Sarah Paulson Can’t Watch Herself on Screen, Especially in The People v. O.J. Simpson

Sarah Paulson did earn an Emmy nomination for her role as prosecutor Marcia Clark in FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson, but she had never watched herself on screen in character … until recently.

“I haven’t seen any of it and I just saw a little bit of that verdict,” Paulson said during the show’s panel at the Television Critics Association on Tuesday. “It literally made me physically ill. I thought I was going to cry and I was going to throw up.”

The actress excused herself from the room when clips from the acclaimed miniseries were played during the summer press tour, according to The Wrap.

Playing Clark changed Paulson’s perspective of the prosecutor and even morphed Paulson herself. “I felt very, very connected to her and to watch her lose it is somehow separate enough for me – and yet I feel inside of it,” she said.

The People v. O.J. Simpson will not return for a second season, but the anthology series from Ryan Murphy will continue with a new installment focusing on Hurricane Katrina.