For many television viewers, Janelle James has become synonymous with Ava Coleman, her bumbling yet brashly confident elementary school principal in the hit ABC work comedy “Abbott Elementary.”
The real James, a seasoned comedian who spent years strutting out on stand-up stages across the country, isn’t quite so clumsy. But on Wednesday, she had reason to be just as confident, after receiving her second Emmy nomination for playing Ava, her breakout role. She is now familiar with the choreography of the awards ceremony: the campaigns, the events, the dressing up… the media interviews.
“After the last Emmys, you sort of start preparing for the next Emmys,” she joked. “But it’s still a big problem.”
After recently being awakened by several phone calls notifying her of the nomination—again for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy—James discussed over the phone the success of the sitcom, the expansion of her comedic persona, and the personal growth of the delightfully self-aggrandizing comic foil that’s Ava. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
I’m going to ask you the question I should be asking as a journalist: How did it feel to hear you were nominated? But if it’s not too early for some improv, would you mind answering as Ava, not Janelle?
This is expected. You know, when I started the show at school, I knew in my heart that this was going to be the result. Sure, it’s for the kids, but I’m the glue that holds everything together. So if people focus on me, you know, that’s all the better because then I can shift the focus later on to the kids who really… deserve it.
Thank you for doing me a favour. So – back as Janelle – tell me about your experience at last year’s Emmys.
That was a wild experience for me. I have never been to the Emmys before and really didn’t understand what the whole process was. It was a totally new experience, and my best friend, Hadiyah Robinson, who I started out with in this business, sat next to me and we were really just geeking out seeing all these famous people.
Do you ever find yourself channeling Ava into your own life?
I remember before this role I was younger and more fabulous, pre-comedy, pre-standup, and really made a conscious decision to downgrade in looks and fabulousness to keep my sanity in a male-driven industry. I did the whole “comedian in a black T-shirt and jeans” thing. This role – the whole thing – has reminded me that I like those things, and that’s part of me. I’m trying to bring that back.
This show quickly morphed from the new comedy on the block to well-entrenched in pop culture. How did that go so fast?
That’s great – that means we’re already part of the zeitgeist and lexicon. People feel like they know us, and I feel like that’s the sign of a real sitcom: something you watch with your family and something that feels like it’s part of your life all the time.
What are your expectations for Ava in future seasons?
Maybe more Ava outside of school, which she does when she’s not working. We got her interested in learning and maybe teaching later. I hope we continue on that path – Ava’s education is waking up again. And more of the same. More high jinks, more lines, more laughs.