Julia Garner took home the award for best supporting actress in a drama at the Emmys on Sept. 12, marking her third win for the role of Ruth Langmore in “Ozark.” In her acceptance speech, she expressed her gratitude for the character. “Thank you for writing Ruth,” she said. “She’s changed my life.”
In a press room backstage, Garner elaborated on the character’s significance, telling POPSUGAR that Langmore was her favourite role of all time. “If I had to pick one character – I love all my characters, but probably Ruth,” she says, “even though I love playing Anna Delvey [in ‘Inventing Anna’] as well.”
Garner adds that it is Ruth’s spirit of inquiry that stands out to her most. “The thing that I look for in a character, and it’s never going to change, is deep curiosity,” she said. “If a character has deep curiosity, there’s a lot going on and there’s a lot to do. That’s just really important to me. Not only what I’m looking for in a character, but also with people – a sense of curiosity and hopefulness.”
She also explains just how much the tough, resourceful, and complicated Langmore influenced her worldview. “What Ruth gave me was, in a deeper way, a sense of confidence,” she said. “I just learned so much from her, and she’s such a beautiful character and person – I’m going to say person, because I look at her as a person. Not only did she change my career, but she changed me as a person. I’m so grateful every single day.”
The actor will reportedly play Madonna in a forthcoming biopic, with Variety reporting that she was offered the part on June 7. Garner also made waves in 2022 for her performance as notorious scammer Anna Delvey in “Inventing Anna” amassing some attention for her unusual accent in the process. When asked whether she prefers her “Ozark” or “Inventing Anna” accents in the Emmys press room, she said that she couldn’t choose between them. “They’re so different. It’s kind of comparing apples and oranges. It even comes down to how they move their tongue. Everything’s so different. Ruth is [in Ruth’s accent] a little more sing-songy. . . Anna [in Anna’s accent] is just very flat, whatever. They’re very different. I love them both.”
