4. Who was your first pop culture crush?
AS: My first pop culture crush was Jude Law. I got to work with him somewhat because I played an owl in his show, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and I’ve met him several times. He’s so nice, but there’s never been an opportunity to be like, “I had a small photo of you that I carried around with me as a youth.” But him and Hayden Christensen. I was obsessed with them, and they both looked kind of similar.
AVC: Do you remember the first movie you saw with either of them in it that made you realize the crush?
AS: I just thought they were so cute. Where did I see Jude Law first at 13? I’m not sure. I used to watch more adult, mature movies at a young age, though, so I might have seen The Talented Mr. Ripley or something. I was also more into the fact that he was dating Sienna Miller, and they were this beautiful British couple; and I think I idealized that.
AVC: You mentioned your role in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and of course, Hayden is known for playing Anakin Skywalker. Were you always a fan of the franchise?
AS: Oh, yes, I would say others were bigger nerds about it, but I was obsessed-adjacent.
5. What would you consider your biggest pop culture blind spot?
AS: It’s a good question. Nowadays, I’m not on social media anymore, so I think there are these huge blind spots about a lot of things. I have no awareness of anyone well-known on TikTok. I have no awareness of anyone who has a podcast. I don’t listen to podcasts. That’s my biggest blind spot, probably. Everyone’s always asking like, “You know that podcast,” and I always have to say I’ve never heard of it. I don’t connect to the format. I’m listening to music. I love NPR in the car.
AVC: What was it about the format that didn’t work for you?
AS: I tried listening to a few, and then I just felt like I’m listening to people talking, which is what it is. I find that even with the best ones, I’ll listen to maybe an excerpt. Maybe it’s just ADHD, but I can’t focus. I don’t find it relaxing. I’d rather listen to a narrative like an audiobook. On podcasts, people are just kind of like shooting the shit. I find it drives me crazy.
6. When were you the most starstruck and by whom?
AS: When I was younger, I got to meet some people I was starstruck by, but recently, I’m blanking. I don’t get out much anymore. Honestly, I just worked with Kate McKinnon, and I was a bit starstruck by her. I was trying to act all cool, and because she’s so nice, I had to keep telling myself, “Yeah, yeah, be cool, you’re hanging out.” When we would be in between takes, I was trying to make her laugh, and then I realized I was pushing it, and then I got quiet. I realized I was affected by her presence.
AVC: When you were younger, who were you starstruck by?
AS: I mean, with someone like Jessica Walters, I wasn’t aware of her until I got to know her. I was only 14 when I met her, so I hadn’t seen her work at the time, but then I went back and did. I was so impressed with Jessica when we met. She was such an amazing professional, and her work and character carried that show. She was the strongest part of [Arrested Development]. I don’t know if I was starstruck by her per se, but I learned a lot from her. I went back and saw her work, and it was special.
7. What piece of advice that you received coming up in the industry would you say is no longer applicable to new artists?
AS: To be straight up with you, when I was younger, the advice I got was to try and look as white as possible. So for roles, I would get my hair lightened and stuff. I mean, it sounds crazy now. My mother is a good person, I swear. But you know, it was like, “Let’s just make you look as not ethnic as possible,” because that was a lot of the feedback for me, that I looked too ethnic. Now, it’s the opposite. People are like, “We love the freckles—let’s not cover them,” or “Let’s not straighten your hair.” That’s changed and is a bit of a whiplash because now it’s so much on the other side at times. People want to hire you because you’re ethnic. It’s hard to trust it because people are just running after whatever makes money or what they think is politically sound. But yeah, I’m glad it’s not applicable anymore, nor is it appropriate.
8. Who’s someone in your field that everyone should be paying attention to?
AS: Well, there’s this rad director I just worked with [for The Wrong Girls] named Dylan Meyer, who is amazing. I love her work. All of my friends, really, and my partner. Should I talk about my partner? He’s shy. Hmm, who else? Oh, my friend Hailey Gates, who directed Atropia. A lot of female directors that I’ve been working with are rad, and I think are going to be incredibly well-known soon, so I’m just glad I get to be in all their first movies. There’s also the wonderful actress Jane Levy. Oh, and my friend Paz, who is an amazing sculptor and painter.
AVC: You mentioned working with female directors. Is that something you’re consciously seeking out as an actor?
AS: Yeah. You know, it’s funny as in the zeitgeist, this has become more of a thing. But I’ve worked with more female directors than I have men. It’s just kind of worked out that way based on who wants me to be in their projects and based on how we connect creatively. Nothing against dudes, but I do like working with women more at this stage of my life. There are some great dudes who have strong feminine energies that I like to work with, but there’s a specificity and a shorthand with women. I don’t connect with every female director that I work with, but those are the kinds of projects I’m drawn to.
9. What is your biggest travel pet peeve?
AS: My biggest travel pet peeve is a schedule. I hate it when people are traveling and they’re like, “So, at 8 a.m. we check out the brunch spot, then at 10 we have to go to whatever place.” I’m usually like, “No, no, no—don’t talk to me. This is not how it goes: I’m going on my walk, and I’ll see you later.” So, yeah, I don’t like it. I have a couple of good friends whom I love, but when we’ve traveled together, if they even try to get a schedule going, that’s when I’ve realized it was a bad idea. I like seeing places in my own time, going freestyle, finding a spot I like, and not being in a rush.
AVC: What’s one of the best trips you’ve taken where you were able to do that?
AS: I really liked the Dolomites. It’s a beautiful area of northern Italy with a lot of paths to walk. The only schedule is to figure out when you’re eating. So when I went, it was like, we would have breakfast and then go on a walk. We would eat lunch and do the same thing. Then we’d have dinner, go to sleep early, wake up, and do it all over again. And that’s my favorite way to travel.
AVC: When you’re traveling for work to film something, how easy or difficult is it to stick to that?
AVC: Oh, it’s very different. Traveling for work is different and does depend on your schedule. I was lucky enough to shoot in Greece a couple of years ago, and it was amazing, but it was a lot more like me figuring out what to do when I had two days off. I could discover that new beach that I hadn’t seen and hang out there. You’re alone a lot, so you’re eating at restaurants by yourself while filming. It’s lonely but in a romantic way. Traveling for work is interesting because you have a purpose to be there, but you do get the chance to get lost on purpose sometimes. It’s the best of both worlds.
10. Who was the last person that you FaceTimed?
AS: Should I check my phone so I can be brutally honest? [Pulls out her phone to scroll] The last person I FaceTimed was my friend, Miguel Arteta. We live in the same city, but we were just talking about a little project that we worked on.
11. What is your earliest memory?
AS: It’s interesting because now that I have a kid, I bathe him every night. And when I’ve been doing it, it’s brought back a memory I have of when I was a kid having bath time. The comedian Mae Martin talks about this too, but I remember sucking on the bath towel and getting the water out of my bath towel. The whole routine. All of a sudden, I was like, “Whoa, that was such a visceral memory.” I remember it so well. It’s a role reversal now, so that’s cool. I haven’t talked to my mom about it, but I should. Having a kid brings back so many trippy childhood memories.
12. From Richard Kind: What would you want your last meal to be, and what restaurant would it be from?
AS: Wow, okay. I love Richard Kind. I have two answers for this. One is my grandma’s dolma, which is an amazing rice and meat dish. But I also want the pasta with meat sauce from Mozza in Los Angeles; everything they have there is amazing. Oh, and I’d also want omakase sushi so I can have a little bit of everything.
AVC: Is the dolma recipe passed down in your family? Have you tried making it?
AS: I have tried to make it, yes, but it takes all day because it’s cooked in a stew. It’s not a cold dolma. But trust me, it’s delicious.
Without knowing who the next person we speak to is, what would you like to ask them?
AS: What dream of yours have you had that you wish would come true?
AVC: That’s good. What’s yours?
AS: It’s been a while, probably years, but I had a dream that I was hanging out with some people on a cliff and I just jumped off and started flying around and everybody’s wondering how I did it. That would be cool.
