As soon as Janelle James read for the role of the cheerfully self-absorbed chaos queen that is Principal Ava Coleman on “Abbott Elementary,” she had her down. “I know this chick,” James recalls thinking when she read the script. “This lady is so hilarious. I could see her and her movements. I’ve always been interested in people who want to be famous, so I was excited about that, because that’s very not me.”
That’s not the only way James is unlike her character, a fan favorite. “People always tell me, ‘Oh I want to hang out.’ They say with me but they mean Ava. So when they see me, they’re very excited because they think I’m on the way to a party or something fabulous, and they want to come along. Usually, I’m going to get a doughnut or something boring.” She laughs often while discussing the role that seems custom-made for her (although she had to audition four times for it) and her third Emmy nomination for supporting actress in a comedy.
Days after hearing the good news, James hasn’t yet updated her Instagram to reflect the nomination. Ava would have been on that before her last name was read. “Exactly. Make sure to write that down, how different we are.”
One quality they do share is confidence, but James’ was earned through 10 years of doing stand-up. And she had no idea the effect that the role, her largest to date, would have until after shooting her first scene in the pilot, when co-star Sheryl Lee Ralph told her, “You’re the breakout.” “I didn’t even know what that meant,” James says. “I was like, ‘OK,’ and then I went home and googled it.”
Ava is a joke machine, and James lands them all with casual flair. “She is saying one-liners, she’s doing quips, she’s doing it on the move,” James says. “And then where my skill comes in, not only through stand-up and landing a joke, is to make her still likable. I do that onstage all the time — that’s what stand-ups do: We say something that upsets you, and then the next minute you’re laughing. That’s what I enjoy about it, and that’s what Ava is doing as well.”
Over three seasons, the writers have incorporated more of James into her character. “Whole conversations I’ve had with writers have ended up in the show,” she says. “I’m very into ‘X-Men,’ so I got to be Storm in the show, and I am pretty nerdy and I do have a lot of varied interests, and Ava’s always doing some weird thing. When we went on a field trip to the Field Museum in Season 2, and Ava was scaring the crap out of the kids about aliens, I am very much that person.”
The character also has grown over the years. “Here’s the thing: Ava didn’t have to have an arc, she could continue to just be the joke person,” says James, crediting creator Quinta Brunson and the writers for their fresh approach. “We’re definitely following a sitcom format, but we’re taking these characters places.”
Season 3 finds Ava back from a summer school course that turned her into a real leader. But she has become so strict, her staff makes her revert to her old self by trapping her in the school auditorium as Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up” plays. Despite her best efforts, Ava can’t deny the music. And despite appearances, that was the toughest scene James shot all season.
“First, the physical thing: I had to run in, full speed, in heels, about six or seven times, and then dance. As you know for television, you shoot three hours for 30 seconds. I was also sick, my outfit was really tight and our camera crew was there. Even though I love them and we’ve been together this whole time, to be dancing in the spotlight for that long, and also making sure it’s funny — I’m not just dancing; I’m trying to convey the change from studious Ava back to fun-loving Ava. Also how the song affects people, particularly Black women. I knew that would be a big thing for us in general, and making sure that I honor that. I’m also very aware I’m on a family show. A lot of thought went into that little dance. So I’m proud of that.”
Her third Emmy nomination feels amazing. The first year she was nominated, “I was very much in a stupor, like, ‘What?’ Again, it was my first really big role, and I hadn’t really paid attention to this side of the business before. And then the second year, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m working hard, thank you so much.’ And then this year, I’m like, ‘Wow! I’m so happy. One, because we’re definitely in the zone now, and I’m relaxed, I’m very confident in the character and what I’m doing, and then also: Meryl Streep?! Carol Burnett?! I am just super honored to be included with icons.”
