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For Katherine LaNasa, this year’s Emmy Awards will be extra special.
The actress scored her first nomination for her portrayal of nurse Dana Evans in the HBO Max hit, The Pitt, and she’s ready to soak up every minute of the night.
“I’ve always looked at these awards shows on television and I’ve been to a few with my exes that were in [shows] that were nominated, but it’s been a really long time,” LaNasa, 58, tells PEOPLE. “To be a part of [the Emmys] because of me, because of my own work, is absolutely an honor and thrilling and exciting and beautiful and something that I can only dream of happening.”
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She calls her nomination “a dream.” “I really hope that I can take it in,” she adds.
LaNasa has been processing the whirlwind of being an Emmy nominee with the help of Emmy-winner, Sarah Paulson.
“I’ve been talking with Sarah Paulson who just keeps telling me, ‘Take it all in. Enjoy it,'” LaNasa says.
She’s also looking to fan-girl a bit at the show. “I’m excited to say hello to certain people that I’m a fan of. I love Jessica Williams. I love Meghann Fahy. I love Jeff Hiller. I love Julianne Nicholson. I got to talk with Patricia Arquette in the panel. I’m very excited about saying hello to her. There’s just so many people that I’m a fan of.”
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LaNasa is up against some of those names in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category, including Nicholson (Paradise), Arquette (Severance), Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus), Carrie Coon (The White Lotus), Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus) and Parker Posey (The White Lotus).
For LaNasa though, there was a moment where she felt like she already won.
“You never un-become an Emmy-nominated actress,” LaNasa, 58, tells PEOPLE. “It’s really a lovely stamp of approval from your peers. I love it that it’s something that our peers in the Academy vote on and that only actors can vote in the actor category. I’m really moved by this applause from my own peer group and to be included in these incredible actresses I love so much.”
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Whatever happens on Emmys night (airing live on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS), LaNasa also already got a stamp of approval from someone she greatly values.
She learned of her nomination while on set The Pitt season 2. As the cast and crew celebrated their 13 Emmy nominations, she says the “best feeling” was getting approval from Noah Wyle, who also serves as an executive producer and writer.
“That moment for me was so sweet because I really, on a visceral level, felt that Noah was really proud of me,” she shares. “He gave that to me in that moment and it felt nice. It made me feel like, ‘Oh, I did a good job.'”
Season 1 of The Pitt is streaming now on HBO Max. Season 2 premieres in January.
