While it may seem like we know a lot about Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys' off-screen romance because we've seen it play out on-screen in The Americans, the couple—who was just nominated for Emmy awards in the leading actor and actress cateogry—are relatively private when it comes to their life beyond the cameras.
However, in a rare joint interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the pair gives us some insight into their relationship, parenthood and working together, especially during those graphic sex scenes.
In fact, thank to this interview, they've given us 8 reasons to love them even more...Check 'em out below:
1. They Celebrated Their Nomination With a Quesadilla: After a shared, momentary panic about the attention their Emmy nomination would bring them, they celebrated briefly at their summer home in Woodstock, N.Y. "We went to the fridge, and there were two Pacificos, and then we made a cheese quesadilla because we're classy," Rhys revealed.
2. They Can Admit to Flipping Gender Roles in Parenting: "Everything we see as a woman is that you're supposed to be loving and nurturing," Russell, who gave birth to Rhys' son in in May, said. "I know it's not always cozy, perfect parenting, but I also think it's real. As a mother of three, there are moments where [you're not] the craft-making, cookie-making mom you want to be. And you know what? It's OK."
3. They Know Each Other Inside and Out: When asked to compare Russell to her Americans character Elizabeth, Rhys said, "She doesn't have the ice of Elizabeth—though sometimes she does," he said talking to his partner. "For the most part, you're not as calculating and icy as she is. But I think it has to live somewhere inside you in order to play it with conviction."
Russell added of Rhys, "He's incredibly good with people. And with women. He's a good listener, he's incredibly emotional," to which Rhys quickly responded, "This is going f--king south. Next question!"
4. They Can Joke With One Another: Russell explained how she didn't do a lot of sex scenes previously in her career, joking that she has a "13-year-old boy's body." Rhys responded, laughing, "Don't say that because what does that say about me?" LOL!
5. Rhys Is Protective of Her During Sex Scenes: While they feel incredibly comfortable together doing the graphic sex scenes for the show, Rhys admits he gets protective. "I'm like, 'Can someone get her a f--kin' robe, please?! She's standing there naked, we've cut for five seconds, Jesus Christ,'" he laughed.
6. He Also Knows All About the Felicity Fandom: "Your hair was really an inspiration," he laughed, talking about the infamous moment she cut her hair during the show. "There are still a lot of people going, 'Felicity! Felicity!' What it has given to me is a realization of how much of a rite of passage, seminal piece of work it was in the U.S. It affected a lot of people. A lot of young men come up to you and go, 'Oh, I used to watch Felicity.'"
7. They Haven't Seen Each Others' Biggest Roles: Rhys admitted he's only seen YouTube videos of Felicity, and Russell said she hasn't watched Brothers & Sisters. Somehow that's totally endearing.
8. They Don't Fall Subject to Societal Norms: "It's not kosher to talk that much s--t about some girl's hair anymore," Russell explained, adding onto the Felicity conversation. "Like, Hillary [Clinton] might be president. You gotta be cool with that s--t. Tone it down."
Rhys added that if Russell came home with her hair chopped off today, he wouldn't care...but he would turn it into a profit: "I'd be like, 'I hope you kept that hair, we can put it on eBay. Buy Felicity's real hair.'" Nodding to their son, Sam, he laughed, "He needs to go to college."
For more form Rhys and Russell, read their full interview on THR.