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. 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 out all our other episodes on whatever you're using to listen right now. If you're listening on Apple, we'd really appreciate it if you left us a review. No matter how brief, it helps us get into Apple's algorithm to
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