Anna Sawai's excitement is palpable as she sits down with Tom Hiddleston. It's her first experience with the awards season rigmarole, but Sawai's stunning performance in FX's historical epic "Shōgun" as Toda Mariko - the last surviving member of a disgraced clan of samurai in feudal Japan - has catapulted her into the race.

It's full of his own broken heart ," Hiddleston argued. "I thought, 'I wonder if I should say that again?' But it has a completely different meaning, which is full of love, sacrifice, selflessness and generosity.

Actors Tom Hiddleston and Anna Sawai recently had an emotional discussion about their roles in the latest episode of Variety's Actors on Actors series

Your work in “Shōgun” is extraordinary. You’ve created Mariko with such care, diligence and love. I’ve found the whole show and your performance extremely affecting. I love the metaphor of the eightfold fence — the idea of a private self,