Martin Short, the sole Emmy nominee for acting this year from the cast of “Only Murders in the Building,” recently shared co-star Steve Martin’s humorous reaction to the news.
“Steve phoned me about mid-afternoon,” Short recalled on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast. Martin feigned ignorance, saying, “‘Hi, it’s Steve. So I’ve been out all day, and I’ve been hiking and biking and, oh my God, I’ve been so busy. Hey, have you heard anything about the Emmys?’”
The Hulu series has been a significant success for Short, who earlier this year won his first Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series. That same evening, the show’s cast also secured the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
“It’s a great show, it’s well written, it’s well directed, it’s well crafted, and it’s a hit,” Short said, expressing his gratitude for the show’s success at this stage of his career. “Those things are very rare… it’s not only obviously great to be nominated for things, but to be so personally pleased with the outcome of the show is amazing.”
As the flamboyant director Oliver Putnam, Short provides much of the show’s emotional core. Over four seasons, audiences have watched his character navigate a complex relationship with his son, grapple with his past career, and find new love with Loretta, played by Meryl Streep.
With the show now in its fourth season and renewed for a fifth, Short reflected on its potential longevity. “You know when it feels like it’s past its time,” he said. “This is a long time in streaming to go five years. ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ ended after five years because one of the reasons was that they were afraid of losing the quality. But then, ‘Friends’ went how long, and they were always brilliant.”
Short also credited the show’s positive on-set atmosphere for its success. “It is a very loose set, and one of the reasons is because Steve and Selena and I all work the exact same way, screwing around, getting the crew to laugh,” he explained. “That kind of joie de vivre permeates the set, and I think that translates a little bit to the camera as well.”
While celebrated for his comedic work, Short has also taken on dramatic roles in series like “The Morning Show” and “Damages.” “If someone writes you a great role that’s dramatic, you don’t say, ‘no, I only do comedy,’” he noted. “I kind of do something that seems exciting and intriguing and risky.”
His latest venture is hosting ABC’s revival of the game show “Match Game,” a challenge he embraced for the thrill of trying something new. “You know that you could potentially massively fail,” he said. “It’s kind of exciting at this stage.”
The idea of hosting the show as his clueless celebrity interviewer character, Jiminy Glick, was briefly considered. “The reality is, Mike Myers did a game show a few years ago in character,” Short revealed, referencing “The Gong Show.” “That’s three hours of makeup. It seems like a good idea on paper.”
While Short occasionally revives Glick, he has retired other signature characters like Ed Grimley. “Someone like Ed Grimley was interesting because he was a grown man who still had the openness of a child, but at a certain point it looks like he’s a grown man with an illness,” he explained. “But Glick can constantly be in the current, like a male Barbara Walters, or someone who just lasted decades.”
