Jane Lynch talks hosting this year's Emmys: 'I'm quite calm about it'

Last week, it became official that Glee star Jane Lynch would host this year’s Emmy Awards, airing Sept. 18 on Fox. So how did the actress, who herself won an Emmy last year for playing Glee‘s Sue Sylvester, land such a high-profile gig? “I was on a plane after Upfronts and [producer] Mark Burnett was on the plane as well,” Lynch tells EW. “He came up to me and said, ‘I’m producing the Emmys and you’re my first choice.’ And I said, ‘Wow! Okay!’ [Laughs] Then I went on vacation with [wife] Lara — we went to Bora Bora. We got an email from Mark Burnett saying, ‘I’m officially asking you to be the host.’ And I said, ‘Yes!’”

Lynch says she’s taking pointers from last year’s host Jimmy Fallon. “What I loved about what he did was he’s such a charming presence and he basically just stepped up there as himself,” says the actress. “He didn’t put on a funny hat or glasses — he just did his thing.” It also means that Lynch isn’t sure yet whether or not her Glee alter-ego, Sue Sylvester, will pop up on Emmy night. ” I have no idea,” says the actress. “I doubt it.”

Lynch hasn’t begun prepping at all for the hosting gig and will spend the next month in Atlanta shooting The Three Stooges, in which she plays a nun who raises the titular trio. But she’s staying zen about being the face of the Emmys. “You know it’s interesting: When I was asked to do Saturday Night Live, it’s something I always wanted to do yet was always afraid of,” admits Lynch. “I had to just kind of push the fear aside and that’s what I’m doing here too. Also, it’s not happening for a couple of months. I’m quite calm about it. I’ve quieted my anxious inner-child and, for the moment, she’s faded and hopefully she’ll stay that way.”

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