Fresh off her first Emmy win, Linda Cardellini reflects on a 30-year chameleon career

Linda Cardellini has spent three decades proving she can transform into virtually any character.

From her breakout turn as Lindsay Weir in cult-classic Freaks and Geeks and donning glasses as Velma in Scooby-Doo, to navigating high-stakes drama in ER, Bloodline, Mad Men, and Dead to Me, she has quietly built one of the most versatile resumes in modern Hollywood.

Now, she finally has the hardware to match. Fresh off taking home her very first Primetime Emmy Award for her standout role in Steven Conrad's acclaimed HBO miniseries DTF St. Louis, Cardellini joined co-star Jason Bateman alongside Sean Hayes and Will Arnett on the SmartLess podcast for an expansive, hilarious retrospective on her 30-year climb to the top.

For over three decades, Cardellini has been delighting audiences on screens both big and small (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images)

The only other moment that felt like winning an Emmy: ‘The Price Is Right’

Despite previous nominations for Mad Men and Dead to Me, Cardellini admitted hearing her name called on Emmy night was an entirely surreal, out-of-body experience.

In fact, the 51-year-old star revealed that only one other occasion in her entire life came close to matching that pure high—and it happened in 1994 on daytime television.

"The greatest feeling of all time. I actually compare anything great that happens to me to the moment my name was called on The Price Is Right," Cardellini laughed, recalling her college days at Loyola Marymount when she ditched class with friends to sit in the studio audience wearing a clip with drama masks in her hair.

"That moment of being chosen by that show at that moment in my life was the most present feeling of jubilation I have ever [felt]. And [Emmy night] was a very similar feeling—except for that I worked for that one!"

While she ended up winning a gas fireplace on the iconic game show, her Emmy acceptance speech was considerably more nerve-wracking.

"I had it on my phone and I was going to try to read it... my hands were shaking and I was crying," she recalled. "As I was walking up, I was like: 'Don't fall and don't cry.' But at the end of the day, those moments where something is totally unexpected or undiscovered, those feelings are messy and real."

Jason Bateman, left, Linda Cardellini and David Harbour with their Emmy's for OutstandingLimited or Anthology Series for "DTF St. Louis" (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Tackling bizarre intimacy scenes at 7 AM

Cardellini's Emmy win came courtesy of her pitch-black comedic performance alongside Bateman and David Harbour in DTF St. Louis.

Reflecting on the shoot, Cardellini and Bateman recalled breaking the ice under the most unhinged circumstances imaginable: their very first day on set together.

"Reading the script, everybody was like, 'Oh god, how are you going to do that?' Because I have to do a thing called 'weight placement,'" Cardellini said. "Which is where I sit on Jason’s face... And that was supposed to be much later in the schedule so we’d know each other, but the schedule changed. It was the very first scene that we shot together, first thing in the morning."

"We had met in the parking garage a couple days before," Bateman agreed. "And she basically said, 'See you tomorrow when I sit on your face.' We were both incredibly nervous, but we’re both a bit germaphobic and addicted to breath strips, so that was a comfort."

An entire generation still recognises the star as Velma in Scooby Doo almost 25 years after the film's release (Warner Bros)

Becoming a true Hollywood chameleon

For Cardellini, disappearing entirely into roles has always been the primary objective. When asked whether she approaches acting as exploring versions of herself or transforming into someone else, her answer was instantaneous:

"Other people," she stated. "Which inevitably has yourself in it because you’re only yourself, but what I’ve tried to do is just play as many different versions or people as I can."

That shape-shifting quality has also given her the rare luxury of maintaining a grounded, private life off-camera.

"Back when I did Scooby-Doo, I was costumed and I could stand right next to the movie poster and nobody paid attention," she noted. "I kind of go under the radar, which I love. But now those kids have grown up and seen it so much that I actually get recognized more for that now than I did back then."

With her Emmy win sealed and upcoming projects like the A24/Peacock Friday the 13th prequel Crystal Lake and Way of the Warrior Kid on the horizon, Cardellini shows no signs of slowing down her legendary, unassuming run.