The debates about feminism, about race – I was caught off-guard because I always thought it was so clear that what I was doing was feminist and done by a liberal-minded person, trying to understand the way the world worked. It ended up being a real gift to me, even if there were moments when it was challenging. I felt so lucky to be part of something that was opening that dialogue. Even though there were moments where I felt slightly under fire and had to avoid reading certain media, I felt really grateful that the debate was happening, a debate that has needed to happen surrounding television for a long time.

The Emmy-nominated Lena Dunham, in a Q&A with the New York Times.

Check out our Emmy roundtable participants before they were stars strutting the red carpet. We can’t wait to see which of them take home awards tonight.

Our video team has come through yet again with this year’s Emmy roundtable. 

In the clip above, Christina Hendricks, Matthew Fox, Chris Colfer, Bryan Cranston, Eric Stonestreet and Connie Britton talk about their embarrassing first acting gigs (We totally remember Christina in that acne commercial!)

Complete footage of Newsweek’s 2010 Emmy Roundtable can be found here.

Though Alston has a more considered take, this was our favorite part of the Emmys.

More Emmys Roundtable: Tina Fey’s Dirty Past

Today in Awesome: Our emmy roundtable, starring Toni Collette, Jon Cryer, Jim Parsons, Sarah Silverman, and Amy Poehler, is great fun.