Emmy Nominees: Louis C.K. of ‘Louie’

K.C. Bailey/FX Louis C.K. with Jeremy Shinder in an episode of “Louie.”

After three seasons on FX, “Louie,” about the lovably curmudgeonly not-so-alter ego of the comedian Louis C.K., is more popular than ever in the eyes of the Emmy Awards: on Thursday morning “Louie” picked up six Emmy nominations, including lead comedy actor (for Louis C.K.), guest comedy actress (for Melissa Leo), comedy direction and comedy writing, and comedy series â€" the first time a basic-cable TV series has been recognized in that category. In these excerpts from the conversation, Louis C.K. talks about his unexpected success and when he expects that it will all inevitably end.

Q.

“Louie” is not only a show in its third year, so it’s not the brand-new thing anymore, but it’s always marched to its own beat. Does it surprise you that it was embraced to the extent that it was this morning?

A.

Yeah, it’s kind of crazy. It’s nuts. This is the kind of show that you hope gets to stay on the air. And then there are shows that are on the air for years and years, that never get a single nomination. Somebody told me how many we were eligible for, and also, that Pamela got nominated and Melissa and Susan Morse, and I just laughed and said, “That’s just stupid. Are you kidding me?”

Q.

You’re already pretty ambitious in where the stories on “Louie” have gone. Does this encourage you to try things that are even more different, to push things even further?

A.

It’s more just that it doesn’t do the opposite. I’m not worried about it. I feel like it’s O.K. to keep doing what I’m doing. When I first went on the air, it was like, let’s try things that aren’t exactly what folks are expecting me to do, and see if we can get the license to do stuff like that. Maybe reality will set in and I won’t be able to keep doing it. But you what you want, and see what audience you gather. We gathered enough of one â€" we got some super-delegates or whatever they are â€" so we get to keep going.

Q.

If the Netflix model of programming had existed when “Louie” started, where you could release an entire season to viewers at once, could you see that working for your series?

A.

I never think about that because of how fast all this stuff moves. You can’t really make a very specific goal because by the time you do your work, to get to a place where you’ve earned some credibility, everything has changed completely. The first award I ever got was a CableACE Award on “The Chris Rock Show,” and it was something people made fun of. Cable was a punch line. Cable’s not even the new thing anymore, it’s old as hell. It’s like when you buy a house and sell it, and then you stupidly look back at what it’s worth now. “If I had held on to it for 10 more years!” You buy houses when you need to live there. If that Netflix stuff is around the next time I’m looking for a job â€" everything you get is going to spit you out the other end at some point. No matter what, no matter how big your success is, in this business, you will always come back to looking for work. So someday, I’ll call John Landgraf [the FX president] and say, “Hey, man, I’ve got an idea.” And he’l be like, “We’re not really doing that anymore.” And I’ll feel kind of sad. The new thing will be, like, putting a show on people’s contact lenses.

Q.

Woody Allen told us recently that he’d like to make a movie that might star the two of you. Has he expressed this same idea to you?

A.

I had this three-day part [on "Blue Jasmine"] and I figured I’m a tourist on this movie. All I want is a little Woody moment to take home with me. It was so fun, and we had lunch, and I thought having lunch with him was my rewarding moment. And then after lunch, we shot one more scene and I got a big laugh on the set, and I thought, that’s my Woody moment. He had said, “I want to talk to you for a minute,” and I thought, what’s Woody going to ask me for? If he wanted to put me in another movie, he would just call my people. It wouldn’t go down like that. What’s the biggest thing I could hope for? My expectations could only go down. I thought, O.K., he has a nephew who wants to be an intern on my show. Or he wants to ask me about Web sites because he feels like he should get into the Internet and it’s a little mysterious for him. Then he pulled me aside and he said, “Listen, I wanted to ask you if you’d be interested in something. What if we were in a movie together, you and me?” I sid, “Of course I’d love to do that.” And he said, “Could you do it next summer?” which is now, and I said, “Sure, no problem.” I was restraining myself.

Q.

So you feel that this door is still open to you?

A.

He said I’ll go work on it, and that’s the last I talked to him. I thought to myself, never tell anybody that this happened. The last thing I need for him is to read in the trades that I’m talking to everybody about it. I’ve told more people than I thought I should, but I’ve sworn them to secrecy. So when I saw something on Google about “Louie Woody Allen buddy-picture possibility,” I thought, Who told? And then I read that it was him, I was like, Thank God I don’t have to keep it a secret anymore. Who knows if it’ll ever happen? It’s his artistic whim that determines that, but of course I’d love to do it. It would be really cool and fun, but it all starts in his head.