‘Orphan Black’ star Tatiana Maslany vies for Emmy Award for clone saga

TORONTO – Emmy hopeful Tatiana Maslany faces off against some heavy hitters in the best actress category at this weekend’s awards show bash and she’s typically modest about the whole affair.

The Regina-bred “Orphan Black” star said she’ll likely prepare an acceptance speech but “just so that I don’t panic completely while I’m out there.”

“I’ve never done it in the past and it’s not served me well. So we’ll see,” Maslany said earlier this summer while on holiday in London.

You can forgive the versatile actress for downplaying her chances. She is undoubtedly the underdog.

Big-name rivals include Taraji P. Henson for “Empire,” Claire Danes for “Homeland,” Viola Davis for “How to Get Away with Murder,” Elisabeth Moss for “Mad Men” and Robin Wright for “House of Cards.”

Maslany perks up when talk turns to fellow Canadian nominee Semi Chellas, a TV screenwriter up for her work on the final season of “Mad Men.”

Chellas was brought in as a consultant on the next season of “Orphan Black,” and Maslany gushed about having the celebrated scribe help shape the sci-fi clone saga.

“I’m super-inspired by her and I think it’s always awesome when we can have a female voice in the room as well because we’ve got a lot of guys on the show,” said Maslany, who is nominated for playing six different clones on the Space/BBC America serial.

“They’re all super-openminded and progressive guys, but it’s, you know, there’s something really special about a woman’s perspective on things. I think she’s kind of incredible.”

Chellas and show creator Matthew Weiner are up for an Emmy in the category of best writing for a drama series. They face competition from writers from “Better Call Saul,” “Game of Thrones” and “The Americans,” while Weiner is nominated a second time for another “Mad Men” episode.

Also up for a trophy Sunday is “Game of Thrones” director Jeremy Podeswa, who is from Toronto.

“I’m so happy to be associated with the show and so happy to be recognized for it,” said Podeswa.

“So many of the directors on the show did incredible work and had huge set pieces. To be honest, I expected some other director to be nominated from the show. I didn’t quite expect to get nominated myself.”

Podeswa is up against rivals from “Boardwalk Empire,” “Homeland” and “The Knick” as well as another “Game of Thrones” director.

This is his third nomination after being nominated for “The Pacific” and “Boardwalk Empire.”

Podeswa says working on “Game of Thrones” is very challenging but rewarding.

“It’s just on such a monumental scale and such a complex production,” he says, noting that last year they shot in Croatia, Spain and Northern Ireland.

“(It) is really like doing a feature film — and a large feature film, actually — just in terms of the visual effects component and the complexity of the storytelling and number of worlds you’re creating.”

Last weekend, several Canucks were in the running for creative arts Emmys, which celebrate craftspeople behind the scenes.

Winners included Nova Scotia’s Paula Fairfield for best sound editing for her work on “Game of Thrones,” Toronto-born cinematographer Jonathan Freeman for “Boardwalk Empire,” and “Saturday Night Live” executive producer Lorne Michaels, who earned a trophy in the best variety special category for his efforts as part of the team behind the sketch series’ 40th anniversary bash.

The Emmy Awards air Sunday on CTV and Fox.