Modern Love

Margarita Levieva ("The Deuce") reads Kristine Lloyd's essay, about making a New Year's resolution to attend a cuddle party.

Greta Gerwig ("Lady Bird") reads Julia Anne Miller's essay, about sharing an unusual cab ride in New York City.

Kristin Scott Thomas ("Darkest Hour") reads an essay about a woman worried that she and her husband might have nothing left to talk about.

Julie Klausner tells the story of dating an "indie rock dreamboat" -- who she sees as a bit of a man-child. Sasheer Zamata ("United States of Music," "Pizza Mind") reads Julie's essay.

Caitriona Balfe ("Outlander") reads Deenie Hartzog-Mislock's essay, about an imaginary man who helps a family cope with Alzheimer's.

In this encore, Ruth Negga ("Preacher," "Loving") reads a story about the deep bond between a woman and her unusual pet.

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee ("Kim's Convenience") reads a story about a man improvising a birth plan.

Andrew Rannells ("Girls") reads his own essay, about ignoring a string of urgent phone calls during a casual hookup.

Julia Stiles ("Riviera") tells the story of a woman who has a perfect New York City apartment ... and a crush on her roommate.

Kirsten Vangsness ("Criminal Minds") reads an essay about a relationship where the perfect images posted online don't match the reality.

Cleopatra Coleman ("The Last Man On Earth," "White Famous") reads an essay about a woman claiming ownership over her own body.

Kimberly Hébert Gregory ("Kevin (Probably) Saves the World," "Vice Principals") reads an essay about an attempt at dirty talk gone awry.

Ann Dowd ("The Handmaid's Tale") reads Diane Daniel's essay about a woman coming to terms with her spouse's gender transition.

Jake Gyllenhaal ("Stronger") tells the story of a man recovering from heartbreak in a pediatrics wing.

Ali Fazal ("Victoria and Abul") tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a man and his elderly neighbor.

Kerry Bishe ("Halt and Catch Fire," "Narcos") tells the story of one woman's unexpected awakening -- at a flower shop.

The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards are this weekend. To celebrate, we're looking back at two of our favorite episodes featuring nominated actors. Angela Bassett reads Marcia DeSanctis' essay, "What the Psychic Knew" and Jesse Tyler Ferguson reads Jerry Mahoney's essay, "Mom/Not Mom/Aunt."

Peter Gallagher ("Grace and Frankie," "The O.C.") reads the story of one man's effort to stay with his wife in sickness and in health.

Love, itself, is a leap of faith. But some people take a bigger jump than others. Kyra Sedgwick (TNT's "The Closer") reads a story about a "wild ride" of a marriage.

Nico Tortorella ("Younger") reads an essay about a college student whose ideas about love and sexuality change during the first weeks of his freshman year.

Cynthia Nixon ("The Last Boy in New York," "A Quiet Passion") reads an essay about two grown siblings raised in the Mennonite church and their decision to come out to their 95-year-old father.

Betty Gilpin of Netflix's "G.L.O.W." reads a story about life after abortion.

June Diane Raphael of Netflix's "Grace and Frankie" reads a story about a flower delivery gone very, very wrong.

Alex Karpovsky of HBO's "Girls" tells the story of one man's quest to turn his love life into a cinematic event.

We can't control the curve balls life throws at us, but we can control how we handle them. Cynthia Addai-Robinson (USA Network's "Shooter") reads a story about choosing to face one of life's greatest challenges alone.