Geoffrey Rush doesn’t have a trophy cabinet – a smart move considering the Australian acting great would have to find one big enough to squeeze in his Oscar, Emmy, two Golden Globes, three BAFTAs, three Australian Film Institute, four Screen Actors Guild and numerous other critics’ gongs.

“What I do is stand them up around my bookshelves amongst some personally meaningful theatrical memorabilia,” Rush told AAP at a soiree held at Australian Consul-General for Los Angeles Chelsea Martin’s residence on Saturday.

The Australians in Film and Screen Australia event was organised to celebrate Australia’s nominees for Sunday’s (Monday 10am AEST) Emmy Awards in downtown LA.

It’s a big year for Australia at TV’s top awards ceremony with Rush, actresses Nicole Kidman and Judy Davis, producer Bruna Papandrea and director Kate Dennis up for awards.

Australian costume designer Perry Meek got in early with a win last week at the Creative Emmy Awards for his work on Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

Toowoomba-born Rush, 66, won an Emmy in 2005 for The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, and this year he scored the nod for portraying another icon – theoretical physicist Albert Einstein in the mini-series Genius.

The favourite for lead actor in a mini-series or TV movie category is Robert De Niro for his portrayal of mega-fraudster Bernie Madoff in The Wizard of Lies.

“I’m nominated against Robert De Niro. who I have been watching since 1973,” Rush said.

Kidman is expected to win two Emmys for acting in and producing the HBO mini-series Big Little Lies, based on Australian author Liane Moriarty’s bestseller. Papandrea will join Kidman on stage if Big Little Lies wins the outstanding limited TV series or movie category.

Adelaide-born Papandrea has become a powerhouse Hollywood producer with films including Gone Girl, Milk and Wild, but the only significant award recognition she has received was an AFI nomination in 2000 for Better Than Sex.

“I’m wearing a red dress,” she laughed when describing what she will wear to the Emmys. “You have to be noticed with all of those movie stars so you wear something to stand out.”

Davis, a three-time Emmy winner, was nominated this year for her role as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in FEUD: Bette and Joan.

Dennis is nominated for directing The Handmaid’s Tale, but is up against Better Call Saul‘s Vince Gilligan, the brains behind Breaking Bad, and The Crown‘s Stephen Daldry.

“They are massive heavy hitters,” Dennis said.

“My name looks hilarious next to them.”

Saturday Night Live and Westworld led the tally for the most overall nominations (22) in all categories, followed by Stranger Things, FEUD (18) and Veep (17).