As Hollywood gets its Emmy nominations, Chernobyl proves to be a strong contender for Game of Thrones

Can you recall the 1986 nuclear accident in the north of the Ukrainian SSR, one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history? And the numerous sacrifices made to save Europe from an unimaginable disaster? Chernobyl, a five-part mini-series, dramatises the tragedy. While Game of Thrones made Emmy history with a record 32 nominations, Chernobyl proved to be an Emmy powerhouse as well as it landed 19 nominations, including a nod for star Jared Harris for lead actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie.

Harris, after he received the news of his nomination, said that he had a very good day. Asked how he learned of his nomination, the actor said, “My wife told me about it. She said, ‘You’re a very lucky man’.”

This is Harris’ second nomination, following his 2012 Supporting Actor nod for Mad Men but he prefers not to contrast the two experiences. “I don’t compare it to the previous times. It’s a unique experience with a different group of people,” he said, adding that attending the Emmy Awards ceremony in September is “going to be a great reunion” with his co-stars Emily Watson and Stellan Skarsgard also scored nominations.

Reflecting on Chernobyl racking up 19 nominations — this year’s third-most nominated show — Harris admitted that it’s “pretty amazing” but says that it speaks to the overall quality of the production.

“When you review social media, people were calling out set design, production design, sound music. People were aware of the impact that every single element of the show had on the audience,” he explained.

Speaking of social media, Harris cracked up when he had read a comment from a Twitter user who wrote, “I want my life to go so wrong, Jared Harris stars in a horrifying miniseries about it.”

“That’s hilarious,” he said, laughing out loudly. “I hadn’t seen that.”

As for tracking social media comments about the show, Harris said that he tries to maintain some moderation. “I see some of it and not all of it,” he added. “I try interacting with people who enjoyed the show, if they have questions, I try to answer them, but you can be on there for 24 hours a day.”

In the miniseries, which tells one the story of the worst nuclear accident in history and the ensuing Soviet cover-up, Harris portrays real-life scientist Valery Legasov, who had headed the commission investigating the Chernobyl disaster. So how aware was Harris of Legasov before taking on the role? “I wasn’t aware of him at all,” admitted Harris, “that was the point.”

When playing a historical role, Harris said research offered him a pathway into the character. “I always do research, especially when you’re dealing with a period piece,” he said. “People misunderstand what the method is. They think it’s something where you’re supposed to be, ‘I am so and so,’ and you walk around pretending to be that person. But you immerse yourself in the culture, the time when they lived in, and understand what their mindset was, how they perceived the world. If you’re playing someone from the Elizabethan era, they have a completely different concept of what the world is than if you’re playing somebody now. You have to be able to understand that in order to represent it in a scene,” said he.

When working on a project involving such dark subject matter, did the actors try to lighten things up on the set? “Yeah, you have to. Series creator Craig (Mazin), cracks jokes and makes fun of himself. He’s got a good sense of humour. Stellan is just one of the most glorious spirits you’ve ever met. Emily, she’s got a really great sense of humour. But you have to. You can’t keep touching on that nerve all day because it goes numb. And when you need it to be there and the cameras are rolling, you’ve exhausted it. You have to go somewhere else.”

Chernobyl is the latest in a run of critically acclaimed projects in which Harris has been involved, including such TV series as Mad Men, The Crown, The Expanse and The Terror.

As he explained, the secret to picking good projects is simply finding good scripts. “I read a lot of scripts, and you can tell within 10 or 15 pages how competent the writer is,” he said. “And these were all scripts that caught me immediately.”

Meanwhile, some may find it surprising that Harris is a huge fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race, revealing his two favourite competitors were the most recent season’s Brook Lynn Hytes and Yvie Oddly.

“I was introduced to it though my wife, she was a huge fan,” he said of how he came to become enamoured of the show, and explains what it is about Drag Race that he connects with.

“What I really enjoy about it is that they use words rather than fists and they use humour as a way of deflecting, instead of getting into conflict,” he said. “There’s a tremendous sense of humour, appreciation of language. I really enjoy that. I’m in awe of anyone who can come up with a well-timed quip.”

(Chernobyl will premiere in India on Star World on September 2.)