Happy Sad Confused - Maya Hawke

Episode Date: February 13, 2025

Maya Hawke loves being the embodiment of anxiety for a generation of children thanks to INSIDE OUT 2 but don't worry, she's not THAT anxious in real life. In this live taping of the podcast at the 92nd Street Y, Maya talks about growing up as the daughter of two very famous and accomplished actors, almost being the Little Mermaid, being a part of STRANGER THINGS, and her music career. UPCOMING EVENT! Nathan Lane -- March 20th in New York -- Tickets here! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Quince -- Go to Quince.com/happysadco for 365 day returns and free shipping! Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes, video versions of the podcast, and more! To watch episodes of Happy Sad Confused, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Josh's youtube channel here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you're with Amex Platinum, you get access to exclusive dining experiences and an annual travel credit. So the best tapas in town might be in a new town altogether. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at Amex.ca. The twisted tale of Amanda Knox is an eight-episode episode Hulu original limited series that blends gripping pacing with emotional complexity, offering a dramatized look as it revisits the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox for the tragic murder of Meredith Kircher and the relentless media storm that followed. The twisted tale of Amanda Knox is now streaming only on Disney Plus.

many wonderful friends from drama school and from New York theater and who didn't have the luxury to come from where I come from. And it is harder. You have to work hard to earn people's respect and make sure that you show up on time and do a great job and are prepared every day. But everyone should do that anyway. And you have to care for the people around you and try to share the luck that you have. But I definitely don't think it's harder. I think you do have to work hard to earn people's respect, but you always do. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Hey, guys, Josh here. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. If you're watching me on YouTube or on Spotify, you can sense the vibe. I'm in my cozy Barton sweatshirt.

For holdovers, such a great movie. Another great movie. Look at that segue. Inside Out 2. Who doesn't love Inside Out and Inside Out 2? Today's main event is a first-time guest on Happy. Stay a Confused. We're going to get to our conversation with Maya Hawk in just a second.

It's a fun one. It's really good. Before we get to that, a couple things to mention. If you want to see me live, we have a new event. We have just announced March 20th in New York City. Nathan Lane. Nathan Lane, Master of Stage and Screen. someone I've never, I don't think I've ever talked to you, period, let alone for the podcast.

I'm very excited. That's going to be at Symphony Space, beautiful space on the Upper West Side of New York. If you've never seen a happy, see I Confused Live, this is a good place to start. Link in the show notes for how you can get your tickets. It's selling well already, so get your tickets now, so we can see you out there and a lot more events to come. As always, I want to mention our Patreon, where you get all the early access, the merch, the autographed posters, you can ask questions. so you can get your name and lights on the videos. Patreon.com slash happy, say I confused is where it's at.

Tip your toe in the water. It's warm. It's nice. I promise you guys. Okay. Main event today we're going to get to right now is my live conversation that was taped at the 9 Second Streetwide, speaking of live events, with Maya Hawk. We screened Inside Out, too, prior to this, and then dove into this fantastic conversation

with Maya, who, of course, you know from. stranger things, her music, once upon a time in Hollywood. She's been killing in recent years. You may also know, Maya, of course, comes from kind of Hollywood royalty. Like, come on, Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke. And she is so smart and cool and quirky in all the best ways. This was a very free-flowing, open, and honest conversation. We really vibed. And I never really had a chance to talk to Maya at length. So I think you guys are going to dig this one. She's a special one.

And, of course, we tease a little bit of what's to come on Stranger Things, the final season. And yeah, this is a fun one. I think you guys are going to dig it. So remember to subscribe to Happy Second Views. If you haven't already done so, what are you doing with your lives? And enjoy this conversation taped at the 92nd Street Live in front of a lovely audience in New York City with the one and only Maya Hawk. Hi, everybody. I'm Josh Horowitz. Welcome to the 92nd Street. Why, everybody. Thank you guys so much for coming out tonight. How great is this movie Inside Out 2? Come on, guys. Give it up. Not only do you get to see this wonderful movie on the big screen tonight, but whether you know it or not, you're inside my podcast right now. This is a live taping of Happy, Sad, Confused. And we have a first-time guest on the show, someone I want to have for a long while. She has, assembled quite a career Maya Hawke, Ms. Maya Hawke. In addition to being the voice of anxiety

in this ginormously entertaining, beautiful film, you know her from her amazing music from Stranger Things from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. So much great work to discuss tonight. We're going to dig into all of it and your questions. Please give a warm New York welcome to New Yorker, Maya Hawke, everybody. Come on, there she is. Hi. Hi, Maya. How are you? I'm doing okay.

Are you good? Yeah, really, swell. You have a lot to be swell about, because this movie, I didn't even mention the numbers. I could just exhaust everybody with numbers. It did well. Is that what you're saying? It did really well. I take no credit.

I mean, that's... It's all you. No, I really don't think so. I'm just going to say it. for the sake of folks that don't know it, I think about $1.7 billion, not that that matters, but it's a nice thing still. Highest grossing animated film...

I didn't make that money. Making sure that that's out there. No, you need to renegotiate your contract. Highest grossing, animated film of all time, and an Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature. So, congrats all around. Thank you. Do you get a ticket to the Oscars? Are you going?

No. What? Renegotiate again. Yeah, there's a lot to be done with this contract, really. No, I mean, I'm so excited that this movie is nominated because getting to be a part of something that I really believe in, like that I also think has had a power of good, is so moving and important,

and getting to be a part of these kinds of screenings and celebrations of the movie and watching people watch it and react to it and hear their feedback. It just is so special to me and the honor in and of itself. There is a generation, arguably there will be multiple generations that know you as the personification of anxiety. How does that sit with you, that you are the living embodiment of anxiety for future generations of children? You know, that sits with me great because I think with the way that the movie ends, it's giving kids a warmer relationship to their anger.

anxiety. So that sits with me great. Doing interviews and press and people saying to me, so you're a really anxious person does not sit with me that well. That I'm like, no, I'm an actor. It feels like sometimes the whole world has forgotten what being an actor is that you can pretend to do things. It's really funny. But the kids knowing me as anxiety and as their warm, friendly anxiety that's there to protect them and they just need to get to know a little bit better, that sits with me really well. Has your voice itself been recognized by children yet? Has any child said, wait, that voice sounds really familiar?

That's the voice of that crazy-looking character on screen. It's hard to know. People do recognize me by my voice all the time. I often have people hear me talking. I also talk really loud. But hear me talking to someone and then double back and turn around and be like, hey. But hard to know whether or not that's stranger things or anxiety or whatever it is. Do you like your voice?

It served you very well in music and acting. Where are you at with your own voice? I mean, I like my voice enough that I elected not to get a vocal nodule removal procedure that would have made my life and singing a little bit easier because I heard it would potentially change the tamper of my voice. So I guess I do like my voice. That was a choice at some point. That was a discussion.

That was a discussion. So I do like it. I mean, whenever you hear your own voice back, especially if it's not from a performance, Like, if you just are talking in the background of someone else's voice memo or thing, and you just hear yourself being like, hey, I'd really love to get that combo talk. It's like, oh, I hate my voice. But when I'm speaking intentionally and know I'm being heard, I like my voice.

So was something like this a conscious or unconscious thing on the list of things that you wanted to do in a career? Like Pixar knows how to do it, knows how to do it right. Were you a Pixar kid? I was a total Pixar kid, and I mean, working on something like this was such a big dream. I almost didn't even dare to dream it, you know. But, I mean, it's always been an ambition of mind to enter the voice acting space. I really think there's a freedom from your body and from the way people see you that acting, you know, in an animation or in a podcast or just, you know, a radio play offers you this liberation from your physical form that is so exciting and awesome. and I've always wanted to get into that.

But Pixar is pretty much the creme de la creme of that work, in my opinion. And so it's a dream beyond dreaming. Do you cry more from the beginning of Up or the death of Bing Bong and Inside House? I cried so much at the death of Bing Bong, I couldn't watch the movie again. Like, I was like, this is, but I'm so fragile. Like, I had nightmares from watching Ghostbusters. I am an extremely tender, tender, fragile. creature that is like, this is, why did it, I thought it was for kids. It's so upsetting. Why did it

have to be so upsetting? But the beginning of up is so sad and it's like crying, but maybe because it's the beginning and you're still getting to know the characters, I can survive it a little bit better. Got it. So I was going to ask you, were you an emotional kid? You just answered the question. I was a real emotional girl, as Randy Newman would have said. That joke was for very particular people in this audience, clearly. But the six people that got it, loved it. So how did that impact the kinds of entertainment your parents exposed you to? Did they keep stuff from you, or were they, knowing that this could really hit

young Maya hard, or? They might say this differently. I would say, I didn't ask, until my teen years, I didn't ask to be exposed to a lot that they would feel the need to protect me from. Do you know what I mean? I wasn't reaching for the horror movie. You were like, I don't need to go beyond my. was a bit self-censoring. I mean, for example, I broke my mother's lipstick once

and came to her with it, holding it crying, and she was like, it's okay, it's fine. And I was like, no, I need a time out. I've done something really wrong. So my moral compass was pretty well adjusted until the ninth grade. And then it went completely off the rails and good luck censoring me. Um, I mean, so let's get into kind of like early influences. Obviously, your parents, very well-known actors, very accomplished actors, to ask them, would they have said that it was inevitable that you would have pursued this? Was this something you talked about openly right from the get-go? I think so. I mean, I was fortunate enough to grow up in such a creative community where the making of, and I wish this for all kids, where the making of art and the

participation in art kind of ran like water. And it didn't even seem like a choice or something that made you special or different. It was like, what are we doing on a Sunday? We're putting on an audiobook and we're watercoloring. Like, you know, like, it was, what are we doing on a Saturday night? We're going to the theater. What are we doing? Like, the engagement, we're going to go see a ballet.

We're going to, like, the participation in the arts was full-throttled for my whole life. So my interest in it didn't really seem that special, I think, but until I was a little bit older. But I definitely, I had my own academic challenges. And I think as those became clearer and clearer, the refuge and comfort I took in the arts as something that I could do and knew how to do that didn't get graded on a, you know, didn't get a letter grade was extremely meaningful and important. And then I think when they started to know it was just when I didn't stop, you know, when I didn't start joining. Yeah, I didn't start joining sports teams or getting spontaneously graded biology. I was always every summer trying to go to acting camp and theater camp.

and I was making water color books, and I was illustrating my own novel that I'd written. I was just like that, I was annoying. Let's not be confused. This is, I was in the irritating, extremely preachy person who was really interested in saving the trees, and also laminating my own books of poetry and, like, screen printing them and handing them out to people.

So, and I, by the way, I do see the controversy there, the trees, the books I was making. I didn't see it at the time, but my hypocrisy is clear to me. So there was no, because the act of rebellion kind of would have been to go the other way, arguably, to be like, I don't have, I have no interest in the arts, I'm going to be a lawyer. Yeah, that would have been cool. I mean, that would have been awesome. I didn't have the skills to rebel in that way.

Like I just wasn't a successful student, really, in any way other than like, you know, every report card would be like, incredibly. in class participates wildly. I haven't seen a homework assignment in nine months, but she's a delight to have around. So there was kind of that, but yeah, I wasn't, my rebellion was like in a, like, emotional evisceration of people's character, you know, like, it wasn't, I can tear you part of 13 years old.

Yeah, it was more like, more direct than the indirect rebellion of being like, I'm a Republican, you know, like, I, Right, the Alex P. Keaton Rebellion. That's dating me, family ties, sorry. So you didn't go, you know, pro as it were, until you're 16 or 17 years old. And that's by virtue of the fact that your parents basically set the ground rules and said no auditioning. It was outlawed. I mean, I think both my parents were child actors, which, you know, if you've looked into that at all, people seem to have a bad time.

100% success rates as human beings. Though, that said, I do know many wonderful, extremely talented people who started young who have extraordinary brilliant worth ethics and brilliant minds and have wonderful social lives and healthy attitudes toward themselves. But it is really difficult, and I think that they wanted to give me space to be a private person. And I think that's even what, you know, one of the benefits of school is getting, and even whether it's acting school or art school or regular school is getting to experiment with pushing the limits of your capacity without getting reviewed for it, you know, like getting to, let's say, play like, you know, I played the artful Dodger in a high school play, and I wouldn't get cast as the artful Dodger in life, but I got to do that and find that person in my body, and no one had to review me for it, and thank God, you know. So, yeah.

What about in terms of If I saw the posters on your wall as a kid What film or TV actors, movies Were you obsessed with? Were you Harry Potter, Twilight? What were your franchises? What were your things? I was very into Hennon, Montana.

Very, very, that was my big poster. Thank you. Friends. I was very into high school musical. I was a Disney kid in a big way. I was a big Disney kid, but then I also loved the Wrinkle in Time series and the Golden Compass series, and I loved a tree grows in Brooklyn, and I, like, there was a lot, I, I went to school, I ended up, I went, I got kicked out of, or asked to leave the elementary school that I was at, and sent to a school for kids with learning disabilities, as I said, I was slightly academically challenged, and it was an hour drive. They now have, Winward is a wonderful place for kids with dyslexia and all kinds of different learning differences.

But they now have one in the city, but they're used to not be. And so I would drive an hour in the morning, myself. No, just kidding. I would get driven an hour in the morning to this school and an hour back home. And that's really where my love of books came in, because I would listen to audiobooks. I mean, audiobooks are my life. And I would listen to them to and from school, and that's where I got a lot of my reading done. And then at home, I was a Disney kid and a Food Network kid.

Always goes hand in hand. Always goes hand in hand. Did you dress up as any characters, Halloween? Like any memorable characters you really were obsessed with? My most memorable Halloween, I dressed as a parrot. Sure. Because I wanted to. And it was just, now that you read it up, I know it's not really connected to what you're talking about,

but it's a sad and lovely story. My mom made me this beautiful, parrot costume and she like glued on every multicolored feather to these angel wings and like glued them onto this dress and it was so beautiful but it was the first year that girls started dressing like sexy police officers and I came in my like feather covered multicolored nightgown with my big parrot wings I just really loved animals and my I like loved the zoo

and I arrived to like a room full of people and like they're when they first were trying on stockings and short skirts and I locked myself in a closet and cried but that was a memorable Halloween costume but no I was really interested in poetry I was really and I loved going to the theater

I like I made my dad take me to every regional production of hairspray like in every state that it went to like they were on tour and I was their groupie and uh... car behind the bus yeah it was our car

it was our car and like of wicked and of a South Pacific and I, like, there was just all, I, like, loved musicals and love going to the theater, and, um, I don't know. I, yeah. And what was your relationship to, I would imagine your relationship to the films of your parents is much different than mine. Like, I, I watch Pulp Fiction and I enjoy it, but you watch Pulp Fiction, you see your mom being stabbed with a hypodermic needle. Yeah.

That's got to be a little more traumatic for a young child. It's a skill set to learn. I mean, I will say, like, I'm always asked about what I've thought of different films of my parents. And the truth is, I haven't seen a lot. of them. And you'd think that was weird, except try to imagine when is the right time to do that. Like, it's too important to watch one of their movies just like on your computer, like, when you're on an airplane. It's like, that's too important. And it's weird to all get together as a family and watch it. And it's weird. Like, your friends, when you come over and they're like,

oh, we want to put on a movie, it's weird of them if they're like, yeah, we're dying to watch nymphomaniac. So it's strange windows of opportunity to experience it, but you also do want to understand the work, you know, the life's work and the dedication that

your family members have put into this craft that you are also, you know, putting your energy and love into. But it is complicated. I was so disturbed when I saw Kill Bill 2 specifically. I was older when I saw Pulpiction, so I was fine with that. But the coffin

and I just couldn't. But I also saw my dad in a play when I was really young where it was a Vonhoff, Chekhov, and a wonderful play, by the way. I love the play, but I didn't know at the time that the character ends his life

at the end of the play, and I was terrified. I was like, what? Again, sheets of tears locked in the closet. But seeing common themes running through my life. but yeah so so is there is there one that you're keeping for a rainy day that you haven't seen of either of your parents that you still haven't watched yeah but it's going to be so embarrassing

if i say that's why we're here i mean they're i okay dead poet society gasps i know i know you guys would all be shocked that i hadn't seen that that one that one's locked in a box for a rainy day it's a good one you should check it out yeah um okay so you start So is it like a momentous moment when you start to audition? Oh, and of my mom, hysterical blindness. I can't wait to watch that. I don't know if you guys have seen it. Nice.

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Smile, but not too much. That's weird. What if you aren't? any good at your job. What if they dim out you instead? Okay, don't be silly. You're smart, you're driven, you're going to be late if you keep talking to the mirror. This promotion is yours. Go get them. Starbucks, it's never just coffee. Summer's here, and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well-groom lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan

delivered. A cabana? That's a no, but a banana, that's a yes. A nice tan, sorry, nope, but a box fan, happily yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol and select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app for details. Okay, so the shift in terms of like, I'm going to, I'm going to try this out, and they're going to let me try this out. Like, do you remember your first auditions? Yeah, well, I really, there, I think it was, I think it was through my school. I don't totally know how to happen, but one audition across my desk in high school. And this story is kind of, if anyone, like, you know, whatever, wanted to know this story

is available. But I, um, an audition for Sophia Coppola was doing a little mermaid. And, uh, I really wanted to audition for it. And, and I really protested and, uh, did my version of rebellion, um, uh, to make sure that I could. And I did. And I ended up going through like a long audition process for it, like a year long, and then the movie ended up not happening. But that was my first audition. And then my next auditions were for drama schools, and I audition for all of them and a ton of them. And then when I was in drama school, I was kind of like sneaking out at lunch breaks trying to audition for other things, because I was determined to be fiercely independent. And I think, well, the next audition I remember was for the first part

I ever got. I think there were many more before then that I didn't get that I don't remember. Thank God. And that's little women, I assume we're going to... Yeah, little women. Okay, can we revel for a moment the fact that we never got to see Sophia Coppola's little mermaid? I'm sorry, that's crazy. I know. It would have been really cool. It wasn't a musical. No, she was also going to, like, do it in many ways

inspired by the original myth. Like, it was going to be a darker and, I mean, in some ways, I'm glad that it didn't happen because I had a lot of really wonderful life experiences that might not have happened if that had. You know, that, I mean, that's a little bit of a rocket ship to the moon that. I'm, you know, I mean, hindsight so is golden, you know, that I'm kind of, in some ways, glad didn't happen, but I also would love to see that movie, even if I didn't get to be in it, and would have loved to be in it. Let's be very clear. So, okay, you mentioned, yeah, I'm applying to drama schools. You're like kind of throwing that

away, but you got into Juilliard. You went to Juilliard, correct? For one year, but so I don't, I, it's not a good thing to brag about when you only went for one year and it's a four-year program, but I did go. But that was your choice. It wasn't like they said, see you, Maya. It was complicated. They have really strict policies about working and being in school, and I took a job thinking it wouldn't interfere little women, and it did interfere. And so it was some mutual parting of work. So when you go into those additions and you get, for instance, Little Women, playing Joe, choice part in this great production,

I mean, you're a smart person. You know your name, expectations walking into a room. Like, did you feel that, especially in the early auditions? Now you've obviously amassed this body of work. You walk in, you're your own person, you're Maya Hawke. But early on, I would imagine that follows you into an audition room in the early days, or did you not feel that? I think it's actually, like, sort of started to cumulatively follow and affect me more now than it did at the time. I think I did feel something of that at the time, but I was so confident. and I felt so scrappy and so confident and really unencumbered and really like

this is going to be great like I don't know it's like I'm going to devour the world you know and and I think over time and I also had never gotten any feedback you know I hadn't really been with anyone who was like oh this oh and so I think over time as I've gotten more feedback about that I've kind of developed a more complicated relationship to the idea of what those expectations mean and hold. Right. But, yeah, I mean, I was aware of it, but I, yeah, I was aware of it. It's funny, because I've had so many guests on this stage or elsewhere whose parents

were well-known actors, whether it's John David Washington was here, and Lily Rose Depp and Jack Quaid. And if anything, the common conversation topic when this comes up, is they almost felt like they had to overcompensate and, like, work harder because there was a sense from some people that you're skating by. You're like, oh, no, I'm going to outwork you just to show you that's... I say this not as a criticism to anyone who has said that, but I think the idea that you have to work harder is crazy.

Well, you shouldn't. Absolutely. Well, no, not that you shouldn't. I mean, it is easier. Like, you don't have to work harder. Right. I mean, I think I have so many wonderful friends from drama school. and from New York Theater and who didn't have the luxury to come from where I come from.

And it is harder. You have to work hard to earn people's respect and make sure that you, you know, show up on time and do a great job and are prepared every day. But everyone should do that anyway. And, you know, you have to care for your, for the people around you and try to share the luck that you have. But I definitely don't think it's harder. I think you do have to work hard to earn people's respect, but you always do.

100%. Okay, so let's, okay, jumping into, okay, so little women, big role, big production, did you feel a comfort level, or was it kind of like, where does this camera, like, how does this work, what's a mark? Like, what was your sense of comfort on that first set? Well, I grew up on sets. Right. So I was really comfortable.

Like, I'm more comfortable on set than I am anywhere else, certainly more comfortable than I am here right now. I, that community and world and the world of being in a big group of people who are all making something together. Yeah. And, you know, the experience that I'd had in my life to understand exactly what the sound department does and exactly what props do and what set design does and how those things are different and that you can't touch your props. And, you know, that you, that's your mark and they're going to light and you're going to step aside after they light, after you block it. And the rhythm of it and the pace and the snack cart and... Most importantly, yeah. are all like my, my total comfort zone, and I feel really at home with it.

The place where I started to run into feelings of discomfort and newness were in its release, in press, in, like, that's where I was like, whoa, I haven't been here, you know, because, like I said, my parents really worked hard to keep me private. So the outward-facing public stuff I wasn't included in, but I was included in the art-making part. And so the art-making part has always been my comfort zone, and the outward-facing part has always been my, like, gr-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h. So how do you get the, you're doing great. Thank you.

So I know you don't like grades, so I'm not going to grade you, but you would get a really good grade if there was one. But, no, how have you managed that? I love grays if they're A's. If they're A's. Okay, it's a name. But, yeah, like, what was the switch in your mind? Like, how do you, you're obviously not, you know, falling apart here. You're hopefully, okay.

But, like, where did that switch come from? How do you deal with the press that comes with releasing an album? being in Stranger Things, being in Quentin Tarantino movie, et cetera. I have no problem with it when it feels like the promotion of a thing that everyone got together to make together. Like being here for this movie, when it feels like we're promoting this movie and saying, come see this movie, we all worked really hard on this. I did my little part, but thousands of people did their part and they deserved to be on the stage just as much as me. And let me tell you who they are and what they did.

That totally comfortable and fun and talking. about what the material is about and what the point we're trying to make, when it edges into feeling, excuse me. We're getting personal and deep and your phone rings. When it, I'm just joking, when it edges into feeling like self-promotion is, and when it feels like you're doing press and it's not clear what you're promoting, it's like, wait, hold on, what am I talking about? Like, just you, uh-uh, like, you know, and I think that that, it's a little bit old-fashioned, and I definitely loops back into the way that I was raised, but I think that

the line between actor and celebrity has gotten extremely blurry, and I think, you know, in some ways a celebrity is someone where their personality is what is the draw. And what I always wanted to be was an actor, where the work is what the draw is, not the personhood. But the industry keeps changing and you have to change with it and understand that all of these things are getting blurred and there are wonderful, incredible actors I admire whose personalities we all know

very well. And so I think just figuring out the footing in these changing times of social media and public personality and also how difficult it is to get things made. And it's like, you know, where it's like, I don't care about Instagram. Instagram sucks.

Right, but just so you know if you have over this many followers you can get the money movie funded. Well, I want to make the movie. So, you know, it's a really confusing line to walk, and I've talked to so many smart directors who tell me that they get a, you know, I'm talking about how I'm going to delete my Instagram, and they're like, just so you know, when I'm casting a movie with some producers, they hand me a sheet with the amount of collective followers I have to get of the cast that I cast. So if you delete your Instagram and I lose those followers, understand that these are the kinds of people that I need to cast around you.

So, like, you know, and so there's a, it's confusing, and I find I'm, I'm thinking out loud with you right now, you know, I think this will be a lifelong question for me. And then we have, like, you know, a filmmaker who probably doesn't have access to social media or even an Apple phone, iPhone, Quentin, and you're on a set like that, where that's, I've talked to many actors that have obviously worked with Quentin, and it feels like that's like the, that's heaven. That's kind of like where you want to be as an actor. Well, yeah, I mean, there are these few directors. Maybe there's 10 of them who have reputations that are vast enough and have shown how well they can work and what they can do, that they get given a lot of freedom and a lot of privacy. And they don't have to have a thousand, like, extra BTS guys like taking footage and asking you to, like, make a video of you peeling your orange

on the side of the set. You know, you can really focus and sit there and make a film with them. And I've been privileged enough to really work with three in my life. I got to work with three sets that were like this. I got to work with Quinton, I got to work with Bradley Cooper, and I got to work with Wes Anderson. And all of them have this extreme sanctity to their set, where walking onto that set is like walking into church.

You can hear crickets. Nobody speaks. You're rolling on film. It's extremely focused and extremely celebratory at the same time. Like, it's not overly snooty serious. It's raucous, but it's raucous in the direction of the work and centered on the work. And I don't know any actor who wouldn't want to work on that kind of set, much less with a tour directors of that caliber of excellence,

but even just to be, get to be on a set like that, is church. There's one filmmaker you didn't mention, and I understand why, because it was a smaller piece of time, but Brady Corbe directed one of your music. Oh, my God, yeah. I also didn't mention my dad. I mean, there's a lot, don't, no one be offended by my list. I didn't mention my dad, who also had a very church-like on the movie that we made together Wildcat.

But, yeah, Brady Corbet. I mean, obviously, folks have probably seen the Brutus by now. If you haven't, you need to check it out. It's unbelievable. I'm obsessed with Brady. Yeah. He's a genius. And one of the things that's most genius about him,

not to mention, like, the story and the quality of that work and film and the performances, but for what he made it for. And, you know, it's even back to, this conversation about producers and budgets and these conversations, he's the sort of person who says, this is what I want to make. This is who I want to make it with and what I want it to be about and what I want to shoot on. How much money can I have to do exactly what I want? And if the number is lower than he would want it to be, he doesn't compromise and say, oh, then I won't do what I want. Okay, then I'll give this. He's like, okay, I'll figure out

how to do it for that. And it's an inspiration. And it's, it's, it's, You know, I think for, not that what he made it for was a low amount of money, but it's a lower amount of money than most films that get nominated for Best Picture. And for young filmmakers going into this industry and thinking about wanting to tell their story and thinking, how am I ever going to raise $20 million to make my Master Bees? You could raise 10, you know? Like there is a, there's possibility in that you can make things, you know, if you have the spirit to do so.

And with my music video, Brady, I think you were, going this way, right? Brady directed Teres. And, you know, he made that music video for like $2 in a mug. And he was like, let's do it. This is what I want to make. This is what we have to make it. We're going to make it. And we shot in the woods at like the back of my dad's yard, and we were hanging up flashlights from trees and reflecting them with mirrors, and everyone was doing us a favor. And especially him to me. And it was one of my favorite filming experiences of my life. And that felt like church and like a party.

Slightly larger budget on Stranger Things, safe to say. Is there anything that you wish you'd known prior to signing onto Stranger Things that you could have told Maya a few years back? I mean, it seems like, you know, you know what you're getting into. It's already a huge success. I don't know. Was there any kind of sticker shock or surprise about the way the production was done that you wish you had known?

Nothing had prepared me for working on a character that didn't have an end. You know, it's a, when you're working on even something like Little Women that I did for the BBC, which is three-ed-episode arc or any sort of film, you can track your character from, or a play, from beginning, middle, to end. Where do I start? Where do I have to end up? What has to happen to me to get me from this beginning person to this end person, to be on this journey? and I wish I could have talked to myself

about learning that it can't be about that that it has to be putting your boots on every day and trying to make something magical happen that's worth watching and go blindly into the unknown a little bit like life of not knowing exactly where your character is going to end up, you know,

and just trying to pursue it with love and openness because I spent, I wasted a lot of time in my first season being like, but how am I going to do this scene if I don't understand what's going to happen in the next episode and I'm just totally confused and freaking out and you have to explain it to me and blah and I could have saved myself a lot of time

and Matt and Ross a lot of well, you know, if I had understood that better. It must be though a source of pride that it's such a large ensemble on that show and one of the true achievements that the Duffers have done and the whole directors and writers on that show is serving that entire ensemble pretty damn well. Oh, my God, yes.

But the fact that your character in particular became among many a fan favorite. I mean, what does that mean to you when you hear folks that really adore Robin as much as they do? How is that meaningful for you? Well, it means a lot to me because I love TV. Even as I said, I didn't know how to act in a TV show. I certainly know how to watch them.

And I love them, and I, you know, it's always difficult when you love a story and characters and they bring in a new character and the new character inevitably because you only have 30 to 40 minutes of episode time makes you spend less time with the characters you love and sometimes you're happy and usually you're not and so I was really nervous

about distracting from what had already made the show so special and what people had fallen in love with And I didn't quite get at the time that a part of the Duffer Brothers method is to bring in new energy every season. I mean, you know, they did that with Stadie Sink in season two, but I didn't quite see the way in which they were doing that, like that that was a part of it. And so I was really nervous about it, and they do it so well. And I feel similarly, you know, to Inside Out too, as Stranger Things, when you're a part of something that works, you're just so lucky. Like, it's so relaxing to be a part of something that works where it, the creators of it understand its heartbeat and know how to, you know, they're like watchmakers, and they know how to tighten each gear on the watch so that it runs smoothly and keeps the time. And you just have to come in and play your part and, you know, try to hit the notes right, try not to slam on the note that's out of key, you know.

But, so it's just beautiful, and I was so moved to get to the point that you were making. I was so moved to feel accepted by the fan base and continue to be so. And, you know, even when we just went and filmed this past season, which no one's seen yet, every day was on my mind of, am I serving the story? Am I serving the people who love this show? Am I, you know, dedicating myself to what they come here to feel? Right. And that's the guiding light every day, is like, what do they come here to feel?

I know you're very good at watching TV. I don't know how good you are at watching yourself on TV, but I have a clip. I'm going to show a clip. Oh, okay, I can handle it. You can handle it? I just noticed your eyes went really shut. Maybe I'm a huge egotiac. Let's go.

This is a scene that we've all probably seen many times, but it's a wonderful scene between you and the wonderful Joe Keri. Robin essentially coming out to Joe. Awesome. Here we go. Listen to me, Steve. I'm not like your other friends. Robin, that's exactly why I like you. Do you remember what I said about Click's class?

About me being jealous? Yeah. It isn't because I had a crush on you. It's because she wouldn't stop staring at you. Tammy Thompson. I wanted her to look at me. but she couldn't pull her eyes away from you and your stupid hair. And I didn't understand because you were a douchebag.

And you didn't even like her. And I would go home and just scream into my pillow. Tammy Thompson's a girl. Steve. Oh. Holy shit. Yeah. Holy shit.

What do you remember about shooting that? Did you feel a special weight to that moment? I remember everything about shooting that. I mean, I remember the weeks that led up to shooting that scene. I will always be so grateful to the brothers for writing me that scene and for writing that monologue the way that they did. We had so many different conversations. so many different conversations about, you know, like, does it make sense for Steve to react

so open, like, in this time period and in this location? And, like, does it make sense for Robin to be so, like, open, even as it's difficult to say? And, of course, we have the truth serum, which does help. And kind of, we had these conversations about the idea that the truth serum somehow also brings out the best in you. like actually goes to the real truth of all of our deep compassion for each other when we are surrounded by each other, no matter what our past conditioning has taught us to believe about anybody. And I remember sitting on, I remember going into that bathroom and someone suggesting that we just sit on the floor and figuring out that he could slide under the thing. And I remember being so surprised how few takes we did, because we did so many takes, we do so many takes on that show,

so many takes. But funnily enough, the dialogue scenes that are just straight dialogue usually take fewer takes than the really complicated cinematography that the duffers are extraordinary at. Those take more and more, but a scene like this, they really just are like, let us know when you're done. Like, we trust you, you know these characters, let us know when you're done.

And that's such a generous thing to do. And it was such a moving scene to film and an even more moving scene to have come out into the world. I don't know if I'm emotionally prepared for the final season, am I? Are we all ready for it? Because I feel like the cast has talked already

about how emotional they got, you guys got, making it. Did it feel especially momentous? I mean, some of these folks have been, literally we've seen them grow up. I know. It's like boyhood. Yes, it is.

I don't know if you can be emotionally prepared. I'm not emotionally prepared, both for the ending of these characters and these stories and for the ending of this chapter in my life. You know, I mean, if you could see the tears that were shed in the last few weeks of filming, they were, like, overwhelming. And, in fact, I even think I learned something

about acting, filming the last scene of the show about being emotionally present. And, like, you know, the kind of thing where you always know what you're supposed to be doing, but you don't actually, you're not actually doing it. And then all of a sudden you lock into something and you're like, oh, this is how you do it. This is what I was telling other people to do. I get it now. And, but I don't know.

I don't know. It depends on where it sits in your heart, you know. But it's definitely going to be something. Volvo Fall Experience event, discover exceptional offers and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of room for autumn adventures. And see for yourself how Volvo's legendary safety brings peace of mind to every crisp morning commute. This September, lease a 2026 XE90 plug-in hybrid from $599 biweekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall Experience event. Conditions supply, visit your local Volvo retailer or go to explorevolvo.com. your investors, customers, and workers demand more from your business, make it happen with

SAP. The AI-powered capabilities of SAP can help you streamline costs, connect with new suppliers, and manage payroll, even when your business is being pulled in different directions. To deliver a quality product at a fair price, while paying your people what they're worth, too, so your business can stay unfazed. Learn more at SAP.com slash uncertainty. We haven't even talked about your music career, which is a huge part of your life. Touched on Brady? Well, yes, we did. We did.

But talk to me a little bit about, like, is that even when you're shooting, like, does that stop and start, or is it an everyday thing? Is music a part of your life? Music is and always has been a part of my life every day. Though what stops and starts is where it sits in terms of my career. And kind of, this links back to what we're talking about, about press and self-promotion. I think there's something because, you know, you put, even though a bunch of people work on a record, it might be a little more like directing a film actually, but because a bunch of people work on it,

you put your name on the cover. And then the act of promoting it kind of falls on you alone, and it does start to border on what feels to me like self-promotion, which does make me uncomfortable. But I'm always writing music and always making music and finding new and different ways to have, it be a part of my career. Does the acting work inform the music? Like, is the next album going to be informed by the year of shooting

Stranger Things Five, or is it a totally different kind of part of people? I think it probably will be. I mean, like, what I how I talk about it is, like, if you know how you have an outlet on the wall, and it's got like three different little plugs, but it's all coming from the same power source.

It's like you can plug music in, you can plug acting in, you can plug painting in, it's all coming from the same source and there are different outlets to express it. And I feel like more and more people are being interdisciplinary artists these days for a variety of reasons.

But a lot of which have to do with that one of the only ways to survive in this career these days is to generate your own work. Waiting around for someone to send you a great life-changing script is not necessarily the path anymore. So that's an aspect of it. But they really speak to each other and inform each other

because both are asking you to dive deeper into yourself and to know yourself better and to identify your feelings. And yeah, so I'm just kind of always in the practice of doing that. But it's nice that I can do music at home. Sure. And it's also, though, I mean, it's also exposing yourself in a different way. I mean, again, I think back, I remember when your dad was like writing books at first and poetry at first, and he got a lot of flack at first, I feel. People were like, what's this actor doing, writing a novel?

You got so much flack. I feel like people get a little less flack now. I do now. He kind of suffered through for the rest of us. A multi-hyphenate pioneer. But do you feel more exposed, you know, releasing an album than you do. As you said, like when you're inside out too, this is a thousand people worked on this and you are one very important component of it.

You said just now music is a collaborative art form, but still you're writing these songs. you're the face of it. Well, you sometimes you have to be the face of it. Yeah. Yeah. Does it feel more exposing? Sometimes the nature of questions that people feel entitled to ask, feel like based on the window that you've opened to, like, but putting it out doesn't. Like, you know, in every performance, I hide personal secrets and truths about myself.

And, you know, like Robin, for example, has so many different chapters of journeys of where I was in my relationship to myself. at any one time are packed into that character and that story. And, you know, inside out, too, anxiety is the little voice that talks to me in my head and tells me I'm not doing a good job. And, like, even to the point to which, like, sometimes when I'm making fun of myself where I'm like, oh, you know, it's just really funny because I have this funny spot on my leg and it's just like a weird little red spot and I'm sure that it's nothing or just ingrained hair or something, but I'm really worried about it and I'm thinking I should probably go to

the doctor, right? Because also my hip hurts and those two things might be connected, don't you think? maybe. Like that's kind of how I let people in my life know that I'm self-aware that I'm being insane, you know, was that voice and then I lent it to this character. And so there's personal stuff everywhere. And in the music as well, the eye of songwriting, I think, opens up people's feeling of ability to say, well, is this about that? Is that character, this person? This, especially if you're like a public person like is this song about this other famous person that I'm interested in you know like that

whole thing ugh not into that I know that it's done very good for a lot of people's careers but uh so I I um yeah anyway I so it is more vulnerable but it also is it like the final product isn't more vulnerable the process of promoting it is yeah we were talking backstage you have another big moment coming up we're going to be able to see Maya on stage, on acting on stage for the first time, very soon. Very exciting. This spring in New York, has that been on the list for a while, or you must be looking forward to this?

I think every single year since I left school, I was like, all right, this year I'm going to do a play. You know, I'm like, this is what I need to do. And for a variety of reasons, it hasn't happened yet, but it's been, it's what I wanted to do with my life, you know, and so it means so. much to me that I get to be doing it now and that I get to do this play by this extraordinary playwright. It's Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice. She's amazing, a playwright of our generation, and this is one of her greatest plays, and I feel really lucky to be getting to put it back up on its feet at

the signature, no less, which is a really special theater to me from my life. My dad has done a lot of plays there, so I've hung out backstage there and seen a lot of plays there in some ways because of its partnership with Juilliard. I got to go see tons of plays there when I was there, and it's a very special theater to me. So it's a fabulous cocktail, and I am debilitatingly nervous, but also extremely excited. We'll be there to support, don't you worry? Thank you. Okay. I hope to see you all there. We will all be there, right guys? Okay. What causes you anxiety on a film set? Other people being late. me being late.

Fear of going up on my lines, going up on my lines, other people going up on their lines. And a lack of clarity about the plan, actually, is probably the best, like, what are we doing? What are we doing? Like, I've been waiting for two hours. What's happening? Do you need me? Am I being useless? Like, and is there a plan?

And what's the shot lit? Like, what's the, I like, as much as anyone I'm working with will read me in. to the day, the calmer I feel. And I can work a pretty infinite amount of hours if I understand what I'm working on and why I am doing it. And I really hit roadblocks when I am being asked to do things I don't understand.

And I'm working on that for people who might be considering hiring me. I am trying to get better at doing things I don't understand, but that's where anxiety comes up. You said you're really good at watching TV. What are you watching? Do you watch every kind of show?

or do you have a... It might be my, like, absolute, like, addiction and fear of the news and my feeling that, like, I need to be paying attention, but also that, like, attention is actually what is being wanted from me from the people who have learned to monetize fear and attention

and, like, use it to their benefit, even if you're upset about it. And that kind of confusion has definitely gotten me into a role of, like, when I feel... If I've already looked at the news, enough and I feel like I've taken in all the information and anything more I would be doing would just be like fear, like allowing my own little fear rabbit to go, ah! So once I've reached that point, I've been really interested, I've been really enjoying watching political shows,

which is insane, but like I loved the diplomat this year. It's so good. And then after loving the diplomat, I went back and watched the two great Erin Sorkin news shows that I had never watched of the West Wing and the newsroom, which has been my like, ha! Wow, loving that, and it's great refuge to pretend that we live like that still. Like, we get to have their problems. I mean, not that they don't have problems, they have problems, but I like their problems a little more. So, that's what I've been watching lately, and also Madam Secretary. And I'm trying to think if there's anything else.

But, yeah, I've been trying to keep up with the Oscar movies and getting ready to have an opinion. and also enjoying some political-esque soap opera energy. So any early opinions, or not early at this point, but 2024 movie opinions. You're an Oscar nominee via Inside Out 2. Any other films you're rooting for? I mean, as I said about Brady as my friend, and if I had a vote, which hopefully someday I will have, I would vote for him. Okay, we're going to end with the happy, second, fused, profoundly random questions.

Yes. Here we go. Are you a dog or a cat person? Dog, but I love cats. If they liked me better, I would be a cat person. They don't respond well to you? I'm too needy. The dogs are right for me.

I come to them and they go like, oh, you're here, and we're so excited to see you. And the cats are like, you seem like you have a lot of energy and like you want more from me than I want from you, and that's fine. In balance in this relationship. Yeah. Yeah, okay.

What do you collect, if anything? I was a kid. I collected glass animals. I now collect tour lanyards from concerts that I go to and my friend's art. Do you have a treasured lanyard? What's the tour that you really... Ares tour. Nice.

Favorite video game of all time. Did you ever go through a video game phase? Did I ever go through a video game phase? Yeah, I had a Nintendo, and I liked... Wait, no, why now? Okay, well, I like this one game that was where you could take care of dogs digitally. What? Nintendo dogs!

Yes, I like Nintendo dogs a lot. You like get your puppies and you like bathe them and you make them do shows and you get points and I like that game a lot. I played this one video game that I also don't know the name of that I loved. It was like a mystery and you were like a detective and a hat and you traveled through a town and you had to solve the mystery by solving riddles. I loved that. And I also like Mario. But I was never a big video game person

and a big, no violent video game person. My brother recently put like those Oculus goggles on me and tried to teach me how to play like a gun game. He was like Maya, you're a grown up now. Like you can be, like, you're not, don't even be such a baby. And I was like, okay.

So I like put on the Oculus and I'm playing the gun game. And I'm like, and he's like, okay, now you've like, you got to grab the knife out of the air and I'm like okay knife grabbed and then he's like okay and now you've got to slash it and I was like okay slashed all right I'm in I'm doing okay and then he's all right now you have to throw it at that guy and I was like okay and I threw the um the cons um all the way across the room and like but you're also in the goggles and you're like where did it go um so anyway not a huge video game person but I I do and I now I'm addicted to games on my phone like I like

there's like a fruit game where you like turn smaller fruits into larger fruits roots and then they explode. I like that game a lot. I have a really high score. It's in the upward 8,000s if anyone else is playing. Would you rather be four feet taller or four feet shorter? God, neither. I would rather be four feet shorter, I think. I mean, am I, no, that's not a question I'm going to ask. I would rather be four feet shorter with the hopes that the people that I love might be able to put me in a backpack and carry me around, and that more places that are uncomfortable for tall people would be comfortable for me.

Yeah, you thought this through. Yeah. Good job. Thank you. What's the wallpaper on your phone? Me and my boyfriend. Do you ever get mistaken for another actor? Last actor you were mistaken.

My mother. Really? Yes. How does that go down? Like literally. Like literally people, I guess, who just like haven't checked the world in 20 years

like I have walked on the street and someone be like boy I've had kids be like you were so good in Pulpiction like thinking that like they just watched this movie that just came out Time froze yeah

and I've also had like older people be like I loved you and that like it's an honor and so that is the person I'm most commonly mistaken for amazing What's the worst note a director has ever given you? A director told me, actually, I think it was a producer, but they were in cahoots,

told me that I looked prettier with my mouth closed, and that I should close my mouth after I speak more often. Now, if you watch any of my performances, you will see I am kind of a mouth breather. Like, I do often let my mouth hang open. But depending on what character I'm playing, because I feel like jaw tension and mouth tension is so important to express what kind of person you are and some people have a very tight mouth you know

they really work on keeping their and they don't smile whether they're really like and some people are like hey so good to see you man like oh I'm just having a great day out here you know and so like where where you leave that I think is really important. And I was really upset about being told that I should close my mouth to look prettier because I was playing a character that was like distinctly unselfconscious. Like that that was a trait of the character that they didn't care about looking pretty and they were unselfconscious. And so it was clearly just like a desire of the aesthetic of the thing and I was annoyed about it. Did you make it

known you were annoyed or just? I mean you've talked to me for 30 minutes. What do you think? You did. You did. You said to me. And finally in the spirit of happy second few. an actor that always makes you happy. You see them on screen, you're happier. Alice and Janney. Good one, okay. West Wing on the Mind. Yeah, well, I just get to the doubts.

But always. A movie that makes you sad, always. Family Stone. Happy, sad. Happy sad. I don't like watching movies that make you sad, sad, sad, sad. I will, if they've been nominated for awards and everyone tells me that I have to.

But I really, I'll take happy sad, but I don't want to be sad, sad, sad, sad, sad. And finally, a food that makes you confused. You don't get it. Whoa. Yeah. Fun. Food that makes me confused.

I mean, food doesn't befuddle me that often. You see this on a menu. Like, why would anybody find that appealing? Like, weird parts of animals. Right. But I get, like, those are also just cultural. Like, it's not, like, it doesn't have to be confusing to me. Like, how could they possibly eat the chicken neck

those weirdos like because they do like I eat the chicken leg like that's not yeah that's no weird we all we're all talking about the chicken um so I don't know what makes me confused I really I'm just not befuddled by food I just I love food I love trying new things when not things don't gross me out that easily I'm not easily grossed out and I and sometimes I don't like things but I'm excited to try it and and to understand a new experience um So maybe I'll think of something in a minute. No, don't. You say yes to life.

You say yes to food. I say yes to food. We love that about you, among other things. We also love this movie. Look at that segue. Inside Out to, I don't need to say this, but you can spread the good word if you want. If there's someone on the planet

that doesn't know about this movie, where have they been, it's an amazing, it's a beautiful piece of work, as Pixar always delivers. And congratulations on joining the Pixar family. This is a special one. God, I'd love to get to stay a part of it. Thank you.

I'm sure you will. Thanks, guys, so much for coming out tonight. Thank you all. My Hawk, everybody. We're seeing her on off-Broadway very soon, right? Okay, good. It's off-Broadway, but yes. And so ends another edition of happy, sad, confused.

Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressured to do this by Josh. I'm Amy Nicholson, the film critic for the LA Times. And I'm Paul Shear, an actor, writer, and director. You might know me from The League, Veep,

or my non-eligible for Academy Award role in Twisters. We love movies, and we come at them from different perspectives. Yeah, like, Amy thinks that, you know, Joe Pesci was miscast in Goodfellas, and I don't. He's too old. Let's not forget that Paul thinks that dude too is overrated. It is. Anyway, despite this, we come together to host Unspooled, a podcast where we talk about good movies, critical hits.

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