It’s not easy to make audiences fall in love with a character who behaves terribly, but that has been the bread and butter of the guest on the 600th episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter, which was recorded in front of an audience at Chapman University: stand-up comedian and actress Janelle James, who is best known — and currently Emmy-nominated for the fourth time — for playing Ava Coleman, the narcissistic, incompetent, morally compromised, toxic, but somehow still lovable principal at a Philadelphia K-8 school on Quinta Brunson’s hit ABC comedy series, Abbott Elementary.

Over the course of the conversation, James, 45, reflects on her early years in St. Thomas, coming to New York and then, in Illinois, stumbling into stand-up comedy. She speaks about touring with Chris Rock, Amy Schumer and David Cross and writing for BET’s The Rundown With Robin Thede (2017) and Showtime’s Black Monday (2020-21), the latter of which also led to her acting for the first time. And she dishes about the casting process that led to her winning the part of Ava on Abbott Elementary, which has brought her not only Emmy nominations but also nominations for SAG, Golden Globe, Critics Choice and Spirit awards and, along with her castmates, the best comedy ensemble SAG Award.

She also candidly discusses the pros and cons of sudden celebrity and wealth, and of acting on a network show, as opposed to a cable or streaming program (as is the case for every one of her fellow 2025 best supporting actress in a comedy series Emmy nominees). She lifts the veil on some of the comedic and physical challenges of playing Ava. And she breaks down her assignment on the fourth season of Abbott — during which Ava reconnected with her father, found a love interest and lost her job — and concurs with the host’s assertion that it is the season for which she made her strongest case yet to take home an Emmy.