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Poker Face's Natasha Lyonne Says She's Brushing Up on Old Columbo Speeches in Case She Wins an Emmy
Natasha Lyonne wants any Emmy speech she gives to be a kind of tribute to Peter Falk.
Earlier this week, Peacock original series Poker Face scored four Emmy nominations for its first season of mysteries, including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy for star Natasha Lyonne. So, what does Lyonne hope to do with her speech time if she wins? Pay tribute to Columbo, of course, seeing as Peter Falk's murder mystery show of yesteryear served as inspiration for the Peacock hit.
Speaking to Deadline about the Emmy nomination, Lyonne admitted that her mind is occupied with other things, including dual Hollywood union strikes, so she hasn't spent all that much time preparing for a possible awards acceptance yet. There are, however, two key elements of the eventual Emmys night on her mind. For one thing, she's been trying to convince Poker Face creator Rian Johnson to let her borrow his wife, film historian and podcast host Karina Longworth, to be her date for the evening. For another, she's been looking back on the kinds of awards show speeches delivered by Columbo star Peter Falk, in the hope that she can just recite on of his if she wins.
“Just in case I happen to make it up there, I can do a word-for-word [reenactment] talking about my long day making it through LaGuardia,” she said.
RELATED: Poker Face Heads to DVD and Blu-ray This September
In addition to Lyonne's nomination, Poker Face also earned Creative Arts Emmy nods for stunt coordination, production design, and an Outstanding Guest Actress honor for Judith Light. Lyonne shares her category with a who's who of great comedy performers, including Christina Applegate (Dead to Me), Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), and Jenna Ortega (Wednesday).
On Wednesday, as the Poker Face team celebrated their nominations, Lyonne took some time to write a little love note to Johnson on Twitter, where she thanked him for sharing the series, and much more, with her.
"I really love the hell out of you," Lyonne wrote. "Thank you for being such a brilliant writer, director, creator, crossword player and friend. And thank you for being a funny person & my partner in crime. You’re my #AngelaLansbury."
The Emmy Awards will be handed out Sept. 18. In the meantime, you can stream the entire first season of Poker Face on Peacock.
