Entertainment Movies Horror & Thriller Movies Kathy Bates Jokes It Was 'Hard' to 'Get a Date' After Her Terrifying Performance in 1990's Misery The Oscar winner joked about playing Annie Wilkes in 'Misery' while presenting at the 2024 Emmys By Tommy McArdle Tommy McArdle Tommy McArdle is an editorial assistant on the Movies team at PEOPLE. Tommy joined PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 16, 2024 11:25AM EDT Comments Kathy Bates on Sept. 15, 2024 and in 1990's Misery. Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty; Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Kathy Bates' chilling horror performance scared away potential dates. At the 2024 Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 15, the Matlock actress, 76, appeared alongside Giancarlo Esposito and Antony Starr to honor screen villains while presenting. During the bit, Bates joked that her 1990 movie Misery impacted her dating life. "Everybody loves heroes. In drama, they're called the protagonist," Bates said onstage. "But without villains, or antagonists, there wouldn't be much of a story," added Esposito, known for his Breaking Bad villain Gus Fring. Starr, who has played The Boys' Homelander since the Prime Video series debuted in 2019, said playing well-known villain roles can create "downsides once you're back in the real world." "Do you know how hard it was to get a date after Misery?" Bates joked. "And my American Horror Story was forgetting to thank Ryan Murphy after I won my Emmy." Kathy Bates Admits She Was 'One Foot Out the Door' Before Reading the Script for Upcoming Matlock Reboot (Exclusive) Kathy Bates and James Caan in 1990's Misery. Columbia Pictures/Getty Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Bates won an Oscar for Best Actress in 1991 for portraying Annie Wilkes in the film adaptation of Stephen King's Misery. She played a villainous nurse who holds her favorite author (James Caan) hostage and "nurses" him back to health after a car accident. Offscreen, Bates married her longtime boyfriend Tony Campisi in 1991, and the pair divorced in 1997. The star recently discussed how her career changed after Misery, telling Variety she "always knew going into this business that it was going to take me a while because I wasn't a beauty queen." Kathy Bates Says She's Lost 100 Lbs. in Last 6 Years: 'Don’t Think I’ve Been This Slim Since I Was in College' Kathy Bates on Sept. 15, 2024. David Fisher/Shutterstock "I have to say I give an inner wink when I see friends who have been beauty queens who are no longer working because of ageism, and in my case, I’ve been able to continue working for many years because I don’t look like that," she added. "I don’t think I would have gotten the role in Misery if I had been a beauty queen.” Bates, Esposito and Starr presented the Emmy for best supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie category, which went to Jessica Gunning for her performance in Netflix's Baby Reindeer.