THE RUNDOWNMeg Stalter attended the 2026 Emmy Awards dressed like a life-size trophy.The Hacks star is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.This marks Stalter’s first Emmy nomination.With Meg Stalter, there’s really no predicting what an Emmys red carpet look might bring. And she certainly surpassed all our expectations when she arrived at Monday night’s ceremony spray-painted head-to-toe in gold, dressed like a life-size Emmy Award. Yup, that means she donned golden wings and even held up a sphere like the real-life trophy itself.Amy Sussman//Getty ImagesNaturally, her co-star and partner in crime Paul W. Downs joined her for the stunt.Kevin Mazur//Getty ImagesThey say dress for the job you want—does that apply to the awards you want, too? For Meg’s sake, we sure hope so.View full post on XThe occasion marks Stalter’s first time attending the Emmys as a nominee. She earned her first career nod for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Kayla Schaeffer in the fifth and final season of Hacks.It’s been quite the year for Stalter, who also made her Broadway debut this summer, taking over the title role in Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary!.The actress has a penchant for challenging red carpet conventions. “Every red carpet appearance or anything that I get to do in front of people, I want to have fun and make the most of it because it’s my dream,” she told Marie Claire in April. “We worked really hard to get here, and now I want to enjoy it.”Stalter and Hacks co-star Paul W. Downs spent their final awards season together turning their joint appearances into an extension of their comedy, including showing up to the Critics Choice Awards in matching orange looks inspired by Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner’s coordinating outfits at the Marty Supreme premiere.Steve Granitz//Getty ImagesIn an August interview with the Los Angeles Times, Stalter and Downs explained that the idea came from Hacks producer Genevieve Aniello, who suggested they re-create the looks. With the Critics Choice Awards only six days away, Downs initially thought pulling it off sounded impossible. Stalter had a different response: “We’re going to get it done.”Stalter’s first Emmy nomination also provided one more appropriately Kayla-and-Jimmy moment for the longtime co-stars. Downs was the one who broke the news to her in July, after Stalter initially missed his FaceTime call while watching reality television.“I texted her ‘Meg,’ and then she’s like, ‘What? What’s going on?’” Downs recalled to TheWrap. When he finally told her she had been nominated, Stalter thought he was joking. “Once I convinced her that I wasn’t pranking her, she was shaking,” Downs said. “She couldn’t believe it.”The recognition arrives as Stalter says goodbye to the role that helped launch this chapter of her career. When she and Downs visited ELLE in May ahead of the Hacks finale, Stalter was already emotional about the prospect of no longer doing press alongside her longtime scene partner.“This is such an exciting day to do press together because I get to see you, and then I’m realizing that we won’t get to do press next year,” she told him—before immediately proposing a solution: “Unless we film a show now to come out next year.”