Allison Janney has an impressive range of projects under her belt, from TV to indie films to Broadway, but there are some roles that she has yet to conquer.
In a recent interview with Variety, the Oscar-winning actor admitted that there are two types of characters that she would like to play in the future — the first of which being a superhero.
Janney, 66, said that she has wanted to portray a character with superpowers ever since she spent her childhood watching the classic Sixties sitcom Bewitched.
“I was determined that if I twitched the right body parts, I too could be magic,” the seven-time Emmy winner explained to the publication.
Secondly, although she portrayed the comic relief part of the veterinarian boss in the 2019 cult classic Ma, Janney said she is ready to take on another scary movie.
“I’ve never done a horror film before,” she told the outlet. “That would be really fun.”
A superhero and/or a final girl role for Janney would be a drastic change from the reputation she has earned for playing strong women in Washington, D.C.
After making a name for herself in the theater world — and earning her first Tony nomination in 1997 — Janney broke into Hollywood by playing White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg on the beloved drama The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.
Over on The Diplomat, the Netflix political thriller created by Debora Cahn, Janney plays Grace Penn, who ascended from the vice president role to the commander in chief.
However, the Ohio native insists that her personality is much different than the characters she winds up playing.
“I love playing strong women with huge flaws or huge secrets,” she told Variety. “But in real life, I am not that at all. I am shy. I do not like to speak in front of people.
“I am not these characters at all, and all my friends will tell you that too,” she said.
Her presidential role in The Diplomat landed Janney a nomination at this year’s Emmy Awards for best supporting drama actress, with the drama series receiving seven nominations total ahead of the September 14 ceremony. If she wins, Janney will tie Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the most awarded female performers in the history of the Emmys.
While season four of the Netflix show is set to be released later this year, Janney will also be returning to Broadway this fall in the first revival of Jon Robin Baitz’s drama Other Desert Cities.