Hello and welcome to Big Gay Energy.
I'm Caitlin. And I'm Fiora.
Come along with us while we dive into the fun and nuances of
queer media. Representation matters, and
we're. Here to talk about it.
Cheers queers. We are back with another super
fun interview. Today we are talking to the
wonderful Anisha, who brought the incredible character Amy
Gupta to life in red, white and royal blue.
Thank you. Thank you, Oh my God.
Welcome to the podcast and each. Thank you so much for having me.
It's a pleasure to be here. Oh, we are so excited.
Like all of our listeners like, love this movie so much and
we're very excited to get to know you and and Amy a little
bit better. Yeah.
So our first question is, what was it like to bring the iconic
badass and hilarious Amy to life?
It was pretty amazing. I mean, I felt very honored and
very privileged to be able to bring her to life from the book.
I had read the book before I had even really known that the movie
was happening. And then of course, throughout
my whole audition process, I I I read it multiple times to
really, kind of really dive into who she is and all the pick up
the pieces that Casey has left in the book and that Matthew had
put in the script. So it was it was really just an
honor and a privilege to bring her to life.
We we love Amy. All the Amy's.
Pretty. She's pretty badass.
Yeah, she's pretty badass. So we don't learn a whole lot
about Amy's back story. Do you have one or did you
create one for her? Yeah, I think it was kind of a
Little Mix. Matthew and I chatted a bit
about it and then also a lot of it was kind of like my own
discoveries that I've learned. You know, a lot of what's in the
book was kind of removed for, you know, context of the film.
So I drew a lot from Amy within the book and I I feel like in
terms of, you know, a back story for her to have, I imagine that
she was probably in the service at some point, you know, which
kind of let her into working for the president and working on
Ellen's campaign and things like that.
I think that, you know, she's probably always dedicated her
life to protecting people. I think, you know, just like we
were saying in the first question, she's she's pretty
badass. And I think that the the people
that are close to her and that she really loves, she feels very
fiercely about protecting them. And I think that she knows that
she's really good at her job. There's, you know, a particular
line in the book how I think it's almost the first paragraph
that she's introduced, that Alex mentioned that he's once seen
her stab someone in the knee with a crochet needle.
And that was just like, so for me, that was like such a, like a
little turn on to her because I was like, wow, this, this this
chick, like, holds no bar, right?
She like, she dives right into her job.
She knows exactly what she's doing.
There's zero room for error for her.
So I think thinking about those things and then also getting a
lot of, because when we were on set, Matthew really also left it
up to me to kind of make her a little more fluid than she was
in the book and was like bring a lot of yourself into her.
What would she be like, you know, if you're obviously
inhabiting her? And so I had a lot of kind of a
little leeway in between how exactly I could mold her to me
as the performer bringing her to life.
But certainly the book helped a lot in bringing a back story for
her because it's like, yeah, there's there's so much to pick
here that that that informs where she came from.
The Amy that comes through on screen, it's a it's a very good
combination of being super serious like everything you just
said, but also like light hearted and funny at the same
time, which makes her so fun. So just curious, like, what
aspects of her personality did you find like super relatable or
intriguing, I guess? Her sass.
I think my friends tend to think that I'm a little sassy, so I
think I certainly was able to bring that sass into her.
And she herself is very sassy, too.
And you know, even the things that she may not necessarily be
happy to have to deal with or the things that just feel like
I've got to deal with this again, I think there's there's
like a very comedic element to her dealing with them, right,
Like we see in the Red Room and things like that.
Yeah, I think there's she's just, she brings the sass to her
that I think that I possessed as well.
And I think being able to bring that into her was really a joy.
I mean, I enjoyed it as a audience member, so like, thank
you, so. Much for that, one of the
reasons why Amy's one of my favourites.
She's great, yeah. I do want to bring up quickly
that my favorite scene out of like everything was when Amy and
Alex are on the plane talking about David and Oh my gosh, like
did did you actually have a photo of a Shih Tzu that?
No, I didn't. I mean, I had pictures of my dog
on my phone, but there was no actual, like, Shih tzu named
Jonathan. And it's funny because that
actually that was more that was an improvised moment between
Taylor and me that wasn't actually written in the script.
And Matthew, we had the the three of us.
We basically shot that for like an hour, hour and a half.
It's such a short scene, but we spent a lot of time just
shooting different versions of it.
What would it be like if, you know, Amy was like this and Alex
was like that and just somehow organically in the process of
shooting it multiple times, Matthew was like, why don't you
try this at the end, ask him if he wants to see your, your
pictures of your dog. And so we did that a couple
times and it seemed like it really was a great addition to
the scene. So that that part wasn't
actually in the script. It was improvised.
And Taylor and I just had a great time with it because also
Taylor and I both have dogs and we both love our dogs so much.
And Taylor and I, Aneesh is the actors have had that
conversation multiple times. Like, do you wanna see pictures
of my dog? So it just felt very organic to
have that in the scene as well. It was.
Perfect. So cute.
I love it more now. Oh, my gosh.
OK. Yeah, it was.
Great. So another part of the film, Amy
helps Alex secretly meet with Henry and then later catches
them making out. Was Amy's motivation for helping
Alex out of loyalty to him, or is she just a big romantic?
I think it's a little of both. Yeah.
I think, you know, I think, like she has an obligation to protect
him. And I think that she's been with
him for a very long time, you know, probably since Allen's
campaign, maybe since he was in college, maybe even since, you
know, if if she was running before he was in college, maybe
in her political career, while he was still in high school.
So I think that they're very close.
And I think that she's always had a very soft spot for him.
She, she loves him dearly. And so I think on the one hand,
she really wants to see him happy.
And she's like, yeah, I have the power to make this happen.
I'm going to make it happen for you because it brings you joy.
But I think she's also just like a really big romantic, right.
She loves seeing him happy. And besides the obligation of
like, yes, I have to do what you say.
I'm also really invested in your love life and I've not seen you
this happy in this way. And I I really want to help
bring this joy to you. And yeah, like, particularly in
the Red Room, she's like, you know, I have that power.
She's like, you can't go any closer than this, but.
I think you get like the best scenes out of the.
Series. They're pretty great.
I wasn't going to say that, but I'm pretty happy with the scenes
that I've got. They're pretty great.
Like what? Was she just thinking?
Like catching these two in this room be like.
And that that was. There's a little funny anecdote
with that, too. We shot that.
Oh goodness, we. So there was like a little COVID
scare on our set. So everything got delayed about
9 or 10 days. And so when we got to shooting
that scene, we were already a little bit behind schedule.
And so the way we shot that scene, they were just like they
had set up the camera facing the door.
And they're like, all right, Anish, we're going to roll and
you just keep coming in and out and we're just going to keep
doing. I must have done it.
It felt like 50 times just opening that door and saying the
line and then closing it and opening the door and saying the
line and closing it. So they had definitely plenty of
coverage to pick from. But yeah, it was, it was just so
much fun to shoot that scene with those guys.
You know, like all the scenes with them are are just such a
blast. But that one in particular, I
feel like really stands out for a lot of people.
Yeah, it it seems like from everything you shared that you
all had so much fun together, yeah.
We did. We had a blast.
It felt like summer camp, you know?
It was three months of summer in London and it would just, It
literally felt like we were just having fun in summer camp.
Everyone got along really well, which doesn't often happen on
sets. You know, like there's there's
certainly Attitudes and Divas and other shows and sometimes
you're not even on set all this at the same time.
So you don't necessarily get to see everybody in that way.
But particularly the Americans who were over here for shooting,
they, we were all in like the same complex.
So we all got to hang out with each other after work and do a
lot of like family dinners together and things like that.
And I think also Matthew coming from the theater also has that
kind of upbringing in terms of coming from the theaters.
Like yeah, we're all kind of just like this company with this
family. So doing things together is
really great. That's that's awesome.
I love the You had the Yeah, I love that you had family
dinners. Yeah, it was really, really
nice. We went out a bunch of times
together. It was really great.
Yeah. Excuse me.
Sorry. So is there.
So you mentioned like obviously a lot of our listeners like
haven't read the book, some have, some haven't.
So as you mentioned, like some things about Amy and a lot of
things were just kind of condensed for the movie.
Is there anything about Amy that maybe wasn't addressed in the
film that you would want the audience to know?
Yeah, I think, you know, it's it's said in the book and then
also there's a scene towards the end of the book where we meet
actually get to meet Amy's wife. She's kind of standing in the
crowd and she's wearing the jacket that Amy was
embroidering. And I think for me there was no
character written into the story about Amy having a wife.
But certainly during my costume fittings and things like that, I
I said, you know, can we can we make sure that I get a wedding
ring? Because in the book, Amy is is
married. And I certainly want to stay
true to that. Even if we don't get to see her
partner on the screen, we have that sense that, yeah, she is,
she's a married woman. She's wearing a wedding ring and
that exists. And so it was kind of like
almost a little Easter egg for fans of the book when they watch
the movie to see that it's like, Oh yeah, she's wearing a wedding
ring. Yeah.
So she, she is married. They stuck with that, like, in
the book. So that was, that was certainly
one thing that I I pulled from the book that I I really wanted
to keep in the film I love. That that's so important.
Yeah, Thank you for. That it's so important, yeah,
for sure. So we talked about a few very
fun scenes that Amy got to do, But what was your favorite scene
this shoot as Amy? Yeah, unfortunately no one will
get to see that scene because it was one of the cut scenes.
But it was. It was.
And and I totally understand why because the way that the the
movie flows, it's the scene right after Kate Gates when he
returns to the White House. There was a little scene where
he's coming in with his luggage into the corridor with Amy.
And he asked her like, how much trouble am I really in?
And it's it's a very short exchange.
It's it was actually the introduction to my character,
you know, She says she's like, this is Agent Gupta reporting
for duty or or the line was something like that.
But ultimately we ended up cutting it before the flow of
that scene from going to K Gate right into the president's
office. But that was a scene that I
really loved shooting. We had so much fun shooting him,
and it was kind of one of my favorite scenes that we did.
I think the other favorite scene that I really loved doing was
The Red Room, because that was just that was just pure joy.
Getting to shoot that and then getting to watch it back just
felt like it was pure joy. Yeah.
It is a crime to cut any of Amy and Alex scenes.
I. Agree.
You know those are. From your lips to Matthew's
ears. Oh, oh, gosh.
Even if they just like released raw footage of like one tape of
these seeds, I think people would be so happy just to see
it. Oh yeah.
I mean, I haven't even seen that footage.
So it exists somewhere in a vault, I'm sure.
Along with my fringe, my fringe wig.
So our our audience like, absolutely loves this movie and
we were wondering if you have any memorable or funny moments
that occurred on set that maybe we haven't talked about that
you'd like to share. You know, it's really hard for
me to pin, pinpoint one specific moment because like I said
before, like it felt like summer camp, we all had such a great
time. You know, there was, there was
one. I think I'll I'll probably say
this is during the shooting Purple Hearts came out Nick's
film on Netflix. He was in this movie called
Purple Hearts where he plays this U.S.
Marine and and so we all had a little watch party for him which
was super fun. We had him come over to the
complex that we were staying in and we all just like we had
ordered some food and we just relaxed in front of the
television and we we had a little like premiere watch party
for him. And of course we then
embarrassed him and you know took little videos of him
congratulating him and put it all over social media just to
embarrass him. But I think that that that I
felt like a very memorable moment to me because I think it
was a a time where we all weren't.
You know what brought us together was this film was this
book was the script shooting this film.
But that felt like we're having. We have established this
relationship with each other, a friendship, a true family sense
that we're capable of bringing off set where we can just hang
out with each other and be in each other's company and really
enjoy each other's company in that way.
And so I I think that was one of the most memorable ones for me
because it was just like, yeah, we're all together and we're
hanging out and it's just a grand old time.
And I think another one for me was at the very end of filming.
I had gone over to Matthew's house for dinner with Thomas
Flynn, who plays Prince Philip, and we had a really lovely, like
most, most everyone had left London by then.
So just Flynnie, as we call him, Flynn and I, we went over to
Matthew's house for dinner and Matthews got his Olivier Award
and Tony Award and we were just like holding it, pretending it
with ours. And you know, I think it was
those little moments that just felt really memorable to me
because I've never really had that experience on other sets.
You know, I've gone to work, I've done my job, and though
I've made friends and great friends, lifelong friends, I've
never really had the experience of kind of all of us as a
company, really enjoying each other's company and and wanting
to hang out outside of work. So that that felt really
memorable. From everyone we talked to, it
just seems like everyone was so close and it was like such a
nice set to be a part of. It was such a nice set and we
actually arrived in London two weeks before we started
shooting. So there was plenty of time for
us to even, like we had gone out I think two or three times for
dinner, a whole bunch of us before we even started shooting.
Because it was like, yeah, we're all going to be spending the
next three months together when we go out and hang out and see
how we all get along. And it just, there was something
very magical about that summer where we're all just like in
this right place, the right time.
We all got along great. We still do.
We all still keep in touch and we all see each other when we
can. And it's it's, it still feels
like a family, which is great. That's.
Awesome. And definitely.
I know it'll definitely make all the fans happy to hear that.
Yeah, for sure. For sure.
So I want to ask about another project you've been in.
You got to play Jillian in Jessica Jones.
What was it like being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
and what was your favorite part about that character?
Yeah, I mean, what actor doesn't dream to be a part of Marvel?
You know I think when I got the call for that, I I must have
screamed so loud, I made a couple of people deaf in my my
apartment building. I I I mean that was and you know
when that audition had come through my agent for me, I was
like, this is, this is a chance, you know, one chance in a
lifetime. Like, I'm never going to get
this. There's so many actresses who
are going out for this, like whatever.
And the call came and I was just, I was in shock for a long
time. I remember just being like I
don't feel like this is real like and then every little thing
I did, I was like, well, what if they going to fire me?
What? What if I do something wrong?
Are they going to fire me? Are they going to let me go?
But I mean, yeah, it's like what actor doesn't dream about being
a part of the Marvel Universe? And that was just, it was also
the first time, my first recurring role.
So I had it was the first time I was actually able to be on a set
very frequently. And you know, I was there three
times a week. And I really got to learn what
it is actually like to be on a set for a longer period of time.
Because up until that moment I had done guest spots and I had
done Co stars where I was on set for maybe a day or two and then
I was gone, but in kind of in the same way with red, white and
royal blue. We did, you know, we were pretty
much a family and I told a lot of the folks because I was only
in season three, that my first week there it felt like it was
like a family reunion and I was the new girlfriend because you
know, everyone had already known each other from working from the
two previous seasons together. So it certainly felt like this
one big family, but they all welcomed me with completely open
arms and made me feel right at home.
I remember on my first day of shooting, one of the set pieces
fell and I kind of just turned to everyone.
I was like, what should I do? And they're like, don't worry
about like just keep going. We got it.
Like it just was an incredibly supportive environment,
especially for someone who I felt, you know at the time that
I had a lot to learn about what it meant to be on television and
how to even act technique wise for for the camera.
But it was, it was it was so much fun and a lot of it.
Mel Rosenberg, who was the showrunner, she consulted with
me several times throughout the series to talk about where she
wanted Jillian to go and what kind of stories we wanted to
tell with her and what she felt. And I believe that Jillian was
only meant to be in the series for the first few episodes, but
then they they it was just so much fun to be around those
people. And Kristen and I really got to
develop a wonderful relationship.
And so I think they, they thankfully kept me on to the end
of the series, which was really great.
And if, God willing, it ever comes back for a Season 4, now
that it's owned by Disney, you know that I would, I would love
to go back and play that role because I would say that playing
Jillian was one of my favorite roles of all time.
Disney. It's your move on Disney.
I know your move, Disney. Your move.
I. Always find it fascinating when
characters are they supposed to be in like a few like 1 little
arc and then like become a bigger thing.
Yeah, it was so wonderful to get that support.
You, I mean, just like meeting you.
You deserve everything, So. Well, thank you.
Season 4 revolves around Jillian.
Thank you. Right.
Let's just have a whole Jillian, a spin off I would love.
Yes, do it. Yeah, yeah.
And I think, like, I I think you had also asked this, like, what
what parts of her did I really love.
I think similarly to Amy, I think Jillian was also very
sassy. Somehow I get cast as.
These. Oh, I wonder why?
I don't know why. I wonder why.
But yeah, I think you know and and and you know, like I said,
chatting with Mel Rosenberg, it was really there was a lot of
freedom and being able to create who Jillian was, right.
Especially because Jillian isn't in the comics and she's not in a
book like Amy was. So there was a really a lot of
freedom to be like, who is she? How are we going to play her?
What story are we using her to tell?
Yeah, it was. It was really wonderful.
Do you? Prefer having like the freedom
to create or having like more source material.
You know, that's a really good question.
I don't think anyone's asked me that before.
I think there's pros and cons to both.
I think, you know, having the freedom is always wonderful as
an actor, but then you know, as actors.
The reason why we collaborate with all these other people is
because sometimes we're not the brightest.
You know what I mean? Like, we may not have the best
ideas. And I think, like, collaboration
is always a great process to have.
So for me, I, I, I, I do enjoy the freedom of being like, hey,
could we do this? Could we do that?
Could we try this? But also when there is a source
material for such as like for Amy it's it's.
You really get to delve into what the original author or the
the writer of the screenplay really is focusing in on.
And you have all that to pull from and you're like, yes, I'm
able to create and not to say that there isn't freedom in that
as well, right? There's a certain, like for
example, the plane scene. I think there there is a certain
amount of freedom that you get to play with within the
characterization, but so much is also given to you, which feels
like such a blessing. You're like, I don't really have
to think about this on my own. This has been given to me.
This is how I can play with the circumstances that are given to
me. That's fascinating.
So you've talked a lot about projects that you've worked on
that were fantastic and seem to have gone extremely well.
And we're very happy for you. But we're curious though, if
like so far in your career, if you've had any, like major
challenges that you've had to deal with or anything like that
'cause you know acting can be challenging and also rewarding.
Absolutely. I think a couple of like two of
the major challenges I've had certainly is opportunity.
You know, for someone who's brown and trans, there's very,
very little opportunity to for the roles that are out there for
me. So I feel very blessed when I
get something like Jillian, who could literally be a person of
any color of any gender, you know.
And that that that role was given to me, it felt like, OK,
this is, this feels really special.
I can really inhabit who she is as as I am, as the person.
So I think for me one of the the biggest challenges has been
finding opportunity and a lot of opportunities to really maintain
a successful career in this business.
I hope I'm doing OK so far. So we'll just hope that that
luck continues and that the opportunities keep coming.
And I think the other thing for me was, you know, certainly in
the beginning of working on film and television, it was a
learning curve for me really. You know, I'd spent the majority
of my life doing theatre and theatre.
Acting is completely different than doing theatre acting for
film and television. And so kind of like learning how
to change my technique to really change my performance from like
playing to a House of 1100 people to like a little camera
lens this big was was I think one of my biggest challenges.
And I think, you know, like I said before, being on Jessica
Jones was really gave me the opportunity to learn that craft
in a specific way. Yeah, 'cause I I remember being
like, not when I was like learning acting and then
transitioning to on screen. They were like, you do not have
to be that big. It'll pick up your little eye
movements. Yep, Yep, Yep.
I remember I had shot an episode for, I think it was my first
episode for New Amsterdam. Love that show.
Yeah, it's a great show. It's a great show.
And I think, you know, it was like my first week.
And I think it was also my first or second week on Jessica Jones
too. I was shooting those
simultaneously and I remember they they wanted me to get
there. Like, can you just give like a
disappointing look to Freema? Freema Hagerman was my scene
partner. I played her a little assistant
in that show. And so they're like, yeah, just
in this one scene, can you just give her a little, like, look of
disappointment or something? And I remember I did it to the
camera and then everyone just started laughing and I was like,
yes, I know. I spectacularly failed because I
I knew in that moment I was like, yeah, what I gave them was
more for the stage and not the camera.
And that was a learning part of the learning curve for me.
Like, yeah, maybe I should have done something a little
different here. And it's it's certainly it's
just like you said, Caitlin, it's it's so you gotta take this
and put it into this do. You have a preference between
theater or on screen work or like, just like aspects you like
better of each 'cause it might be a hard question.
Yeah, you know, theater's in my blood.
It's been in my blood ever since I was a kid.
So I think I I truly just love the theater.
And I actually hadn't done theater in a very, very long
time until recently. I think I had taken like 6 years
away from the six or seven years away from the six years away
from the theater. And so I had recently just done
a stage play back in October, November, December and it, you
know, the experience of experiencing that joy again, you
know, it's it's it's very different than experiencing the
kind of joy that you have on a film set.
You know, in terms of like your work ethic, it's it's it's a
completely different thing. Not to say that you there is no
work ethic in film and television.
You're on your feet all day long.
You're there sometimes like 14 hours, 16 hours a day.
It's very long days. People get tired, but the in
terms of performance there, it's such a different technique.
And you know your audience in film and television is this
little camera lens and the people behind the camera.
But when you think about the theater, there's so much that
you have to play to. And for me, at least as an
actor, being able to open up my body in that way, to play to a
balcony, makes me feel so much freer.
And I think I still, I'm still learning in terms of film and
TV, how to be able to translate that specific thing, to be able
to, oh, keep myself open up to the camera and things like that.
It's it's something that I feel like is always going to be a
learning curve for me, just because I simply don't have as
much experience as I do in the theater for film and television.
But if you asked me, which I like better, I don't know if I
could choose. They're both, you know, they
both have their pros. They both have their cons.
There's something very beautiful about each medium, you know,
certainly doing theatre and certainly, you know, the the
intimacy of doing film and television, yeah.
So you not only do theatre, but you watch a lot of theatre.
I do. I do.
Anyone who follows my Instagram will know that I I go to the
theatre quite often. Yes, it looks like you're there
all the time. Is there?
Do you have a favorite show that you've seen?
I mean I've seen Phantom so many times.
I mean like probably over 500. Like I I lost count after 100,
you know, like I've seen it so much.
I've seen it ever since I was a little kid.
So that's, you know, I think the spectacle of that show, the
music, the grandeur, the romance, all of it is just
really speaks to my heart and I never get sick of it.
I just, I just went a couple weeks ago, weeks ago actually
for my birthday. So that's that's certainly one
that is always just very close to my heart.
But I recently, Matthew and I had gone to see Sunset Blvd.
about 3 weeks ago with Nicole Schwarzinger and my goodness, it
was absolutely incredible. I was blown away.
I was completely blown away. You know, going into it, I was
like, you know, this doesn't have any sets and there's no
costumes per SE. Everyone's just kind of dressed
in like black, you know, tops and pants and she's wearing a
black nightie, like there isn't any costuming, per SE.
There isn't really necessarily a set.
It's just a blank stage with a bunch of chairs.
I said I'm really curious how I'm going to like this.
And I was blown away. I I it is one of the best
musicals that I've ever seen. And I I hear it's transferring
to Broadway, so the folks over there will get a chance to see
it as well. And yeah, I but I do, I go to
theater all the time. So asking me like which is your
favorite or which one do you like is very hard for me.
I did see that you saw one that Theora saw and was very excited
about, and I don't know how to say the name, so I'm just going
to say Jodie Comer Show. Oh.
Oh yeah. I don't know how to pronounce it
either, but yes, I did see that in the spring, early this spring
last year. Incredible.
She is, she's a phenomenal actress.
But like, and also just the subject matter of that play is,
I think is so important and the way that it was presented was so
beautifully done. I went in having no idea what it
was about. A friend of mine works for AKA,
the PR agency. And so she was like, you know,
do you want, do you want tickets to go see this?
And so I brought my friend along and he had no idea what it was
about either. And we were just completely
blown away. It was such an incredible show.
Her performance was absolutely incredible.
You know, I I, I'm very envious of people who can do one.
One person shows like that, you know, 'cause it is an incredible
amount of material to handle. But just being up there and
using your body in that way for two plus hours is just it's got
to be exhausting. And you never felt that once.
I mean, she was just always on her mark.
The performance she gave was just 110% until the very end.
I mean it all. Every aspect of that show was
just truly incredible. Yeah, I everything you just said
and like what a timely topic and just beautifully handled from
start to finish. Just.
Absolutely, absolutely. I'd still tell people about that
show all the time because I'm like, if there's a video
somewhere, I would love to watch it again too, because.
Yeah, they. I didn't see it live, but they
did. A lot of my friends did.
But they did basically like the theater company did, like a one
night in movie theaters, we're all gonna play it.
So I got to see it through that. So I was like you.
Can sell that. Yeah, right.
Let me download that. I'm curious now because it's
very powerful of one person two hours straight.
Well, that means yeah, that's a cut, but.
Yeah, it's amazing. It was really, it was one of the
best pieces of theatre I've seen, Just the way.
I mean, I feel like I say that about everything I say I see
because I just love theatre so much.
But yeah, it was. I mean for someone who's giving
like a one woman show, and particularly about such a heavy
topic, I think it was it was absolutely brilliant, worth all
the the accolades that it was getting.
I I think we could probably talk about theatre forever so.
Yeah, we really could. I I certainly could.
I certainly could. But if you could say one thing
to aspiring trans actors, what would it be?
Keep going. Keep going.
This business is incredibly cruel.
It's incredibly difficult. A lot of people don't always
want to make space for us, especially for our stories.
They want to make space for the stories that they want to tell,
which aren't always the stories that we want to tell.
So I say keep going. I think there's two pieces of
advice. So there's the 1st is keep
going, keep breaking down those doors.
It will happen. You will find success.
If you're dedicated enough and you work hard, you will find
success. Which I also have qualms about
giving them advice too. Because, you know, I think a lot
of there's a lot of abuse that happens in this industry as
well. And that comes with saying like
if you keep going, you work hard, you'll get what you want.
Which isn't always true. But if you are persistent and
you are doing your work, you will meet the right people who
will get you to the places that you want to go.
And the other piece of advice is build your own table.
You know, there are, there are so many other tables where
people want to, you know, hold the keys to, you know, the gates
to where people want to hold the keys to.
Well, we're not going to let you in here.
We don't want to tell the story. We don't want you to be a part
of this exclusive club or whatever.
But if you build your own table and you start creating your own
work and you start collaborating with the creatives that you have
great relationships with and then the people that you want to
work with, that's another Ave. to really gain success.
You know, I think not even specifically for trans actors,
but we see so many other sis actors who do that, like Issa
Rae, right? Like with Insecure and and
things like that. Like these were all shows that
they started on their own, that they created that then blew up
into these huge things. Chewing gum is another one.
Michaela Cole. So it's it it I think like
really being able to say I'm going to pursue this kind of
like commercial Ave. and 'cause, you know, that's what's to be
real. That's where the money is.
That's where the success comes from.
And then also alongside that being like, no, there's work and
stories that I want to tell. There's stuff that I want to do
and I'm not going to neglect that in any way either.
That is also an Ave. that I can find success in.
And I think, thirdly, if I was going to have a third final
piece of advice, it's like don't compare your success to anybody
else's. You know, I think we're all on
our own paths. We're all on our own journeys.
What is meant for you will not pass you by.
I think that was a big lesson that I've had to learn as well.
And so just really kind of hold your ground to know what you
bring to the table, don't apologize for it and just, yeah,
keep going. I think that last one applies to
a lot of people. I think everyone needs.
To yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, For sure.
Is there any kind of dream role you'd love to play, either
music, Broadway or, you know, musical theatre or on film?
You know, I'm going to say probably something that an actor
shouldn't say, but I feel like the role that is a dream role
for me has not been created yet, or I don't know whether or not
it's been created yet and I have not come across it yet.
But I feel like, you know, a a specific role that really
showcase showcases exactly what I'm capable of doing and what
what I hold in my talents. I think I haven't gotten that
chance yet. I did just get to play Beatrice
and Much Ado About Nothing. And I think, like, that was a
role that I've always wanted to play.
And people have also told me, like, oh, you know, no one's
going to be able to ever see a brown trans woman play, play
Beatrice. But, like, I getting that job
was just so amazing for me, 'cause I was like, well, look,
I'm going to prove you wrong. I not only booked it, but I'm
going to play it now and I'm, I'm going to have a blast doing
it. And so that that was a dream
role for me that I got to check off of my list.
But I think if there's that one, like, dream role, what is it?
I think like I haven't encountered it yet, and I'm
really curious to see who brings that to me.
If it's something that I'm going to end up creating on my own for
myself, Yeah, I'm really excited for whenever that moment
manifests. Whatever that role is, I have a
feeling they're going to be sassy.
I have a feeling they're going to be sassy too.
I think that just comes along right.
Must be sassy in every character description.
That I like. For sure, For sure.
Because even Beatrice, you know, she's she is very sassy too.
Yeah. Yeah.
So I just somehow click into those sassy roles and wonder
why. Well, I for one can't wait to
see it and I can't wait for the future when you get that dream
role. Thank you.
Thank you all. Right.
Well, we've I asked all the main questions, the thought provoking
ones that we have for you, and we're gonna wrap up the
interview by doing a quick little rapid fire like would you
rather game? OK, OK, I'm usually very bad at
these, but I'm gonna try my hardest.
There's no wrong answers. OK, great.
Great. OK, so first question, who does
Amy think is more a badass, Zara or Sean?
Zara. Zara is unmatched.
That's an easy one. Zara is completely unmatched.
Yeah. And I think because like Amy and
Zara work so closely together too, we don't necessarily see it
in the movie so much. But certainly in the book, they
work so closely together. Yeah, I think both of them, you
know, they inspire each other. They play off of each other.
I think Zara is like a total badass.
If you could give Zara a gun, she'd probably be in Secret
Service as well. So she's great.
Yeah. And Sarah, the the way she
brings her to life is just, I mean, it's perfect.
This is perfect casting there. Yeah, he's my two favorites.
Yeah, they're great. And you know, I think that was
another reason that I think I really enjoyed being on that
set. Was this the amount of strong
woman power, right? Like we had Uma and we had
Sarah, we had Rachel, and we had Ellie.
And not just within the cast, but even the people that were
around us on the crew, we had such amazing badass women
taking, taking control of all departments on the movie, you
know, in every which corner that we were shooting at.
It was really inspiring to see that, that's.
So cool, so needed to. It's so needed to cause I've
been on so many sets that have just been completely male
dominated, you know, And so having a bunch of strong, badass
women everywhere was just such a joy to have.
OK. Next, would you rather would you
rather protect Henry or Alex? I'm going to say Alex, I I yeah,
I'm sorry, Nick. But yeah, it's going to be Alex.
That's my job. Then we get more sassy moments.
So, you know, yeah. Exactly, exactly.
I don't know if she can be that sassy with the the Prince of
England, but certainly with. Her trying to be herself.
Let's see now. You know, it's funny.
When Nick and I get together, there's certainly a A a level of
sass. But when, yeah, with Amy and
Henry, there's just feel like not really.
I feel like a lot of Amy sass would go over Henry's head, you
know, 'cause he's so just so properly British.
And yeah, I love. It OK.
Next question. Cats or dogs?
There's no wrong answer. Dogs.
I have to I'm such a dog person. I don't dislike cats.
I've just had dogs my entire life and I have one now and I
just, yeah, dogs. I I agree.
Yeah. No offense to anybody with a
cat. Would you rather have a giant
crocomboosh fall on you or a giant wedding cake?
A giant what? Croquembouche.
So basically I I think it's like cream puffs like all stuck
together or something. Oh, I've never heard of that
before. Thank you for telling me that.
I would say giant cake. I'm a big cake eater.
So giant cake, even if it's going to fall on me.
And you know. It's basically, which one do you
want to eat more because it's going to fall on you, Yeah.
Yeah. Oh yeah, definitely the cake
then. For sure.
The cake. All right.
Last question. This is the one we ask everybody
from red, right, And royal blue. But would you rather get the sex
talk from President Claremont or King James?
Oh, I'm gonna have to go with President Claremont there.
Yeah. And I hope it comes with the
Excel, the the PowerPoint presentation.
But yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like the king would not
be so great at that talk, let alone have a PowerPoint.
So definitely, let's let's go with President Claremont.
Probably be a lot nicer put. Oh, yeah.
And if, you know, if I think
about like in terms of like Canon, you know, I think like
President Claremont and Amy go way back, there's there's
there's a level of trust there. And understanding that, I think
of Amy was like, can I have a sex talk, President Claremont.
Be like, all right, have a seat, have a seat.
Oh, that's amazing. Well, those are all the
questions we have for you. Thank you so, so much for
answering all of them, even the ridiculous ones.
We appreciate it. Yeah.
Before we sign off and close out today, do you have any final
words for the listeners at home? No, I mean, thank you so much
for, for listening to this podcast, for watching this
podcast, for tuning into our movie.
We just found out yesterday that we got a nomination from the
Producers Guild of America. So we received and appreciate
and are so grateful for all the love and support for this film.
It's it's been a truly, like, remarkable time in my life.
You know, it's certainly changed my life in many, many ways.
I remember a dinner that I had with Matthew before I had
returned to the States after we were done shooting.
And I said to him, I said thank you for changing my life in ways
I didn't even know was possible. You know, because of that film,
I have decided to pursue residency here in the UK.
So I'm, I'm like in the process of doing that as well.
And so it's it's just, it was like such a momentous time for
all of us in our lives being able to create that film,
bringing it to life from the book.
And you know, a lot of us have great friendships with Casey as
well. So it just feels like we've
created in a whole other family, you know, regardless of the
history that this movie continues to make, we've we've
all been able to find each other in this way and have each other
as this little, like family on the side, which is great.
So yeah, I just want to say I appreciate everyone's love and
support, particularly for the film and for for my career as
well because I see that on Instagram.
So thank you. Yes.
And so thank you. That was beautiful For Speaking
of which, if you're not following a niche, please go
follow a niche. And if you haven't at home, like
check out Jessica Jones. So for Jillian.
Yes, it's on Disney Plus now, so please do.
It is available to stream again. Oh, yeah.
OK. So it's everybody listening at
home. Thank you again.
I'm sure you've already seen red, white and royal blue, but
you haven't. Go watch it or just go watch it
again. Just go watch it again.
Yeah, just. Watch it again.
What is too many times exactly? All right.
So we'll see you guys next time. And until next time, I grateful
lesbian Jesus. And gave up all over the place.
Bye. And with that, we've been big
gay energy. If you like this episode, check
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