Carrie Coon is having a great year with her acclaimed turns in The White Lotus and The Gilded Age, so it’s the perfect time to go back and revisit her breakout role. Since her movie debut in Gone Girl introduced her to a wider audience, Coon has been widely praised for her portrayals of deeply complex characters across film, television, and theater.
While she’s been in some great movies, Coon is best known for her TV roles. She played Vera Walker in The Sinner season 2 and Gloria Burgle in Fargo season 3. Coon just earned a much-deserved Emmy nomination for her latest beloved TV performance. But her breakout TV role remains an underrated gem.
Carrie Coon Is Having A Big Year In 2025
2025 Has Been One Of The Best Years Of Coon’s Career
Coon has been having one of the best years of her career in 2025. She played one of the standout characters in The White Lotus season 3, the perpetually underappreciated Laurie, which just earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. On top of that, she’s back as Bertha Russell for The Gilded Age season 3.
Carrie Coon’s Year Is A Reminder To Watch Her Breakout Role In The Leftovers
Coon Played A Woman Who Lost Her Entire Family In An Instant
Thanks to The White Lotus, The Gilded Age, and the Emmys, Coon is a bigger star than ever, and she’s on more people’s radars than ever. That makes it the perfect time to go back and watch her breakout TV role as Nora Durst in The Leftovers. The Leftovers was Damon Lindelof’s Lost replacement, and it’s a masterpiece.
The Leftovers is streaming on HBO Max.
The Leftoverstakes place in a world where 2% of the population mysteriously vanished. The 98% that remain struggle to make sense of “The Sudden Departure” and move on with their lives. Coon plays a wife and mother who lost her entire family in the Sudden Departure, which gave her plenty of opportunities for depth and gravitas.
Carrie Coon Deserved An Emmy Nomination For The Leftovers
The Leftovers Is Coon’s Only HBO Show That Hasn’t Earned Her An Emmy Nod
So far, Coon has been nominated for three Emmys: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Fargo, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for The Gilded Age, and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The White Lotus. As it stands, she hasn’t won one yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
| Show | Emmy Nomination | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Fargo | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie | 2017 |
| The Gilded Age | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | 2024 |
| The White Lotus | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | 2025 |
Carrie Coon’s recent Emmy nomination means that The Leftovers is her only HBO show not to earn her an Emmy nod. And that’s a shame, because her work in The Leftovers was just as Emmy-worthy as her work in those other shows. Her portrayal of a grief-stricken woman who lost her whole family in an instant is as powerful as it sounds.
The Leftovers
10/10
- Release Date
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2014 – 2017-00-00
- Showrunner
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Damon Lindelof
- Writers
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Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta
