in Hung. This clip of the 25-year-old Hamm on a dating game hints at his charm a decade before landing the Don Draper role—no to mention how far his hair has come.
Lena Dunham – Best Actress in a Comedy (Girls)
Before hitting it big at the tender age of 25 as writer, director, and star of HBO’s Girls, the New York City native wrote and starred in a series of short films while at college. Which college did Dunham attend?
a) Sara Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY; b) Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH; c) Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA; d) Yale University, New Haven, CT
Answer: b. Oberlin College
Dunham graduated with a degree in creative writing in 2008. She began making films while there, with one, Creative Furniture, screening at the prestigious South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, TX, the following year. In 2010, her indie feature, Tiny Furniture also screened at the festival, where it caught the eye of Hollywood bigwig Judd Apatow who went on to produce Girls.
Edie Falco – Best Actress in a Comedy (Nurse Jackie)
Falco is often cast as the tough cookie with a sensitive side. There was the steely mobster’s wife, Carmela Soprano, on HBO’s The Sopranos, and she currently stars as the pill-popping emergency room nurse Jackie Peyton on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie. In 1990, Falco landed her first featured role on the big screen in director Hal Hartley’s The Unbelievable Truth. What was her character’s occupation? a) police sergeant; b) cab driver c) wheelchair salesperson. d) waitress
Answer: d. Waitress
In 1989, Falco starred as Jane in The Unbelievable Truth, director Hal Hartley’s feature debut. In the decade leading up to The Sopranos, Falco would in fact also play a police sergeant, a cab driver, and a wheelchair salesperson on the big screen and small.
Lena Headey – Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Game of Thrones)
Playing such a cold, arrogant, and calculating character as Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones, it’s hard to believe that Heady ever could have appeared in a Disney adaptation of a beloved children’s book as a sweet and kind-hearted love interest of the main character. Yet that is exactly what she did in 1994. What was the film?
a) The Jungle Book; b) The Polar Express; c) Alice in Wonderland; d) Pinocchio
Answer: a. The Jungle Book
Headey played “Kitty” Brydon, childhood friend of the jungle boy Mowgli, from Rudyard Kipling’s classic 1894 tale. In the following years, Headey would take on characters closer to the one Game of Thrones fans so love to despise, including Queen Gorgo from the 300 film franchise.
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