It’s tradition on Oscar nomination morning to hear about how the nominees reacted to their nominations. Some release statements and those make headlines. And, over the years, we’ve become accustomed to the story that they were sleeping. That their moms or their agents woke them up. That their phones got them out of bed.
This is not how it was for Allison Janney, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for I, Tonya and considered to be the lock in the category seeing as she’s been winning almost everything up to this point. Allison told PEOPLE that:
“First of all, I was in bed last night at 9 p.m. to try to get a good night’s sleep, which is just a joke — I didn’t sleep one wink,” Janney joked. “At 5 a.m. my bedroom door flew open and six people came jumping into my bed. I was floored, I had all these people who flew in from New York to be with me. It was just the most special morning to get up and watch the announcement with dear friends and family.”
So not only did she not sleep, she watched the nominations live and I appreciate this, I appreciate that, for a change, someone wasn’t sleeping and someone will admit to not being able to sleep. In sports, especially hockey, they’ve bludgeoned the “yeoman’s work” expression to death when describing a certain player type – a consistent player, who isn’t flashy, who makes a solid contribution on every shift and always gets the job done. This is Allison Janney. Allison Janney is always, always working. There are never any gaps in her resumé. Actors like Allison Janney are doing the “yeoman’s work” often in supporting roles. She could totally do the same in the lead though, non?
Here's Allison at the Women's March and the Producer's Guild Awards with Margot Robbie on the weekend.
