THERE HAVE BEEN several awards and an avalanche of critical accolades, but Felicity Huffman thinks the remarkable transformation her career has undergone in the past year can be summed up by one simple fact: she's going to the Oscars - as a nominee.
A relative unknown just over a year ago, the 43-year-old has been catapulted to fame on the back of her role as harassed mother-of-four Lynette Scavo in the hit television series Desperate Housewives and her astounding portrayal of a transsexual in Transamerica.
Huffman is now one of the front-runners for best actress at the Academy Awards next Sunday. But win or lose, she says she's just happy to be invited to Hollywood's biggest party, after spending years with her nose pressed up against the glass trying to get in.
'This is all I feel like doing right now: 'I'm going to the Oscars! I'm going to the Oscars! I'm not in catering, I'm not a seat filler, I'm not on somebody's arm. I'm going to the Oscars!' That's what it feels like. It's incredible. It's a dream come true.
'As actors, with 5 per cent of the union making a living wage - not people like myself who make a good living - you have to give up this dream many, many times. You get the stuffing knocked out of you. But this whole year has been a dream come true. As my brother said, 'You're in some weird parallel universe where all your dreams are coming true'.'
Huffman's story - years of toiling in obscurity, learning to take disappointment on the chin and struggling to suppress the nagging feeling that success might always prove elusive - is one familiar to actors.