Amy's Amazing Year

With Two New Movies Already Earning Awards Buzz, Amy Adams Is at the Top of Her Gamey.

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After five nominations, is it finally Amy Adams’ turn to win an Oscar? The actress, 42, has two films coming in November that could do the trick: Arrival, an alien invasion tale that explores the idea of communication with extraterrestrials rather than destruction at their hands; and Nocturnal Animals, in which she plays a jaded art-gallery owner who’s shaken to the core by a violent novel written by her ex-husband. Early festival reviews praise her emotional transparency and vulnerability — qualities that have already won her acclaim in movies as diverse as Junebug, Doubt and American Hustle. As she gears up for the biggest season of her career, Amy — who shares 6-year-old daughter Aviana with her husband, Darren Le Gallo, 42 — opens up about sci-fibrainbusters and characters that get under her skin.

Both Arrival and Nocturnal Animals take you on emotional journeys. Was it hard to film them back-to-back?