Emmys: 30 Supporting Actor Contenders Gather for THR's Once-in-a-Lifetime Photo

Potential nominees in comedy and drama gathered on the Fox lot April 30 to swap stories, catch up with old friends and — in the cases of Sandra Oh and Alyson Hannigan — say goodbye to their beloved series.

This story first appeared in the June 6 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Thirty supporting actor and actress contenders in comedy and drama gathered for a once-in-a-lifetime photo shoot for The Hollywood Reporter's cameras April 30 on the Fox lot. Read on for revelations about their weirdest jobs, favorite show moments and toughest gigs. A key to who's-who in the image is below, and a behind-the-scenes video can be found at the end of this story.

1. Max Burkholder

Parenthood (NBC)

FAVE SHOW MOMENT My character, Max, has Asperger's, and I loved my scenes with Ray Romano's character. They connected, which Max had never experienced before.

2. Michiel Huisman

Treme (HBO)

BIG BREAK Game of Thrones. It's the biggest, most successful show that I've been on. And I got to chop off someone's head.

3. Sandra Oh

Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

WEIRDEST JOB I did an industrial video for salmonella. It was awesome. I was in a space station and there was a signal from Mars. They needed to know how to deal with food poisoning.

4. Kaitlin Olson

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)

HUMBLE BEGINNING I did a little movie called Coyote Ugly. I was "Bidder Number Three." You probably recognize me from that.

5. Matthew Lillard

The Bridge (FX)

BIG BREAK My first movie was John Waters' Serial Mom, which I'm super proud of, but my biggest break was Scream. That definitely changed my life.

PHOTOS: Emmys: 30 Supporting Actor Contenders Pose for THR

6. Seth Gabel

Salem (WGN America)

DREAM GUEST SHOW Louie is transcendent! [Louis C.K.] just gets more and more brilliant.

7. Adam Pally

The Mindy Project (Fox)

EMMY SPEECH PLAN It won't happen. If I make it to the stage, it's because T.J. [Miller] and I rob a bank next door and we're running through the auditorium.

8. T.J. Miller

Silicon Valley (HBO)

MOVIE GIG I recently did a film with comedian Adam Pally called Search Party. Have you ever worked with someone you have no chemistry with?

9. Darby Stanchfield

Scandal (ABC)

CAREER CHANGER Scandal definitely changed things. People recognize me in the grocery store, and I'm employed 10 months out of the year.

10. Reid Scott

Veep (HBO)

FAVE SHOW MOMENT There was a scene where my character shoves a burrito into Jonah's [Tim Simons] face. I kept screwing up so I could do it over and over and get it inside his ear and nostrils.

11. Dash Mihok

Ray Donovan (Showtime)

FAVE SHOW MOMENT I'm a New Yorker and in season one of Ray I got to burn a Boston Red Sox pennant. That was my job. It was really tough.

12. Maggie Siff

Sons of Anarchy (FX)

BIG BREAK I did a lot of theater in New York and came out here to do the first season of Mad Men. There are a lot of little breaks along the way!

Click on the photo above for a full-size image.

13. Retta

Parks and Recreation (NBC)

TOUGHEST GIG I've done stand-up on a bus from New Jersey to New York. I also did shows at the Hustler club in L.A.

14. Joanne Froggatt

Downton Abbey (PBS/Masterpiece)

BIG BREAK When I was 15, I did an episode of a U.K. TV show called The Bill. Basically every actor in Britain has done The Bill.

15. Noel Fisher

Shameless (Showtime)

HUMBLE BEGINNING I had a really tiny part in the Tom Green movie Freddy Got Fingered. My character's name was "Acne-Faced Teenager."

16. Terry Crews

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox)

WEIRDEST JOB The first thing I ever auditioned for was a game show called Battledome. They put me in a cage and I had to fight three different contestants and send them to the hospital.

VIDEO: Watch 30 Emmy Contenders Get Rowdy, Reveal Most Embarrassing Roles

17. Jim Rash

Community (NBC)

WORST DAY JOB I worked in the kitchen at a Bennigan's in North Carolina. I wasn't allowed up front. I was the quality assistant who looked at plates and said, "OK" or "more fries."

18. Jenna Dewan-Tatum

Witches of East End (Lifetime)

HUMBLE BEGINNING Before the movie Step Up, I did this wonderful horror movie called Tamara. You have to be hot to be in a horror movie, right?

19. Kate Mulgrew

Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)

BIG BREAK I was very lucky out of the gate to get the part of Mary Ryan on Ryan's Hope. It was a soap opera -- but at least an innovative one!

20. Lamorne Morris

New Girl (Fox)

FAVE SHOW MOMENT [New Girl guest star] Damon Wayans Jr. is crazy. There was a scene where he was doing cartwheels in the background, but I had no idea until I saw the episode.

21. Sarah Hyland

Modern Family (ABC)

BIG FAN I am obsessed with Game of Thrones. I even have a puppet dragon I got at a Renaissance festival that you attach to your shoulder.

22. Vincent Kartheiser

Mad Men (AMC)

FAVE SHOW MOMENT The juxtaposition between my character, Pete, wanting to start fresh and being optimistic, and Ted [Kevin Rahm] being tired and over it. It played really well.

23. Alyson Hannigan

How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

WEIRDEST JOB Probably Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was awesome, but I'd go to work and there would be demons walking up to craft service.

24. Jack Huston

Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

SAYING GOODBYE My character, Richard Harrow, is a goner. It's sad, but a good time to go. I always say: Tragic characters almost always end in tragedy.

25. Caitlin FitzGerald

Masters of Sex (Showtime)

PINCH-ME MOMENT The first time I walked on the Masters of Sex set. It was full of background talent in '50s clothes, music playing, fake smoke swirling in this huge ballroom. It was like stepping back in time.

26. Michael Kelly

House of Cards (Netflix)

IS THIS GOODBYE? I really don't know what happens to my character after last season! I'd love to be on Boardwalk Empire, though -- just putting it out there.

27. Danai Gurira

The Walking Dead (AMC)

BIG BREAK Definitely The Walking Dead. I even have my own action figure!

28. Beau Bridges

The Millers (CBS)

BIG BREAK Hammersmith Is Out, a road picture I did in 1972 with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. I picked my nose through the whole movie and my hair was greasy.

29. Olivia Munn

The Newsroom (HBO)

AUDITION PALS I first met Kathleen Rose Perkins at the audition for Two Girls, One Cup. We had no idea it would be such a big hit! We didn't get the jobs.

30. Kathleen Rose Perkins

Episodes (Showtime)

DREAM GIG I want to be on The Newsroom with Olivia Munn! Maybe we can do our own series? The Olivia and Kathleen Show?

With reporting by Michael O'Connell.