Amy's Amazing Year

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

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?