Bryce Dallas Howard feared the worst when she heard about her SAG nomination

When Bryce Dallas Howard got a call from her agent early Wednesday morning, she didn’t imagine it was good news about, say, a SAG nomination for outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or limited series.

“I really thought there had been some catastrophe,” she told The Times, laughing, not long after the nominations were announced. “We’re wired to immediately think emergency.”

It’s an apt response for the actress, who stars in the third season of “Black Mirror,” for which she received her SAG nomination. The show explores the blurry line separating humans and technology. In the episode titled “Nosedive,” Howard plays Lacie, a woman navigating a world where every interaction is ranked, culminating in a personal score that determines social status. She feels the show resonated with viewers because of its relevance in our social-media obsessed world.

“We’re all trying to navigate this new thing that is having relationships with people through technology. We’re also dealing with these social-media networks that make all of our lives so public,” Howard said. “I think for me it definitely touched upon all the things that I relate to when it comes to social media and how to deal with it.”

Even though Howard avoided social media until just last year, her performance was strong enough to earn her a nomination for outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or limited series.

“[The nomination] is meaningful to me because I’m a third-generation actor, and this being SAG and having grown up attending meetings — this is wonderful,” she said.

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