Podcrushed - Auli‘i Cravalho

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

Auli‘i Cravalho (Moana, Mean Girls) shares what it was like to break out as the youngest Disney princess in history,  grow up with no television, attend boarding school, and let her mom find out personal information via Teen Vogue. Auli‘i talks to us about language, polytheism, protecting our oceans, and navigating the seas with the stars as our guide.   Follow Podcrushed on socials:Tiktok Instagram XSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lemonada I had my period in a boarding school. I had my first relationship at boarding school, which my parents knew nothing about. I smoked my first cigarette in boarding school. Like all the foundational things, I suppose, happened far from my parents. Wait a second. Wait a second.

Does Disney know that you have had a cigarette? I'm scandalizing. Chandalized. Oh, tell Mickey. Please, I'm begging you. Welcome to Pod Crushed. We're hosts. I'm Penn.

I'm Nava. And I'm Sophie. And I think we could have been your middle school besties. Sike. You suck. I mean. Welcome to the cop.

What? Welcome to Cobbush. Welcome to Cobbush. I was gobsmacked. I forgot that we were doing this. and then... Boom, listeners. If you can't see what's happening,

Penn is holding up a giant box with gift rep chat. What is it? Group chat rap. That's our group chat rap. As opposed to the group chat rat, which is one of you. That's me because I submitted it. I love it right here.

Just again, I want to highlight, this isn't a family. Okay? Wow. I have to say, this is really thoughtful. Yeah. Aw.

Pen, for people who are just listening and who can't actually read it, what are you holding? What's happening? I'm holding something is very heavy. I'm assuming it's very expensive. Very expensive. But it's been wrapped in our, it's been wrapped in our group chat. Which we

took a screenshot of and Sophie submitted. She always follows through. If it has to do with texting, I guess. No, that's unfair. That's unfair. I was like, oh my gosh, he complimented me and it's over. And then I'm just, I'm just, you know. Yeah.

Penn, I don't know if you suspect what it is, but can I give you one hint? No, yes, okay. We love it when you participate in the group chat and we never wanted you to miss an alert again. Is it, is it a torture device? Is it, is it a receipts just for everything I've missed? It's an electric shock system every time you neglect the text. Like a little, all right, all right, let's see, let's see, let's see. Guys, this is huge.

This is really nice. Oh. I'm going to keep my phone on silent, but I can listen to music with this. So, I mean, your theory will go untested. Penn, what did we get you? Tell everyone. It's a speaker, as far as I can sell. Yeah, it's a really nice speaker.

Thank you, guys. You're welcome. You're welcome. Thank you. Now, people are probably wondering, what did Penn get us? Nothing. I hope you're hungry for nothing. Ooh.

You see, you know what I got you? A podcast. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. But we did get each other something too. Sophie, you want to go first? I got Sophie a special gift.

Yeah. I have it here. I'm excited. And the beautiful group chat wrap. Not exactly sure. How I'm going to open this? Quite massive. Sophie doesn't miss text alert.

So it's not a speaker. Yeah. Any hints? Yeah. In our group chat message that is on the wrapping paper, Penn tells you to put the phone down. So this is me looking out for you.

Oh my gosh. What is it? It's a phone. It's a phone. What? And I thought if Penn is making Sophie put her phone down, I'm going to give her a second phone because I want her editing our social media clips.

You got her phone. I got a speaker. You got, okay, all right, that's fair. This is actually too funny. Okay.

Do you like it? I love it. I'm just going to let you open. open your gift. Okay. Okay. Nice. All right.

Large. I do love this gift wrap paper. I want to save it. I got you something that every good momager needs. I'm hoping every momager needs a Rolex for some reason. That's pretty good. Yeah. Oh my God.

This is hilarious. Sophie got me the exact same thing that I got her. That's so funny. Oh, you two were more like than you wanted with me. Every good momager needs a work phone. Okay, I'm actually so excited that this is what you got me. This is what I was hoping for. This is so exciting.

Yeah, I really wanted this. Thank you so much. I put it out there by getting it for you too. That's so good. I love it. Guys, this was so sweet. It was sweet. Before we get to our guest, actually, I want to remind people that they can send their

own screenshots from their group chat to create their own group chat wrap. You just have to DM US Cellular on Instagram before the 24th of November. So go forth. I'm sorry, did you say something? I was too busy drooling over my new... I'm so excited. Our guest today is the truly radiant, really lovely, spirited young actor, Aulie Krivallio, who you would know from Moana.

She's Moana. I don't know what more you need to hear. She was actually the youngest person to voice a Disney princess ever at 14, but it's not just the movies. She's been in TV and on the stage. She was in NBC's Rise. She was Ariel in The Little Mermaid Live. And now she's on Broadway in Cabaret.

She's also starring in, let me just check my notes here, Moana 2. And incidentally, she's no longer playing Moana. She's a crab. But we got her today. You're going to love Moana 2 almost as much as you love this episode. Don't go anywhere. Does anyone else ever get that nagging feeling that their dog might be bored? And do you also feel like super guilty about it?

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Maybe there's another one in that area. And now, new leads that could solve these cold cases. They could be a victim. We have no idea he killed. Stolen voices of Dull Valley, break. The Silence on August 19th. Follow us now so you don't miss an episode. Owlii, thank you for coming on.

As we understand it, if our research serves us, you got Moana at 14, where obviously there's a departure from what you would have otherwise experienced. So paint a picture out for us of 12 and 13-year-old Al-Ei, who's, you know, as I understand it, a theater kid, certainly an artist, certainly a performer. And of course, as you've said before, you couldn't have even imagined

that something like this would have happened. It just didn't seem in the realm of possibility, as I understand it. So please, just, you know, paint us a picture, dare I say, pre-Mawanna, just so we really can feel that. I'm so grateful someone has asked me about pre-Mawana. Usually when interviews start, it all starts there, which is totally fair. That was my first role, first job, first anything. But I have always been a theater kid at heart.

My mom would put me into anything and everything in this small town of Kohala. Kohala is on the big island. It's on the northernmost tip of the island. My mom is Portuguese, Hawaiian, Irish, and a little bit of Chinese. My dad is half Puerto Rican, half Portuguese. and my mom would pull me out of school to see like a ballet performance an hour away like just to get some of the arts in and I am an only child so I was truly talking to myself and kissing mirrors and reading passages from books like just trying to kind of make my own stage in my bedroom I feel that yeah it was just it was a golden age truly I loved growing up in Hawaii whenever I was hungry before dinner time. My mom was like, go outside. Go pick an orange. Like literally go. What are you coming in here for cereal for? You know, it's funny? When you first said that, I was like, go outside to just ignore your

hunger and play? What is she, what is she saying? The bodega. Oh, you mean food comes from the earth? You're saying it grows out there? And I miss it so much. But I grew up on the big island in a very small town. And then I spent, my parents got a divorce. I spent some years living with an auntie and an uncle in their house. They took care of me. They acted like my second set of parents love them so much. And then I went to boarding school at Komehameha Schools, which is a school that gives preference to those of Hawaiian ancestry. And that is where 12 to 13 year old Al-Ii really starts. Being an only child, I really wanted siblings. I asked my mom for siblings multiple times. She just kept giving me cats. That has stuck around. Love a cat. Love a cat. But I stopped asking for

siblings. I instead tried to make as many friends as possible. And boarding school was fantastic. I finally felt like I had sisters, at least there were dorm sisters. I was rooming with them like all the things that would usually happen like with your parents. It was also strange to like get that somewhere else. Like I had my period in a boarding school. I had like my first relationship at boarding school, which my parents knew nothing about. I smoked me for cigarette in boarding school. Like all the all like the foundational things I suppose happened far from my parents. Wait a second. Wait a second. Does Disney know? that you have had a cigarette.

I'm scandalized. Oh, tell Mickey. Please, I'm begging you. But I really enjoyed that. And it was at that same school. I stayed there and I graduated from there. But that was where I was also when the news of Moana broke out.

And people were calling me Moana up and down those halls. I'll tell you. It was a big deal being at a school where everyone was native Hawaiian. and like knowing the impact of that role from the get. Wow. Did you have roommates? And if you did, like, what was it like going from Only Child

to having to live with some in your age and like navigate that? That's a great question. I, we did have roommates. We switched every quarter, four quarters in a year. I loved it. And then I hated it. Became enemies with some of my friends. Like, truly the thing of don't live with your friends.

Learn that in what year? In seventh grade, I'm not in seventh grade. Yeah. Some people were stinky, bro. Yeah. Yeah. What was it like being away from your parents? I mean, you described like some of those firsts that happened, but were you, did you miss them?

Did you feel a sense of freedom? Were you excited? What was it like? My parents are very different. So I remember most of my homesickness, I think, hit me before I left home. I was so scared. My mom is very strong, always has been, always has been putting me in baton twirling lessons from some lady she found in the paper, like just tried to find things in a small town

because I am such a sponge. I love learning. I love talking to people. And she was like, oh, I think that she just needs a little bit more. And my dad, on the other hand, was very much against boarding school. He was like, let her be a kid, let her, like, grow up. up slowly this world is like, I remember my mom wanted to also put me into, like, some modeling lessons. My dad was like, absolutely not. My mom's like, I have the cutest kid in the world. What do you

mean? So, like, very different ideas. But their parenting styles worked out because I turned out to really know the difference, I think, between being on and really feeling like, and now I'm off. Like now I get to enjoy being home, and home is also nowhere near the entertainment world, which I'm grateful for. But I missed them before I left. And once I was there, my mom's intuition was right. I picked up everything. I joined concert glee. I like became, we have a song contest, which was later after seventh grade.

But we had song contests where freshman, sophomore, junior, seniors, we compete a cappella with Hawaiian repertoire. So I, like, ran the soprano one section. Like, I joined the theater club. I just, I jumped in head first. That sounds awesome. That sounds really nice. And you light up talking about it, too.

Yeah. Yeah, it was a really great time. I heard you say on Drew Afuelo's podcast comment section that, you could go to any high school on any Polynesian island and find the best singing voices. And I was so curious about that. Like, what do you think it is about Polynesian culture that that creates that circumstance? I firmly believe it is because we did not have a written language. I firmly believe it was because we are master storytellers. I also think it's very probable because we also have journeyed across the Pacific for so many years that our language has changed.

But oftentimes what we remember are like the songs that we hear, like the earworms. I don't read music, but many of my classmates, I have traveled to Altaroa and listened to many of the choirs there. Though we may not have the formal training, our ear is really strong. our sense of pitch is really strong and I I don't know I don't know exactly what it is but I think it has something to do with the fact that nothing was written and everything had to be remembered like in school it was important for us to know our mojo or our like family genealogy and that was a site that was chanted and recited for every single one of us we had to do the family tree and then recite it and like these were chants like maybe 10 minutes long like as long as far back as

you could possibly remember it. Because if you remember your history, then it stays alive. Not if anyone else writes it down and you never read it. Wow. So cool. Hawaiian is a beautiful language. We only have 13 letters. So, for instance, if you ever watch high school musical, I don't know if it's one or two. But Humu-Humunukunupua is our state fish.

And it's so long because we only have so many letters. We have to reuse them. And also our language was forbidden to be spoken for a few generations during the colonization process. during like the illegal overthrow. So the language itself is, is one that is on the resurgence now. It's one of the reasons I also love Moana. I re-recorded our first film in Olelo, Hawaii. It's now used for educational purposes.

Like, Ollello is really important to us, and it's unfortunately, like, not taught unless you go to Apunanaleo or a Hawaiian immersion school. So there's a version of Moana out there that's all in that language. That's beautiful. As you said that, I kind of got chills. It's like, it's gratifying to. to also speak to somebody who's doing this and is really happy about it, you know?

That isn't always the case. And I think even sometimes it's justified. And but, you know, you're, so you were, you were 14. And then I would imagine Moana took up like three to four years of your life, right? I was cast at 14. The film came out the day after my 16th birthday. So we were in there for a full two years. I was still in school in Hawaii.

and then I would fly out to Burbank, California. You know what really, like, spooked me initially when I came to Los Angeles was that you didn't have clouds. It's just a wash of blue. And then when you get in a, or rather, when I was first entering Los Angeles, I was like, does anyone see that spooky, like, cloud that we're entering? And I feel like it was smog. Yeah.

Yeah. That's like arriving to the ocean. They're asking the fish about water. And they're like, huh? What? Yeah. I'm not sure what you're talking about. I was freaking out.

But I agree with you that, truthfully, landing that role at 14, I had no idea what was coming up. But what I feared was socials and social media and growing up with so many eyes on me. I was really afraid of that. also because I have a really big fear of being in genuine. And I think that it is very difficult to find the balance of sharing your life on the Internet and then remaining off the Internet. life happens off of that, you know, but I'm really unfamiliar with this phenomenon that you're describing. I'm trying to find it difficult to have an authentic presence online and also live

an authentic life offline and be famous, world famous, internationally famous. My goodness. And not get a flame for it. Like it's a fine balance. And I also think it's interesting maybe to bring up since this is such a interesting platform and I'm so grateful for the depth of questions that I'm being asked right now. I grew up Catholic, but also understanding polytheism from Hawaiian gods. And I always found it really interesting that in Catholicism, the world was created in seven days for man, whereas in many indigenous religions or spiritual understandings, we are so much more entwined with the earth around us. Like, for instance, in Hawaiian genealogy,

because that's what we call it, if we believe that we have Earth's mother and sky father, was their first child was still born, and when it was placed into the ground, buried into the ground, from there sprouted Kalo or Terro, which is one of our root vegetables, things that we eat all the time.

And then the next child was manned. And so if we take care of our older brother, our older brother will take care of us and the fact that all of our demi-gods, Maui included, if you remember that character from Moana, they are flawed. They are tricksters. They are sensitive. They are jealous. And it isn't that we have one singular god that is omnipresent, all-knowing, and perfect. It is that we learn from their mistakes. And so I appreciate that knowledge next to Christianity or Catholicism because I think Catholicism prepared me for this world but the polytheism shaped me more and grounded me more in myself.

Stick around. We'll be right back. All right. So let's just let's just real talk as they say for a second that's a little bit of an aged thing to say now that that dates me doesn't it um but no real talk uh how important is your health to you you know on like a one to ten and i don't mean the in the sense of vanity i mean in the sense of like you want your day to go well right you want to be less stressed you don't want it as sick when you have responsibilities um i know myself i'm a household i have uh i have two children and two more on the way um a spouse a pet you know a job that sometimes as its demands.

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how you said that you feel lucky that you get to amplify wayfinding you know this as i understand it this this legacy that that the polynaging people have been caring for so long and are there any key moments that you remember in the vocal booth where like you know you're singing this song about your people beside you your people guiding you your answer calling on your ancestors and you know you're doing this for Disney like I'm just like oh like like in your 14 15 years old you're in this vocal booth I do know what it's like to be in a vocal booth I feel like the vocal booth can be a reverent place because you um my experiences when you have when you're because you're able to look the script you don't ever have to worry about memorizing your lines that that little bit of

friction that might have been there is completely gone so it's like you just are free you can just connect so immediately and so deeply and play and try all these things i'm just curious like can you talk about the process of recording in the vocal booth and and how you you know i just it's a it's such a formative experience in your life at a formative time yeah i think having voiceover as my first project was the ultimate gift. Like you said, I didn't have to come in with any makeup on. I didn't have to come in having had any training necessarily. I have always been singing.

I was a colic baby. So my mom jokes that, like, I was developing my lungs at a very young age. I just screamed my head off. But I love going into the recording booth and acting like a little gremlin. And sometimes, like, for instance, I have like a little dimple on the right side of my cheek. And the, like, my dimple made it into Moana. Oh, that's amazing.

I used to have long hair when I was 16. So I would, like, throw it up in like a quick tito bun or a messy bun. And she ended up putting her hair up in a bun, like in the movie because the animators, like, take those, those little tidbits and those bits of emotion. And I am admittedly, um, pretty animated. So that made it kind of easy for them. Um, and I, I love. I loved it. I also knew, I knew as soon as I was cast, how important this would be. And I remember before I started, anxiety-ridden. I talked to my mom. I was like, what if it's bad? Yeah. What if, like, what if, what if, what if, what if one is wearing, like, a grass skirt and coconuts? Like, what if it's, like, I don't, ugh, I remember being so fearful, um, that. that we weren't making a film in 2016 and that people hadn't read the room.

You know, I was so deeply afraid. But it turned out that our, first of all, our directors, Ron Clements and John Musker, had been working on this and researching and traveling to Samoa, Tonga, Altaeroa, Tahiti, to learn from these civilizations to then think of, well what if we said it even further back like if samoa which is this is based in truth samoa is about as far back as we can trace polynesian ancestors unless you're going all the way back in which we can trace our genomes i believe to taiwan which is very interesting um but the idea of having this story was like already six years into the making so i stepped on

when moana was fully rendered and they had a very good idea of what the story was and the flora and the fauna they had idea of the tapa or the kappa the clothing things like that like what it was made out of how they were going to animate it so thankfully they did a great job and i and i just got to come in and and play and my mom was in the recording booth all the time and while it was freeing i think it's also very scary because if if we get into like um kind of how recording goes you're alone in the booth like you'll sometimes have you'll usually have your directors on the other side and then you'll have maybe a writer in the booth with you explaining the lines feeding you some i was definitely fed when i was like 16 to

like there's this line and then there's that line like kind of a back and forth but then you just wait in silence while you see other people on the other side of the glass talking oh interesting Was it the other actors? I'm so ignorant about what it takes to record in a vocal booth. But who was acting on the other sides of the glass? Yes. Forgive me. So there are no other actors.

We record everything separately. So it would be me in the booth and then a writer in the booth with me. On the other side of the glass, the door is closed on my side. On the other side of the soundproof glass, we had two directors. We have producer. we have the sound technicians, we have assistants, like all these people, we have someone taking notes. Like, all those people are on the other side and I can't hear any of them. So I think that process also forced me to make the biggest choice possible and then trust that

someone was going to rein me in. Sure. I had to take that as like a pat on the back, which for us as actors also like, I think the the thing that hurts the most is not the nose, it's simply the silence. Like, not hearing anything back is actually how you know that it's not moving forward. So that's silence and just trusting that something else would come up or we'd move on, like that silence was actually really important for me. I am someone, I don't know if you can tell.

I like to fill the silence. I'm a big talker. So, yeah, all these things. Obviously, Moana exists in sort of the great tradition of like Disney leads and sidekicks. and Moana and Maui are like one of the greatest, one of the, I'm curious, like, what was it like meeting Dwayne Johnson? When did it happen in the process? You weren't apparently reading lines together to go on a press tour with him when you were 16? Like, just what was that whole relationship? So there were no recordings with him, but we did a fake recording, which was for press.

And that was when I met him in Florida after we had fully wrapped the film. And he was absolutely lovely. He brought me flowers. He smelled really good. My mom has been such a fan of him. She got to joke in person in front of him that she would like to go rock climbing, which is an insane thing to say, by the way. It was lovely. And that's kind of how I remember my first meeting is that particular phrase that my mom said. You know, the more I think about it, the more clever it is. I read Ali that you deferred an acceptance to Columbia University a few times because you were worried that the industry would forget about you. So you'd continue working. Is that right? It's true. Yeah. Okay. Well, I felt like that was so relatable, probably for so many people,

especially young women, young girls, not even just people who are in the public eye, but just in general. And I wondered, you've done so many things, so many incredible things. How is that feeling evolved for you now? Do you still feel that way or not? I think it's not as much that I would be forgotten, but there is a sense of the train is moving. And do I bring it to a halt? Because I know for a fact that I am not able to focus on two things at once. I know that I would have to pause one or give less of myself to the other, which doesn't feel fair.

I also, I did get in, got into Columbia General Studies. I was going in for Earth Sciences. I still really want to continue my education. I would be the first to go to college in my immediate family. So there's that, but I'm also breadwinner for my family. So there's more of a, like, if you saw my shoulders grow up, it's also that I'm a smidge worried that taking a break and going, doing all four years, I've budgeted it out. I'd make it, but it'd be close, you know, and to also take care of my family.

Like, I look forward to doing that perhaps in the next decade when I feel more secure. Just while we're on that topic of environmental sciences and obviously Moana sort of focusing on the oceans, I occasionally read UN reports about the state of like the climate. Yes. They're terrifying. Yeah. They're horrifying. And I don't know why we don't.

I feel like everybody should be talking about them all the time because the forecasts are quite negative. One of the worst things that's happening is life in the ocean is dying at like a rate of 85% which is absolutely terrifying. like, I don't know how we survived that. And I'm not to be just such a bummer. I was curious as someone who I read your passion about coral reefs and sort of protecting our water, do you have anything to say on this topic and anything we can do to actually preserve our oceans

and try to reverse this? Okay. Let's get real. Yeah. Most of the work that needs to be done is not in the hands of someone who, who is saying, should I buy a reef safe sunscreen versus a different kind of sunscreen? Yes, it'll make us feel better. Yes, there are marine protected areas and specific places that you can go to visit

like ecosystems and things that do require reef safe sunscreens, definitely. And here to those protocols, if you're going to these Great Barrier Reefs, if you're traveling to Hawaii and you decide to go snorkeling or scuba diving, be sure not to kick the coral reefs. Like these are things that we can take in as our own personal responsibility. But there is a lot of work to be done on a much larger level. And I think that for myself, as someone who's in Gen Z, I have inherited a great sense of dread and a real feeling that

our world is on fire. And it's true. It's true. It's not even, it's not even just a phrase. But if we are to focus on the positive, because I do think that's important. And I love that you read these UN reports because the UN, while not a governing body, does impact quite a bit of, of legislation, especially not just in the U.S., though we need to keep on that, also internationally. So the International Court of Justice has an advisory opinion for small island developing states. I work closely with small island developing states. So the majority of emissions is put out by these larger countries, the U.S. included. And really, the small island states are facing the brunt of the climate crisis.

These once-in-a-lifetime king tides and typhoons are now coming every five years. Our oceans are, you know, the 1.5 to stay alive, our oceans are heating up as we speak. We are losing the biodiversity on our oceans where we are experiencing coral death at a rate that it is simply nearly impossible to match that. Also because we, I can speak to Hawaii itself, we are so protective of the way things are that we aren't moving quick enough to then combat what climate change is bringing to our doorstep. But there is an advisory opinion out to the International Court of Justice if these larger states, states meaning countries in this case, if these larger states have a responsibility to these smaller nations to both clean up their act as far as pollution is concerned, but also to then pay for the damages and the rebuilding costs that these nations need to do every five years their economy. and we can simply not keep up. So that's an advisory opinion currently out. That feels really important.

There are also really wonderful organizations like pristine seas who are focusing on making areas protected, less than I believe it's 3% of our oceans are protected in any kind of way. I like to think of Hawaii included, but also any type of island. instead of small and perhaps insignificant as a big ocean state, that we should really be owning the waters around our homes because that is, one, for Hawaii, a very big tourist attraction, but also, two, I think it puts more accountability, more... The islands should choose what happens off of their coastlines.

And to be fair, if we get into fracking and those things, a small island has to focus on their GDP and keeping their people alive. And while we as a larger state can look at these things as like, fracking is terrible. At the same time, they need to rebuild. So if we do not clean up our app and help these smaller states that have released less than 1% of global emissions, they then need to look at these alternatives that no one wants truthfully, protecting our marine systems, protecting our coral, it not only, like, it affects humans in so many ways. We can think of it as a food source. We can think of it as a source of economy. We can think of

it as a tool for our jobs. Like, there are so many things that connect us to the ocean. And if we take away that if we are constantly berating them with kingstorms and such, they can't make those decisions without thinking of everything else going on. It was a convoluted way to say that. No, actually, you're clearly very educated and you gave it really, that was very concise because the depth and breadth of the issue is obviously massive. We're going to have to pivot real hard unless we just keep going down that path, which is like we can either talk about Polynesian spirituality and let's actually

connect the death of the coral reefs at a. Two, the fact that there are ancestors, right? And so we're, no, we can't do it right now. I would love to do it. But I want to go back because we do, you know, we before we sort of exit this stage of life for the duration of the rest of the interview, I want to go back just a moment ago. You mentioned the difficulties that you were having, or maybe some of the anxieties you were having around living an authentic life during the impact.

during the impact of Moana which is interesting too because it's like it wasn't your face all over the thing but like you were known as her and then of course it's your voice so like it's multifaceted in and amongst

all that you were a young person growing up a girl becoming a woman and you must have had crushes and heartbreaks and embarrassing stories that we just love to talk about here I just can't wait to hear it all So, so yeah, so please give us some of that if you can. Oh, boy.

My first crush was in elementary school. His name was Maseppa. It was lovely. My second real crush, someone, like my first love, her name was Cat. She was a little older than me. She would let me borrow her jackets. She felt so good. I don't know what was in those jackets and know what endorphins, what hormones were going off at that time.

She smelled so good. I think I learned my sexuality in a young age. I grew up with aunts and uncles who were either queer or mahu, meaning they kind of towed the line of both male and female enjoyed. the gender fluidity of that. So I never felt the necessity to come out. Cued to pandemic, I made a TikTok where I was lip syncing to Eminem, where one of the lyrics was like, are you straight? No, I'm by, posted that at around midnight thinking,

it's like, no one's going to see this. I just created this TikTok account. It blew up. it was featured in like teen vogue my mom found out because people started texting her and she was like oh wow did you not want to tell me and I was like you didn't know like what do you mean I was bringing girls over all the time so like started off we've had those conversations um but all in all I guess it worked out for the better because if I thought that the representation of Moana was important I had no idea how important it was to be a mixed person of mixed descent who was queer,

who like was playing leading ladies who chose to like go beyond the reef and and not have a love interest complete her story. Like I didn't fully recognize how all the different facets of myself allowed other people to to also see themselves. Yeah, that's beautiful. I've heard you talk talking a little bit now. about representation. I've heard you talk about Polynesian representation and say that you feel one of the only solutions is for Polynesian people to start their own production companies

and cast themselves. And it just made me curious, especially with the Moana Live Action film coming out, you are going to be an executive producer. Do you see yourself starting a production company? Yeah, I definitely do. I really the bar is in hell I just want to make films that have a great script that have strong leading ladies

or at least strong characters that choose themselves first I'm actually really tired of seeing young women also throw things away from other people so I also really want to uplift there are so many great Hawaiian filmmakers and I think that our state is used for a lot of productions,

but then they hire talent from outside, and it's kind of tough to then, let's say someone puts their film into the Hawaii International Film Festival, maybe even gets it out to the Toronto Film Festival. Where do you go then? Like how does someone make it to an Oscars campaign? Like these are things that are so far, a way and require so much funding and requires so much knowledge as well that I'm I recognize

that I have so many connections and I am not afraid to ask and I have a wonderful team behind me where they can also you know basically speak for me and and all those connections then come together that most people don't have that so making a production company shortening that distance I think would make all the difference. I also recognize that I'm 23, but I don't expect Hollywood to be making movies with me in them for the rest of my life. And I think that it's very smart to start looking behind the camera. You know what else is irritating? I'm not a great writer. So producing really important, like learning because it is a different skill. like answering all those goddamn emails like it's it's good to start now good to start now

yeah Ali I am a producer and yesterday my whole day was answering emails from like 6 a.m. to midnight so yes it is a necessary skill drowning dog like what and we'll be right back Fall is in full swing and it's the perfect time to refresh your wardrobe with pieces that feel as good as they look. Luckily, Quince makes it easy to look polished, stay warm, and save big without compromising on quality. Quince has all the elevated essentials for fall. Think 100% mongoling cashmere from $50, that's right, $50, washable silk tops and skirts, and perfectly tailored denim, all at prices that feel too good to be true. I am currently eyeing their silk miniskirt. I have been dying for a silk miniskirt. I've been looking everywhere at thrift

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Did you notice the difference in like, free, like, virgin-eyed ali to like, I have now been, you know, tainted by the glare of the screen and watch the television? I can answer all of those questions. I grew up in a blush, beautiful place. I also would get dropped off in front of the library for hours at a time. So I would bring bags of books home. Um, my parents both worked very hard. So I talked to myself a lot, created imaginary characters, played dress up. Like, I just created my own world. My mom also put me in a lot of things. So I was training for USA swim team from a very young age, which meant swim practice before school and after school and swim meets on weekends. Um, she also put me in horseback writing through a friend. She put me in baton twirling lessons. Aikido, like, anything that was possible that was in within a one hour drive time she put me into so i just did a lot of activities as a kid um i love reading i think i think that that is so important

for a young kid because more than seeing someone on screen that looks like you you can imagine yourself as the character like i pretended like i was the main character all the time. And I really think that's what shaped me into being gear. But it wasn't because I watched things. And to be fair, I don't know that there was a lot of representation for Asian American Pacific Islanders that I could have watched growing up. Now, I still am quite sensitive to the things I watch. Like, for instance, euphoria that took my friends by storm. I couldn't get through it simply because I felt that it was so dark. Like my palette is very different.

And I also recognize from the fact that I have an Instagram. I used to have a TikTok deleted the TikTok, deleted the Twitter slash X. Like I delete Instagram off my phone as soon as I am done posting. I recognize that we live in an intention-based society. And what you give attention to makes the other makes these corporations. money. So also do not feel like you need to enter the rat race of watching everything. Like you can still cheer for the Oscars and be like, oh my God, what will be where they end and then watch it? You know, like there are ways around this. And I'm not saying that

the film industry is bad. Let's say it. No, it's bad. And I would like to thank the Academy. But like, touch grass. Touch grass. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, wait. I want to say so much. Well, it's funny. I find the same challenge. Actually, I don't watch much. My wife and I have a real difficulty finding something that is like, you know, unfortunately, we seem to have this idea that if it's not dark, that it's not complex and mature. And, you know, I've been very vocal about the ways I struggle with playing such a dark character on a dark show.

And then, you know, when I watch other things, I'm like, actually, my show's not really that dark. My show's like, this is, this is everything. Everything is like this. Everything is like this. Everything. It's actually kind of crazy how murder and forgive me, but also suicide, like those two things are like are being used casually, just casual storylines, casual, casual storylines in like every kind of show. It's mind boggling, actually. Yeah. And to know what it also feels like to exist in the headspace.

and I'm not sure how anyone else works but I really like I had a director once say if you think it I'll see it and thinking through so much of a darker script even just for auditions

like I feel heavy and watching like I'm watching sopranos right now which has its own like family challenges which is like kind of dark in its own way but I'm I feel for these characters and acting and acting

it is like that but tenfold because you have to imagine the scene is not one take we're doing this over and over and over again trying to get to the root of it trying to make it just a little bit different trying to take in a director's note and say this line like this like you get you can get lost in the character and pulling yourself out of it is very difficult so i've never i've never played like a or been in a horror film but i imagine that would be really difficult like the breathing alone, I would probably send myself into a panic attack. What do you do instead of giving your child a screen? We, you know, we just, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's time, you know, it really is just spending time with them. And, and, and, and, and then if not, you have to be able to, um,

accept huge tantrums in the face of, because once they've gotten a taste of it, once they've gotten a taste of it, once they've gotten a taste of that screen. You know, they're like Leonhard Capriot on Basketball Diaries. So it's like, Mom, come on, please. I just need $5. Mom, it's for candy. I swear, it's for candy. And you're like, my son is a heroin addict.

My son is a heroin addict. Oh my God, what have I done? You know? And it's like, if you can just get past that, like, they calm down and they'll go play. But, you know, look, so many parents out there, I think we do have a lot of parents listening to the show. It's also like, whatever level you're at, you've got to also give yourself some mercy. because everybody's trying their best

and our circumstances make it really hard and like I get it when I see people just putting their kids in front of screens like I get it I do get it I we do all we can to not do that but it's a lot I think that Jonathan Haidt I think he's a psychologist

he talks a lot about limiting screen time for specifically teens for mental health and he has like sort of started a movement where he's trying to get people to parents to agree to keep their kids without self without a smartphone until 16 and I think that yeah and I think so and but I think that that's part of the key because you need other you need that the other kids to be in the same situation like if you as a parent want to create that kind of environment for your kid but

every one of their friends is in a different situation. It's kind of a moot point. So true. Or it ends up ostracizing them. So yeah, we kind of need like a ground swell. Community. Community is kind of the answer to every challenge in a way. You can't make huge changes alone. Same way you're talking about our oceans. You know, you can't buy enough responsible sunscreen or reusable this and that to do anything about it. You know, the same thing with screens. It's like you really can't be the island doing it alone. you need others to be doing it around you too. You were saying something.

Yeah, I was saying I did a little bit on Bluey and I remember one of the writers from Bluey saying our episodes are only 20 some odd minutes long because that is the only amount of time that you can be a truly incredible parent and then you have the rest of the hours in the day and like you were saying, it's giving yourself grace like. 20 minutes, 20 minutes of being super, like making all the right decisions, 20 minutes of that straight. And then the rest of the day is just doing your damn best. I wanted to ask one more Moana question. I know that you've also done other projects, but you stepped into the role when you were 14 and then you stepped into it again at 21. When did you guys start recording the

must have been when I was 22. But she hasn't aged, I'm guessing. She has some, right? It is the first time in Disneyland. Disney history that a Disney princess has been allowed to age. And it is shown that way in animation as well as in canon in the plot point. So how can we ask, does she have an age? Or is she like, older? No. So she, it was 16 in our first film. And so now she's 19. Okay. What's the only thing? My question is moot, but that's really cool to know. Oh, cool. He'd making history. Yeah. Yeah. It's great. You're doing cabaret right now. Is that why you're in New York? It's true.

It's true. I, having the two projects juxtaposed with each other has been actually quite nice because I don't feel stuck in a Disney princess world. As beautiful of a world as it is to live in, I am very grateful to then descend into madness every night with Sally Bowles and stretch that part of myself and also get into stagework, which to me, if I, you know, I started off voiceover. very fun love it then there's live action difficult can't wait to play a character out of high school and then there's stage work which is like the ultimate boss for me where i've lost like

two weeks ago as of yesterday i lost my voice because i gave like a hundred percent as i would with any project but a hundred percent each was a week is too much and so learning also the new technique of singing, of giving a little bit less, accent work, being a little bit bigger for stage. All of that is new territory for me. So it's been really fun. But yeah, it's also been very challenging. We had Eddie Redmayne on the show recently, and he obviously had played the MC before Adam Lambert stepped in. And he talked about he was in New York for a week. He snuck in. He saw it. He was telling us how absolutely amazing it was. It sounds like everyone should go see it.

But I wanted to ask you, has anything gone wrong yet? And how do you handle that when it's a live situation? Oh, my God, yes. One, you know, this musical really draws you in. Also, the fact that our theater is in the round, we have quite a few tables where waiters come, bring you drinks, bring you food. It is an immersive experience.

And specifically, Adam, who is currently our MC, interacts with this audience, points you out, talks to you, our dancers will touch you. It is truly meant to feel like you were at the Kit Kat Club. That being said, once second act comes in, you recognize, yes, this is set in 1920s, Germany. And the topics of fascism, of young women going through abortions, like these are topics that make people uncomfortable. And so there are times that the audience or specific members will laugh that are admittedly inappropriate. And it is Adam's not necessarily job, but he takes it on of staring people down. And so while it's not necessarily something that goes wrong, it does then change the tone of how we play that particular show for the rest of the second act.

because now it is our responsibility, it feels like, to nip that in the butt, so to speak. And my way of, like, I can hear it sometimes when I'm in, when I'm backstage, I go, oh, and now we're yelling. Now we're yelling. I get it now. Like, okay, that's the tone for the rest of the show. But I have fallen off the stage. That's not fun. Yeah.

There's this part after perfectly marvelous where my character, Sally, is looking at. for a place to stay finally Cliff allows her to stay in his apartment and I am carrying a kind of a suitcase in one hand and a glass

in the other hand I hit my knee but I kept the glass up so it didn't break but my knees were trashed for like a week afterwards there have been times where I have hit a dancer in the face

there's been times where someone has elbowed me and the side and it's really funny because afterwards it's also very possible that we don't remember it happening but other times when we're running past each other

under the stage we go I'm just like it's equally as fun to like play with each other like outside of the play itself just to like oh you think it's okay to hit me

like we'll whisper to each other on stage trying to get each other to break that's awesome that's great wow with such an intense schedule eight shows a week what do you do for relaxation like do you have any rituals no no not right now um i i am forbidden from going out not forbidden but it's not good at my voice to speak too loudly i have to figure out what press opportunities go on what day because if i put too many things on one day then my my vocal cords are strained for the show in the evening.

We have devils on Saturdays, doubles on Wednesdays. Thankfully, like truly, truly, truly, one character feels so vastly different from the other that it's like using two different parts of my brain. And one does feel like a break from the other. But in my off time, I stay home. I spend time with my partner who's living with me here in New York City. I also have my best friend who, like my best friend from, from middle school where we have been manifesting living in New York City since then.

So we, I'm currently playing Fallout New Vegas. I'm watching Sopranos and I'm taking a lot of naps. But aside from that, I love that. I'm just working. And thankfully, everything is seasonal. So there will be a time when there is nothing. And I will look back on this. Yeah.

And smile. well thank you for letting us be one of your stops we're so honored and this has been so joyful we have a final question we ask everyone which is if you could go back to your 12 year old self what would you say or do oh if i could go back um i would probably tell myself sometimes, sometimes when you think that you are in love and you feel like you are in love, you feel like it is your responsibility. And this was during the Tumblr age, right?

Like things got dark on Tumblr. If you find someone that you like and they are going through, the death of their childhood self going into their adult self that is meant to be a metaphorical death and if someone needs help you are not responsible for giving that help i got trapped for a bit of thinking that it was my responsibility to help someone who needed more help than i could give and it was very hard and then my mom found all of the

texts and I got in really big trouble and to that point sometimes things need to hit the fan in order for it to just

settle don't be afraid of of of letting that go yeah That's a story we didn't get into. Yeah, very specific. I forgot an answer like that.

That's great. That's great. Thank you, Ali. This was so nice. Yeah, thank you so much for coming on. I appreciate the depth of your questions. I appreciate how varied it was. I appreciate every single one of your voices.

Also, so very different and so soothing. You have great podcast voices. We are so excited that you can now listen to Podcrushed ad free on Amazon music. In fact, you can listen to any episode of Podcrushed ad free right now. on Amazon Music with an Amazon Prime membership. Love to be back on this again. And we can talk more about Rocco and high school relationships or we can touch upon.

Yes, and Tumblr. Yes, or we can touch upon religion again. It'll all be, it'll be Tumblr, religion. Enough podcast just to talk to me about. Tumblr, Religion, and Coal Reefs. Just, that's it.