actor believed she was being ‘punked’ when she learned she had been nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award.
was shocked over the Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television nod because it is the first major accolade she has been in the running for in a career spanning over four decades.
To compound her surprise, Carla explained on Instagram that she had not initially received the nomination for her role of Verna in The Fall of the House of Usher due to a ‘technical snafu.’
Her co-stars, however, Mary McDonnell and Willa Fitzgerald, who played the current and younger version of Madeline Usher respectively, were correctly informed of their Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries nomination.
Carla explained: ‘Well Peeps, I had to share this because we must all remember that life works in mysterious ways!! ✨✨ I just received my first major award nomination in Film and TV from the @criticschoice ✨.
‘The wildest part being that for 24 hours I didn’t know I was nominated and I was ecstatic for the Great Mary McDonnell and Willa Fitzgerald who did get nominated (YESSSS!) for fiercely embodying the character of Madeline Usher together.
‘Then I got the call that in fact I had been nominated for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER and due to some technical snafu my name had been left off the ballot. Naturally, I thought I was being punked.’
Carla joked she still believed the nod was a prank because ‘in a career that spans almost 40 years (??!!) despite generous accolades I haven’t actually been nominated for these fancy things.’
‘THIS IS ALL TO SAY: THANK YOU, CCA, I am elated and honoured,’ she added.
Carla started her career in the late 80s with films Troop Beverly Hills and This Boy’s Life among her first roles.
She gained major recognition for her starring parts in the Spy Kids trilogy, Night at the Museum alongside Ben Stiller and the late Robin Williams, and Ridley Scott’s American Gangster.
More recently, she has appeared in Gunpowder Milkshake, which also featured Doctor Who’s Karen Gillan, and other Mike Flanagan horrors The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Based on the tales of gothic poet Edgar Allan Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher follows the Usher family, headed by patriarch Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), and the vast pharmaceutical empire they have built up and its miracle drug, Ligodone.
As well as facing an impending lawsuit over deaths and corruption linked to his company, Roderick, his twin sister Madeline (Mary McDonnell), and their sinister lawyer Arthur Pym (Mark Hamill) must field controversies and Scan**ls brought to his door by his six children.
The show earned rave reviews from fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, with one branding the eight-parter ‘depressingly relevant.’
The Fall of the House of Usher is available to stream on Netflix.
