Aja Naomi King Gets Teary While Reflecting on Her First Emmy Nomination: 'Dreams Really Do Come True' (Exclusive)

Aja Naomi King is doing her best to hold back her happy tears!

In an exclusive conversation at the 2024 Emmy Awards on PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly's Red Carpet Live, the Lessons in Chemistry star, 39, got emotional as she reacted to her very first Emmy nomination at this year's ceremony.

"I mean, I'm doing my best not to cry. I am!" King laughed, "This is really magical. This whole experience so far, it's just been a beautiful day, and everyone that I'm seeing on the carpet, I'm just feeling so inspired and I'm really grateful to be here."

When asked how she's prepped for TV's biggest night, the actress revealed that she spent her morning "meditating" and "took a long bath" in an effort to soak the nerves away.

"To be able to work in this industry, to make a living doing the thing that you love is already so much of a blessing," King said of the flowers she's received for her performance as Harriet Sloane. "And then to work on something that is so meaningful to people, so impactful that it brings me here tonight? It's the kind of thing as an actor, you are sometimes afraid to hope for because you want it so much and you don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't happen."

"It just makes me feel like, 'Wow, dreams really do come true!' " she added as tears threatened to spill. "I'm so happy!"

Lessons in Chemistry secured a nomination for outstanding limited series — just one out of 10 total nominations. After King was nominated for best supporting actress in a limited series, she shared an exclusive statement with PEOPLE, reacting to the news.

“I am so deeply honored to be nominated for an Emmy," she wrote. "It is difficult to put language to the abundance of emotion I feel right now but foremost in my mind is my deep gratitude. Gratitude to the Television Academy, the incredible Lessons in Chemistry cast and crew that I had the privilege to work alongside, and to every person who ever told me to keep going. Thank you."

In addition to King, other nominees for best supporting actress in a limited series include: Dakota Fanning for Ripley, Diane Lane for Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, Jessica Gunning for Baby Reindeer, Kali Reis for True Detective: Night Country, Lily Gladstone for Under the Bridge and Nava Mau for Baby Reindeer.

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See PEOPLE's full coverage of the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards as they're broadcasting live on ABC from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.