Joey King Calls Her Role as Gypsy Rose Blanchard Her ‘Most Fulfilling and Challenging Work’ After Emmy Nom

Congratulations are in order for actress Joey King! On Tuesday, July 16, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance as Gypsy Rose Blanchard in Hulu’s hit show, The Act. The star took to Instagram to share her reaction to the news. In a video filmed by a friend, she watches with bated breath as the nominations are announced — and then promptly bursts into tears the second that she hears her name. In the Instagram post’s caption, she described just how she was feeling, and she even gave a shoutout to her TV mom Patricia Arquette, who played Dee Dee Blanchard in the show.

“This is me in South Africa on my way to set in the car, live steaming the Emmy nominations announcement from the hotspot on my phone, also known as the best moment in the world,” Joey, 19, shared. “My work on The Act was the most fulfilling and challenging work I’ve gotten to do as an actress thus far. To be nominated for an Emmy in a category with such INCREDIBLE nominees by my side, especially Patricia, is the most surreal feeling. I haven’t stopped crying.”

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“Getting to call Patricia right after and share this moment with her is something I’ll never forget,” she continued. “Thank you to everyone who made this possible. There’s so many people who are behind The Act that I couldn’t have done this without, and I can’t wait to call all of them!!!! OH MY GOD. I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY.”

In the video, Joey can also be seen FaceTiming with Patricia as they celebrate the news together. The two will actually be competing for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie trophy. While Joey is up for The Act, Patricia was nominated for her role in Escape at Dannemora. For her role as Dee Dee, she was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie.

Though the real Gypsy’s family and friends objected to her portrayal on the Hulu show — even debunking all the various lies and mistakes the show made — even they were in awe of Joey’s performance. “I think she’s portraying her in the way Gypsy looked and talked; she’s on point,” Gypsy’s step-mom, Kristy Blanchard, told In Touch. “Gypsy even was like, ‘Wow.’ … She’s like, ‘Wow. … They made her really look like me.’ … And I was like, ‘Yeah. It’s uncanny.’”