The 2025 Emmys snub seems to have stung Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy as much as it did for the fans. The Disney+ show received 14 nominations in July, including Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, and Outstanding Cinematography.
Of the 14 nominees, only two were cast members. Forest Whitaker got nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for playing Saw Gerrera in the episode "I Have Friends Everywhere," and Alan Tudyk's motion-capture portrayal of revamped Imperial droid K-2SO in "Who Else Knows?" got nominated for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance.
It did not sit well with the fans that Genevieve O'Reilly (Mon Mothma) and Diego Luna (Cassian Andor) did not get a nod. Gilroy also felt the same way about the nominations.
In a conversation with Gold Derby, Gilroy admitted that it was "painful" to see O'Reilly not getting the recognition for their brilliant performances.
"Genevieve O'Reilly, of the 24 episodes, she must be in 20 of them. She gives a five-year performance that's complicated, nuanced, and breathtaking. It's a lifetime achievement," Gilroy said.
"I'm sure when you're looking [at the nomination, you think], "When are you going to get a part like that again? When are you going to get an opportunity like that again? When are you going to ever do that kind of work again?" Especially if you've been a working actor, but always on the margins, always down that list. And here's this incredible opportunity. And really, I would trade away a lot of other things to have her there."
The Michael Clayton director admitted he was not as concerned about Luna's snub but was upset about it nonetheless.
"It really hurts, but I said it before: I do think the performances and the work that people did on the show is going to have a very long, a very long life. I don't think it has an expiration date on it that is anytime soon."
Andor creator Tony Gilroy shares honest feelings about award shows
Gilroy himself was quite disillusioned with the concept of awards despite thinking they were important earlier in life. He revealed that he grew up watching award shows and found them a significant marker of creativity when he was not actively involved with the movie-making business. But earlier in his career, he witnessed fellow artists "bending their careers in a really warp-y way to play to it and making non-creative decisions to chase it," which eventually burst the bubble for him.
"So, like any rational person, I was thinking, 'Judging art and competing art and subjective awards?' and all the cynical things that go with it."
With the allure of the award circuit worn off, Gilroy found it satisfying to work with a "great class of people" during the Writers Guild of America strike in 2008. Michael Clayton received several nominations, which allowed Gilroy to witness the aftermath of the strike up-close, which included the cancellation of the 2008 Golden Globes Awards.
"It was the year of the strike, and we were trying to shut down the Academy Awards that year. And we did shut down the Golden Globes. Very complicated, very heady year, and it was a great class of people to be with. I felt like when it was all over, I wasn't unhappy with what happened at all. And I felt like it gave me a really legitimate place to have an honest opinion about it for the rest of my life."