Emmys 2013: Two big nominations have Elisabeth Moss in a daze

By Jessica Gelt

Sept. 22, 2013 5 PM PT

Elisabeth Moss was in a daze on the red carpet at the Emmys on Sunday.

The 31-year-old actress was having a hard time believing she’s up for two best actress awards thanks to her work on “Mad Men” and the dark Jane Campion-directed miniseries “Top of the Lake.”

“Honestly, I’m still in shock that I was nominated twice,” she said, her bright blond locks shining in the late-afternoon sunlight. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this.”

Moss said that the fact that the two characters she plays in the shows (Peggy Olson and Aussie detective Robin Griffin) are polar opposites was particularly challenging and rewarding for her as an actress.

Playing Griffin was a gamble, and she was relieved that critics took kindly to her performance.

“I didn’t know how people were going to react,” she said of “Top of the Lake.” “The show was really made by the critics; that’s who everyone listens to, and it can make or break a little show like this.”

Was it hard morphing from tough and elusive Griffin to sensitive, misunderstood Olson when the time came to go back to “Mad Men”?

Yes, it was a balancing act, said Moss, “But I tried to take a little bit of Robin with me into the board room.”

[Updated, 9:23 p.m. Sept. 22: Video was added to this post.]

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