on auditioning under a different name: I’ll sometimes send in a tape when they don’t know it’s me, or if it’s in person, my managers will just say, “Oh, we have a client that’ll have a read.” And most of the time, they’ll go, “OK.” And it worked on one of the movies I did, because they looked at me as I walked in and I thought I’d lost it immediately because they went, “Ooohh.” I was like, “No, no, no, no. Just let me read.” It was Fundamentals of Caring, a cute little movie [with Paul Rudd]. And it worked, I got it. You kind of have to do the dance.
on directors she wants to work with: I’d love to work with Aaron Sorkin. I really love all of his movies and anything he’s near. And I’m a massive fan of Scorsese, and I so badly want to make sure he doesn’t quit suddenly or retire. Like, just one more, I’ll be in two scenes. That’s another thing that I factor in. I don’t ever need to be the star. If anything, that scares me because it feels like the responsibility is mainly on me. I’m still learning. I just know that I go for things that aren’t necessarily conventional.
on being adamant she is not perceived as a victim: It makes me so mad because it genuinely is such a strong thing to be vulnerable. It was terrifying for me to let people inside my world that way, but I was doing it (the documentary My Mind & Me) because I felt like maybe this would help someone, and that’s what I care about. I just wanted people to feel less alone, and I wanted people to understand, “Oh, she was literally going through a really hard time, that’s why she canceled those two tours. But that’s really cool that she wants to help other people.” That’s all I saw this as. And people completely misunderstood what I was trying to do with it. Not everyone, just a group of people, and they love to label me as this victim. And it’s funny because the things that I walked through, I fully believe I’m one of the strongest people that I have ever known. So, yeah, that always just bothers me.
on being the one who’s open about the mental health journey, is she the one from whom folks like Chappell Roan seek advice: I’ve had people maybe compliment something I’ve done, but no, I haven’t really had anyone [famous] ask for my advice, and that’s fine. I mean, I don’t [share my story] for that reason. And I’d almost rather talk to someone who I met at a burger spot in New York.
on controlling her narrative: I don’t think that I can really control it, but misinformation bothers me in every area of life. And if it is something that I feel is so inauthentic to me, I have no problem being like, “This is not accurate.” And I’ll also tell you what is.
You can read the full THR interview here
