‘Lessons In Chemistry’ Star Aja Naomi King On Her First Emmy Nom For The “Transformed” Harriet Sloane: “This Is Magic, This Is Utter Magic”

Aja Naomi King received her first Emmy nomination this morning for her role as Harriet Sloane in the Apple TV+ limited series Lessons in Chemistry.

“This is one of the most amazing days of my life,” says King. “Sometimes there are just things that come your way that utterly blow your mind because the experience of this was so perfectly wonderful. If no one had watched it, then I would’ve still just been so grateful to have played this character. But the fact that it meant so much to so many people, and that I had such a wonderful experience working with such phenomenal artists, and then to get nominated on top of it… This is magic, this is utter magic.”

This experience was made even more special for King considering the character of Harriet Sloane was changed dramatically for the series. “They made this wonderful character and transformed her so that it could fit me perfectly,” she says, “and that was such a gift to entrust me with that and to expand the world of the story in that way. It was just so meaningful and such a wonderful process to share in.”

Lessons in Chemistry received a total of six nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and an Outstanding Lead Actress nom for Brie Larson which King was thrilled with.

“Of course she was nominated, because her work was really incredible on this,” she says. “She was so a part of every aspect of it with the producing and just really creating a family on set so that everyone felt safe and could do their best work. This was ours, it was utterly ours, and she set that tone immediately.”

“We don’t want to put too much into awards,” says King, “but at the end of the day it really is meaningful to have your peers look to your work and say, ‘Hey, we see you and we think you’re doing something really incredible and we want to acknowledge you.’ So, I am deeply touched by all of this.”