EMMA MYERS: How Netflix’s Wednesday Made Me Famous Overnight. I Wasn’t Prepared for How My Life Would Change

Emma Myers' life changed almost overnight when ‘Wednesday’ became a global hit on Netflix. Her role as Enid Sinclair made her an instant fan favourite and quickly launched her into the spotlight. Since then she’s gone on to lead A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and star in the record-breaking Minecraft movie. But long before the world knew her name, Emma was a homeschooled kid who often felt like the odd one out. In our conversation, Emma opens up about the whirlwind of overnight fame, working with the likes of Jenna Ortega and Jack Black, and how she's learned to stay grounded in an industry that moves at a thousand miles an hour. In this episode, Emma shares: Growing up homeschooled and feeling like she didn’t fit inAuditioning for Wednesday and how it changed her life overnightHer thoughts on fans shipping her and Jenna Ortega How her faith got her through her darkest moments Emma is a reminder that life-changing moments don't have to be daunting and that sometimes the biggest changes can be the best thing that can happen. Emma Myers is Great Company. Stream A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder HERE https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0020bv6/a-good-girls-guide-to-murder?seriesId=m0020bv6-structural-2-m002qkxy If you enjoyed the show, you can also follow us: Instagram-@greatcompanypodcast https://www.instagram.com/greatcompanypodcast/# TikTok -@greatcompanypodcast https://open.acast.com/networks/611e511b4ec6dc00134bced2/shows/65d737dfdc02e00016c413b2/episodes/www.tiktok.com/@greatcompanypodcast Jamie -@jamielaing https://www.instagram.com/jamielaing/?hl=en-gb And if you've got thoughts, questions and comments, you can email us at: [email protected] THE CREDITS Producers: Helen Burke Assistant Producer: Issy Weeks-Hankins Video: Josh Bennett Senior Social Media Manager: Laura Coughlan Audio: Rafi Amsili Geovannetti Executive Producer: Ewan Newbigging-Lister Great Company is an original podcast from JamPot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  You mentioned your life changed overnight when you starred in Wednesday.

• 0:03Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 0:03Speaker 00

  I've got some numbers for you. You ready for this?

• 0:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 0:05Speaker 00

  Season one got over 252 million views in 91 days of its release. That is totally and utterly mad.

• 0:14Speaker 01

  It's disgusting numbers.

• 0:16Speaker 00

  You went to bed, pretty much, with 9,000 followers.

• 0:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 0:20Speaker 00

  Three days later, you had 5 million.

• 0:22Speaker 01

  Yeah. Hi, I'm Emma Myers and I'm in great company.

• 0:25Speaker 02

  The one, the only. It's Emma Myers.

• 0:28Speaker 01

  I never went to school, ever.

• 0:30Speaker 00

  Ever?

• 0:31Speaker 01

  I was homeschooled. Being the odd one out, people being fake-nice and inviting you to things just to make fun of you.

• 0:38Speaker 00

  You had that experience?

• 0:40Speaker 01

  Oh my god, so many times.

• 0:41Speaker 00

  Are you serious?

• 0:42Speaker 01

  When the show first came out and I was just starting to look at the reactions and stuff, I couldn't help myself. It was almost an addiction.

• 0:48Speaker 00

  Explain to me what that is like.

• 0:50Speaker 01

  Getting validation from this thing that you've put so much work into, but at the same time, it's so damaging. People spread rumours about my family, seeing my friends get called parasites and leeches for posting pictures with me. I didn't know how to handle it.

• 1:05Speaker 00

  There was a whole fanfiction that Jenna and you weren't like a platonic relationship?

• 1:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, Jenna is the most amazing person ever. I'm less worried about people shipping us and more of the fact that they harass other people who get close to one another because they want us to be together.

• 1:21Speaker 00

  Wow. What is Jack Black like behind the scenes? He feels like an amazing improv actor. Because it's such a big show, how secretive do you have to be about it? I'm not gonna tell a thing once.

• 1:30Speaker 01

  Well, you kind of are.

• 1:36Speaker 02

  Welcome to 215 Maple Drive. We just put this property on the market.

• 1:42Speaker 03

  Love the crown molding.

• 1:43Speaker 02

  Oh, wait until you see the walk-in closets and the bathroom tile.

• 1:47Speaker 03

  Does it have Verizon FiOS? You know, 100% fibre internet?

• 1:51Speaker 02

  No FiOS, but it looks like it's got cable. Let's check out the kitchen.

• 1:54Speaker 03

  No FiOS? Yeah, no thank you.

• 1:58Speaker 02

  Don't you want to see the rest? Okay, bye-bye.

• 2:00Speaker 04

  Get Verizon FiOS because when you're moving, it's 100% or nothing.

• 2:05Speaker 05

  Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research.

• 2:09Speaker 06

  Spreadsheets and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer.

• 2:12Speaker 05

  With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work.

• 2:24Speaker 06

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• 2:28Speaker 05

  Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at G O O dot G L E slash Workspace with Gemini.

• 2:35Speaker 06

  That's G O O dot G L E slash Workspace with Gemini.

• 2:41Speaker 00

  Guys, welcome back to another episode of Great Company. Today's guest is Emma Myers from Netflix's hit show Wednesday. Okay, their biggest show. Now, before we start, I would just like to ask you one quick favor. That is, if you can hit that subscribe button. It does us wonders, I can't even explain. It also means you join our community and get signaled whenever we have another episode uploaded. If you can do that one thing, I'll thank you forever. Okay, enjoy this incredible episode of Great Company with Emma Myers.

• 3:10Speaker 00

  I know you're a huge fan of Narnia.

• 3:11Speaker 01

  I am, yeah.

• 3:13Speaker 00

  I auditioned for Narnia.

• 3:15Speaker 01

  Can I guess what role? Peter?

• 3:17Speaker 00

  It was, it was Peter.

• 3:19Speaker 01

  That makes sense.

• 3:20Speaker 00

  And I was, I was about 16 years old.

• 3:24Speaker 01

  How far did you make it?

• 3:25Speaker 00

  Not very far. They, they came to my school to try and find Peter.

• 3:29Speaker 01

  Oh, did they? That's cool.

• 3:31Speaker 00

  So they came to my school to try and find Peter. And I was like, in my head, I was like, I'm gonna get this role. I didn't even, I didn't even get past that first bit.

• 3:40Speaker 01

  It's okay, we've all been there. There's been roles where I'm like, yeah, this is mine. And then doesn't go anywhere.

• 3:46Speaker 00

  What roles has that been for you?

• 3:47Speaker 01

  Oh, so many, to the point where like, if, if you see a role in a film or a TV show and it's my age range and like a girl with brown hair, I've probably auditioned for it.

• 3:59Speaker 00

  Really?

• 4:00Speaker 01

  Yeah. I mean, everybody auditions for every, like, you're always told to audition for everything, even if you don't want to do it, just audition. It's good to get in front of the casting director anyways.

• 4:10Speaker 00

  Do you remember your first ever audition?

• 4:13Speaker 01

  Um, yes, weirdly enough, I have, I have a very good memory.

• 4:20Speaker 00

  Where were you? What was happening? What was it?

• 4:22Speaker 01

  I was in Florida. Um, I think I was auditioning for the Pampers diaper box. And I think I was like, I was too old to be auditioning for diapers. I think I was like three. I, I know.

• 4:37Speaker 00

  Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You, you remember this?

• 4:39Speaker 01

  I do. I, I remember images in my head. So I know what the waiting room looked like. I've always had a very, very good memory. And I can't tell you how the audition went, but I can remember doing it.

• 4:54Speaker 00

  That's wild.

• 4:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, I know. Which is why I, I have such a, I don't have to do much prep because I can look at a scene. I read it through twice and then know it. Yeah.

• 5:05Speaker 00

  So this is like a superpower. So you.

• 5:06Speaker 01

  It really is. I, I'm very blessed with it.

• 5:09Speaker 00

  So you, you can, you can read a script and you read it through twice and you can get it. What, photographic or it just goes in?

• 5:14Speaker 01

  I don't think it's photographic, but I think I just, I, I don't know. How like my mom told me that when I was a baby, like you know, the game where you flip over tiles and try and match them? She would be like, oh, you would beat me every time at two years old, doing like Winnie the Pooh tile games. I just, I don't know.

• 5:34Speaker 00

  It's called pairs, where you have to pair the.

• 5:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I, I never look at my lines before the day. I'll look at them first in rehearsal and then by the end of rehearsal, which is maybe like fifteen minutes, I'll, I'll know it. But I think it's also, it also has to do with knowing your material. Like you know your character, you know what the gist of the scene is. Like as long as you know what your objective is, I feel like you can, I don't know.

• 6:00Speaker 00

  And that's such confidence. That's wild confidence. What you're saying is that when you know the gist of a scene.

• 6:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:05Speaker 00

  You can kind of just go and wing it.

• 6:07Speaker 01

  For me, like.

• 6:08Speaker 00

  Make me freak out.

• 6:09Speaker 01

  It does most, most people, like, like my sister, who's also an actor, has to memorize her lines like. With the week before, like she she did a film and like knew her whole scripts. Before they even started shooting because it makes her so nervous to have to learn new lines every day. Whereas I if I memorize something so far out, then when I get to the day, I'm like, oh, I'm not as confident in it. As if I just looked at it really quickly in the morning.

• 6:34Speaker 00

  I kind of weirdly know what you mean. Sometimes I do a lot of hosting, right? And when I'm doing a lot of hosting, when I get given an autocue or a script, I don't feel it's free. And I I feel like I have to stick to that script.

• 6:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, I like being able to paraphrase and and use them as sort of guidelines.

• 6:49Speaker 00

  Cause then it makes you feel more natural in the moment.

• 6:52Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 6:52Speaker 00

  So so talk me about childhood. Where did you grow up?

• 6:54Speaker 01

  I grew up in Orlando, Florida, like ten fifteen minutes from Disney.

• 7:01Speaker 01

  I know, I I still love Disney. I think it's so fun to go. Um, I was homeschooled. So I spent like Disney used to do these like um. Residence passes, so if you lived in Florida and you had a Florida address, you could go, you could get a annual pass for cheaper. Go off peak like during school, school time and during weekdays and. So me and my sisters, who are all homeschooled, used to go to Disney during the day and then come back at night and then do your school.

• 7:32Speaker 00

  Homeschooling, talk me through homeschooling.

• 7:34Speaker 01

  Well, so my mom taught us essentially, there's there's. Curriculums and programs that you get and it's essentially the same as any school program. You just do it at home. But my mom taught us until we were about twelve. And then the curriculum we were using sort of teaches you how to teach yourself. So I was essentially my own tutor. And I would read and do all my homework and you know, you just check yourself with the with the answer key and stuff, but I. Yeah, I I never went to school ever.

• 8:09Speaker 00

  Ever?

• 8:10Speaker 01

  Besides taking the SATs.

• 8:12Speaker 00

  You never went to school?

• 8:13Speaker 01

  Never went to school, yeah.

• 8:15Speaker 00

  What is that? What is that uh create, right? Because you you have three other sisters.

• 8:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:20Speaker 00

  You're all homeschooled together. This is in Orlando, so your your mom is a is a stay at home mom and just basically teaching you every single day.

• 8:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:28Speaker 00

  And how did you? Does that mean you make friends outside of the family?

• 8:33Speaker 01

  Yeah, so I I was always on some sort of. Dance team. I I done dance since I was like.

• 8:43Speaker 01

  Four, maybe. Um, so I made friends through that. I made friends through acting. I did a lot of theater when I was younger. Like, o- other kids that were homeschooled in the area, like, they would put on these homeschool events and you'd go and meet other kids your age and just to socialize them. I think, like, I don't think homeschooling is a bad thing, as long as you're socialized outside of that, because I have met kids who were homeschooled and didn't have any of that, and you can spot them from a mile away.

• 9:12Speaker 00

  So you, you, you made friends by going to do dance and performing. Has that always been in your core? Has that always been your soul?

• 9:19Speaker 01

  Always, always. I, I've never really explored a career that wasn't entertainment in some form. Like, I've, I've always had a backup, sure, but I I've just loved performing. I, I grew up with theater and dance and just loved doing it. I don't know, it's always been my thing. I've never really been like, oh, I'll do something else. Yeah, it's always been.

• 9:45Speaker 00

  It's always been that. Did you ever feel like you missed out on school dances proms on any of those kind of good, you didn't ever?

• 9:52Speaker 01

  No, because

• 9:55Speaker 01

  I, I, the homeschool group used to do these English country line dances, so.

• 10:02Speaker 00

  Sounds wicked.

• 10:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, because, you know, it was like classical education, so you know, they'd throw these, and to be fair, they were so much fun. Like, they teach you how to do the old fashioned, like, if you've seen Pride and Prejudice, you know, all the, like, the Regency era dancing they do, they would make us do it. Honestly, so much fun when you go with your friends. Um, but I never really felt the need to go to a prom or, or anything, I, I.

• 10:27Speaker 00

  Why? Because you just, you didn't feel like?

• 10:29Speaker 01

  I just don't think that's really my environment. Like, I never. I don't know, I I grew up very introverted and and all of my friends were like the weird ones, I guess. So I never felt the need to go to a pro. Every time I was at an event where I had to dress up and like dance and stuff with my friends, I was like, ah, it's not really my thing, really.

• 10:50Speaker 00

  But but can I like dive into that because I find that whole concept of saying like my friends were the weird ones, right?

• 10:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:57Speaker 00

  Why why is your friendship friendship group the weird ones? Why are the other people, why are the other people not the weird ones?

• 11:03Speaker 01

  Would say, but you know, when you it's so strange being the odd one out. When you're growing up because it's like everybody else deems you guys the weird ones, even though like I we're all kids. You know, kids are gonna be eccentric and have different interests.

• 11:23Speaker 00

  Completely.

• 11:24Speaker 01

  And like, nobody ever taught these kids who bullied us like, oh, the people have different interests than you and it and it's fine. And you you know, you like what you like and they like what they like and and you know, you don't need to make people feel weird about it. But yeah, it it's me and my friends were always the ones who were like the strange ones. Which, I mean, some of the things we did might, you know, you might side eye us a bit, but never. I don't think anything kids do that involves like their special interests or like. If you're not harming anybody, I don't understand what the issue is.

• 11:58Speaker 00

  But but let's break this down a little bit, okay, because I we've just met, right? I'm sitting with you, right? The the Emma that I have just met feels incredibly kind, feels that she knows herself pretty well.

• 12:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'd say so.

• 12:10Speaker 00

  Feels way smarter than me, like in.

• 12:13Speaker 01

  Well, I don't know.

• 12:15Speaker 00

  Trust me. No, no, no, that's it. Far more talented, in in in every single way, hardworking, you've been grafting since you were a kid.

• 12:23Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 12:24Speaker 00

  Right? That. Feels way more, the fact that you know yourself, the fact that you know that's not your people and that's not your side. Well, I've sat with so many people who potentially would be the popular kids at school, right? And I can tell there's far more insecurities coming from them than there are from you.

• 12:40Speaker 01

  I I think that's what it is. I think it's them projecting their own insecurities and and. I don't know, I I think that like, maybe you have to get bullied to have a little bit of character and find yourself and feel really confident in yourself. I I I I wish that that's not the case, but I know so many people who went through the same experiences me and. And are so like grounded in themselves and like, no, like I know myself and, you know, maybe I was weird, but who cares?

• 13:10Speaker 00

  Okay, talk to me about the bullying side of things because I I've just, I've just had a baby boy. I have it, my wife has. I keep saying that I definitely did not have the baby, but um, but I, you know. I look at my baby and I'm so protective and I I worry about the outside world. Because I worry about the influences that come in and I worry about how he is, what's he gonna be like when he's older? Is he gonna have trouble at school? Are people gonna be nice to him? Are they gonna be mean to him? And from your experience, what kind of bullying happened and how did you handle it?

• 13:43Speaker 01

  Well, I I feel like teenage girls on a dance team is very, a sort of like specific level of bullying. Um, it is so hard because of of course you probably want your kid to have experience and friends and. You know, go out and socialize and stuff, but I think with that comes people who, you know, will pick on you and. And the stuff that me and my friends went through was just like petty stupid things and people being fake nice and. You know, inviting you to things just to make fun of you and stuff like that, even though it it it's like, what am I doing?

• 14:17Speaker 00

  You've had that experience?

• 14:18Speaker 01

  Oh, my god, so many times.

• 14:20Speaker 00

  Are you serious?

• 14:21Speaker 01

  It's.

• 14:22Speaker 00

  I'm gonna go and F up those people.

• 14:24Speaker 01

  Kids are mean and I look back on it now and I'm just like. You know, they're also kids. Am I going to, am I going to hold somebody to, you know, what they said or did to me when we were twelve? No, like, we were kids. I, I have no grudges against anybody and I, I have no, I don't think badly about anybody. But I also think there's such an important, like, you should talk to your kids about bullying because I feel, I find so many parents are like, oh, my kid would never do that. But like, your kid might be doing it and you have no idea.

• 15:01Speaker 00

  No idea.

• 15:03Speaker 01

  I just find it important to have the, those conversations and I so wish that there were adults in my life when I was that age who stood up for me. And there weren't besides like my mom and my friends' moms, but you know.

• 15:14Speaker 00

  Did they stand up for you?

• 15:15Speaker 01

  Of course, of course. But you know, when you get involved with teachers and, and, you know, bullies' parents and stuff like that, and everybody's against, you know, what we're saying. You can only do so much. And it just got to the point, my mom was like, look, you're gonna run into people in your life who won't understand you and all you can do is say, well, whatever, that's me and I hope, I hope you're happy and I'm gonna be happy as well. I, I don't think you'll ever be, I mean, I hope you would, but I, I think you'll always run into people who are miserable and will want to take it out on you.

• 15:50Speaker 00

  Do you feel sorry for those other people sometimes?

• 15:52Speaker 01

  I do, I do. I feel sorry. I think it's, I think it just reflects, you know, their mindset and you know, I think kids bullied because they're insecure or they're getting bullied themselves. And I mean, you never know what somebody else is going through and what they might be dealing with in, in other aspects of their life, which causes them to take it out on you. And, but I, I just think that like, you know, if somebody doesn't like you, it's hard to accept that and it's hard to, especially when you're a kid, but, you know.

• 16:22Speaker 00

  They're not your people.

• 16:23Speaker 01

  They're not your people. And that's okay. You can find your own community and, you know, don't let somebody else. dampen you, cause it's, you know, life's too short.

• 16:33Speaker 00

  And there's a great quote is why fit in when we're born to stand out.

• 16:36Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 16:36Speaker 00

  One hundred percent. You you know, you you have this, you have this sort of um passion for fantasy, right?

• 16:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 16:42Speaker 00

  So Narnia, I know you you love The Hobbit.

• 16:45Speaker 01

  Love, love, love The Hobbit.

• 16:46Speaker 00

  And and for for me, right, that feels like your place where you that's your world that you could go to as an escape.

• 16:52Speaker 01

  A hundred percent. I was so obsessed, I still am, I'm always constantly reading a fantasy novel. I just love. I.

• 17:00Speaker 00

  What is it about it? Explain that to me.

• 17:02Speaker 01

  I just think I like I like the escapism. I think it's so much fun. I think like. I was always pretending as a kid, you know, me and my sisters would just play. You know, oh, we're we're in Star Wars and you know, we're doing this or all we're we're on our horses in the middle of Middle Earth and. You know, I don't know what it is specifically. I've just always felt comfort in like. Big epic universes and and something that's like completely different than what we have in in real life. And I think. That's why I love acting so much is. I can do things that I would never be able to do in normal life.

• 17:41Speaker 00

  It's so true. The um, can you speak Elvish?

• 17:44Speaker 01

  I can't, but my uncle can.

• 17:46Speaker 00

  No.

• 17:47Speaker 01

  My uncle can.

• 17:48Speaker 00

  Fluently?

• 17:49Speaker 01

  Fluently. He took a whole course on it and everything.

• 17:52Speaker 00

  You are.

• 17:53Speaker 01

  I know. And I kind of wanna do it because it seems like it would be so fun, such like a niche thing to know. But I I like watch the behind the scenes of those films and I'm like, oh, it's like to sit. There and learn a made up language for this project would be like. A bucket list thing. It's so cool.

• 18:12Speaker 00

  How amazing is that Tolkien created a new language?

• 18:15Speaker 01

  It's incredible. I like his knowledge was so deep of so many things and. I I think he like. Ah, studied older versions of different languages and like took things from different ones to make up his own and.

• 18:32Speaker 00

  The depth of knowledge within those books.

• 18:33Speaker 01

  To have to make up a whole language as well, like.

• 18:36Speaker 00

  Yeah, it's crazy. And the connection that it has throughout, it's like the way that your brain has to be big enough. To understand where how to connect different worlds and different stories that this over here was back centuries over here.

• 18:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:48Speaker 00

  It's wild to have that imagination.

• 18:49Speaker 01

  I I could never.

• 18:56Speaker 06

  Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer.

• 19:03Speaker 05

  With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work.

• 19:15Speaker 06

  That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about.

• 19:19Speaker 05

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• 19:32Speaker 00

  You're religious?

• 19:33Speaker 01

  I am.

• 19:34Speaker 00

  You grew up in a Christian household?

• 19:35Speaker 01

  I did.

• 19:36Speaker 00

  When did you, when did you really turn towards religion? Because I grew up in-

• 19:39Speaker 01

  That's such a good question.

• 19:40Speaker 00

  I, I, just from my point of view, right? Is I grew up in somewhat of a religious family, right? My auntie incredibly religious. And we used to go to church on Sundays. At school, I also went to church every Sunday. Right, that's, and we had church every single evening, apart from Wednesdays, right?

• 19:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:56Speaker 00

  But because of that, I sort of turned away from religion because I was forced into it.

• 20:00Speaker 01

  I feel the exact same way.

• 20:02Speaker 00

  Really?

• 20:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, so I, I grew up very similarly, going to church every Sunday, went to youth group for a while. I always, always believed in God and I've never been like, oh, I don't, I don't believe. But I've, it, it's sort of, there's, there's always like a problem sometimes I have with organized religion where it does push people away. And depending on the type of church you're with or, you know, the people you interact with, a lot of them have no grace, which is what we're called to have, is grace and compassion and understanding. And I think that in turn pushes people away, so-

• 20:43Speaker 00

  Elaborating on that, what do you mean that they have no grace?

• 20:46Speaker 01

  Like, if you're not perfect, then you don't truly believe and you're not worth this. And, and which is the exact opposite of what God says. And-

• 21:00Speaker 01

  When I was a teenager and struggling and, you know, I I I had really bad social anxiety when I was fourteen. Um, and like I I couldn't do anything. I was having panic attacks going in public. So I went to see. A like church counselor, I guess. And you know, she was like, oh, well, you just have to pray more, which. Is not the answer you want when you're struggling and you're like, well, I am praying and I I don't understand what I'm doing. Like, God must not. Love me or whatever, but that's totally not the case. And I, when I was fourteen, I kind of was just like, yeah, like I believe that I'm not like. You know, whatever. I never think about it too much until I turned, I think I was twenty one maybe. And I like.

• 21:44Speaker 01

  I was having the worst time of my entire life. I was not sleeping for days. I'd go to work. Being awake for three days straight. I was struggling so much. I was so depressed . I was not sleeping. I've had, I I struggle, my whole family struggles with insomnia, but. I was having such a bad time that I was just like, I I can't take this anymore. Like I, like, please help me, God. I don't know what to do. And. I started really just putting my faith in him and and speaking to him directly and not wanting to be a part of like. An organized church, but instead having a relationship with God. And it's completely like, fully just changed me. And I feel.

• 22:28Speaker 01

  I have so much comfort in it and I feel like having. I I think a lot of people don't understand that it's it's not even about going to church. It's not about the religion. It's about having a relationship.

• 22:40Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 22:40Speaker 01

  With God and that's really all he wants. And and, you know. I've I I hate the fact that people are turned away because of people mis- misrepresenting God and.

• 22:51Speaker 00

  That is a great way to look at it.

• 22:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:54Speaker 00

  Uh, because I think you're so right. I think it feels like it needs to be a group thing. You need to be a part of this big ensemble, but actually having your own individual relationship with God.

• 23:06Speaker 01

  That's the most important thing .

• 23:07Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 23:08Speaker 01

  The most important thing. And and he, he meets you where you are. Like, you do not have to be perfect. I am far from perfect. Like. If if we had to be perfect, nobody would be would be worthy of it. And we're not worthy of it, but because God is like, I love you so much, have a relationship with me. And nothing else matters is why I love so much.

• 23:29Speaker 00

  I have three non-negotiables in life now. One is I try and exercise. That can be a walk, it can be a run, it can be gym, it can be whatever.

• 23:36Speaker 01

  Very important.

• 23:37Speaker 00

  Hundred percent right. One non-negotiable, the other one is I take homeopathic medicine.

• 23:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's what my mom is the same. I I've never.

• 23:46Speaker 00

  Your mom would get on.

• 23:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:47Speaker 00

  And my third non-negotiable is I always give thanks every evening and every morning.

• 23:52Speaker 01

  That's such a good thing to do.

• 23:54Speaker 00

  Hundred percent, and it was my wife who started to me to do it. And she said, listen, you know, again, I think this was in a period, maybe a year, a few years ago, where I was going through moments of maybe anxiety, stress. And I think I wasn't living in my true self. So I said, okay, she said, why don't you just give thanks? You stop looking up for what you don't have, but appreciate what you do have.

• 24:11Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 24:12Speaker 00

  And so I would give thanks every evening and every morning. And since then, it has also changed my life.

• 24:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think it's so good to be grateful, like for everything. And and I so recognize that I I would not be here if God didn't want me to be here and like have has given me this. And I and I have this desire and he's clearly blessed me with so much in my life. And and I realized that, like, it's not by my own works alone that I am here. So I it's it's such a good thing to give thanks.

• 24:43Speaker 00

  Can I ask a personal question?

• 24:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 24:45Speaker 00

  You you said that you experienced these panic attacks and this is social anxiety. And I know social anxiety is crippling.

• 24:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 24:51Speaker 00

  And you also experienced that sort of depression as well. Were there moments, like you said, where you were just like, I can't take this?

• 24:59Speaker 01

  So many times, so many times. And it's, oh, it's so crippling sometimes. I think especially in this job, it can be so lonely, which I I recently just started going to therapy. And I've.

• 25:11Speaker 00

  Congrats.

• 25:12Speaker 01

  I I really like, I'm so happy I started doing it because I've kind of, I kind of have pushed it off a lot because. I guess I've kind of gaslit myself into being like, oh, it's really not that, but like, you don't need therapy, you're fine. You've just got to get over this hump and and you'll be okay. And I and I've realized that it's like, I can't alone help myself. I have to have other people.

• 25:37Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 25:37Speaker 01

  And I think deciding to go has has really, really helped me. But yeah, there was a a period in my life where I was like, yeah, I don't know how far I'm gonna make it anymore, cause it's it's so lonely in this business. And having to deal with all of that, having like, my life changed overnight.

• 25:59Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 26:00Speaker 01

  Not having anybody around me who understood whatsoever. And not really wanting to reach out to people who understood in work because it's it's so, it's such a weird thing to call somebody up and be like, hey, I'm not doing good. I don't know how you deal with this. Like, what can you do? Because I find that a lot of people who are at that huge levels also don't know what to do. Like, everybody's sort of.

• 26:25Speaker 00

  There's no playbook.

• 26:25Speaker 01

  There's no, there's no way to handle it properly. Um, so I I was like, you know what? I'm gonna give it a go. Cause you know, people who've started going are like, I think you really need this. And I figured out that I have ADHD, which is actually really helped me understand a lot of things about myself. Like, why am I like this? No, that's why.

• 26:49Speaker 00

  Well, thank you for sharing, and secondly, you thank God you are here.

• 26:55Speaker 01

  I know, I'm I'm I'm glad. I'm very happy. I, yeah, it does. It is such a difficult thing to to contemplate, but yeah, it's, I'm glad I'm here.

• 27:08Speaker 00

  You know, um, you mentioned your life changed overnight.

• 27:11Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 27:12Speaker 00

  Was that when you started on Wednesdays?

• 27:15Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 27:16Speaker 00

  Explain that to me too. This Wednesdays is, I got some numbers for you. You ready for this?

• 27:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:21Speaker 00

  Season one got over two hundred and fifty two million views.

• 27:26Speaker 01

  In- insane.

• 27:27Speaker 00

  In ninety one days of its release. That is totally and utterly mad.

• 27:33Speaker 01

  It's, it's disgusting numbers.

• 27:35Speaker 00

  That's a great way to put it.

• 27:36Speaker 01

  I'm like, how many of you are watching it like that many times?

• 27:40Speaker 00

  You went to bed, pretty much, with nine thousand followers.

• 27:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:44Speaker 00

  Three days later, you had five million.

• 27:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:47Speaker 00

  That is literally overnight, your life changes.

• 27:49Speaker 01

  It was ridiculous. And I think by the end of the two weeks, I had twelve or something. And it's suddenly such this like, like you almost don't know how to handle it. And I, I think I had it easy at first because I'm, I'm blonde in the show, so like, nobody on the street was recognizing me. But online, it was just like, I, I.

• 28:15Speaker 00

  Crazy.

• 28:16Speaker 01

  I didn't turn off my Instagram notifications before the show came out, which I did the second I woke up because my phone was just crashing.

• 28:23Speaker 00

  Explain to me what that is like, right? Like, what is that like waking up to something, to suddenly, when you go onto your Instagram, what are the, what are the notifications, what are the DMs doing?

• 28:33Speaker 01

  Just like flood and floods and floods of messages and comments and, and I, I at first was like, oh, it's like, I'll, I can turn my phone off and I, and I, it's like, it's not real. But then you sort of subconsciously are constantly like, oh, I wonder what people are saying about this. And I wonder what somebody's messaged me and I, I wonder if this person likes it and stuff. And, and, and you can't help but deep dive. And when I, when the show first came out and, and I was just starting to look at the reactions and stuff, like I couldn't help myself. It was almost an addiction.

• 29:08Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 29:09Speaker 01

  Going in and like, seeing what people are saying about me and reading all my Instagram comments and, and I was having such a hard time with it. And my mom was like, you, you cannot do this.

• 29:18Speaker 00

  You can't do that.

• 29:19Speaker 01

  You can't do it. Turn off your notifications. Like, you should delete Instagram for a few days. And, and I, and I think I did that for a while. I'd go into posts and then I'd delete the app because I. I didn't know how to handle it. And it's it's such a

• 29:33Speaker 00

  It's weird, right? It's weird because it's like a two way thing. It's like you're getting that validation that's quite exciting.

• 29:38Speaker 01

  It's so addicting because you're getting valid validation from this thing that you've put so much work into. But at the same time, it's so damaging. Because I think there's like. Everybody then starts to have an opinion of you. And your work, what you look like, what you wear, you know, how you speak, you know, it just everything and and and. Assuming things about you. I still deal with that to this day. Like there's people assume so much about me. I feel it's crazy. And they take it as fact, like nobody actually.

• 30:11Speaker 00

  Like what?

• 30:12Speaker 01

  Just any random thing you hear about me on the internet is probably just not true. Like most things. I don't know.

• 30:19Speaker 00

  Just wild.

• 30:20Speaker 01

  It's wild. People, you know, spread rumors about my family, like.

• 30:24Speaker 00

  Explain, what do they say?

• 30:25Speaker 01

  Well, somebody spread a rumor that like my sister was estranged from my family. Because she doesn't appear in a lot of pictures with us. And it's like, no, she's at law school in a different state. I haven't seen her in a few months. So totally not true. But just wild stuff like that. And it still happens to this day, but it's it's like. Man, you people know nothing.

• 30:48Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:48Speaker 01

  You know, anything.

• 30:50Speaker 00

  You know what? It's because there's unlike the fans of the show, the fans of Wednesday, right? They. They also believe like there was whole fan fiction that that Jenna and you weren't like a platonic relationship.

• 31:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's I think that like there's nothing wrong with shipping characters as long as you're. Doing, you know, you're not shipping like a twelve year old and a fifty year old, you know, like as long as you're. You're being cool, shipping characters. I think it's so fun. I I was.

• 31:16Speaker 00

  What's it called? Shipping?

• 31:18Speaker 01

  Shipping, yeah, it's like a ship, you know, like you're like, oh, that that's my ship. When you like two people together, yeah.

• 31:24Speaker 00

  That's the link. That's the online.

• 31:26Speaker 01

  The lingo.

• 31:27Speaker 00

  Shipping.

• 31:28Speaker 01

  Shipping, yeah. I don't know.

• 31:29Speaker 00

  Is this like a Gen Z thing?

• 31:31Speaker 01

  No, I don't. I think it's more millennial. Like, it was huge on Tumblr before Tumblr, like, is not a big shipping platform anymore. I don't really know. I think, like, I missed the golden age of Tumblr. I got on it right as it was dying, but.

• 31:45Speaker 00

  Okay, so, so that's why, so apparently in One Direction, it was Harry Styles and Louis Thompson, they were shipped together.

• 31:49Speaker 01

  Oh, my god, I remember.

• 31:51Speaker 00

  Okay, here we go.

• 31:52Speaker 01

  I remember when that was happening. And I was a huge One Direction fan. And I remember seeing people being like, no, they're together. You don't understand. I'm like, oh, my god. Like, you're acting like you'll die if this isn't real. This is crazy. And like, I, I just think that shipping real people, like.

• 32:12Speaker 00

  Is dangerous.

• 32:13Speaker 01

  It's so dangerous because you get into this gray area where you, first of all, are making people uncomfortable. They feel like they can't interact anymore because of the way that people react. Jen and I, like, don't really care that much. Like, we, we're like, you know, whatever, we interact the way we want to interact.

• 32:30Speaker 00

  That is interesting. So it stops you interacting because you're worried about what the online dialogue would be.

• 32:35Speaker 01

  It's more or less like, I'm less worried about people shipping us and more of the fact that they harass other people who get close to one another because they want us to be together. And if anybody else gets close, then that's interfering with their ship.

• 32:50Speaker 00

  Wow, that's the Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez effect.

• 32:53Speaker 01

  Yes, that whole thing. I feel like recently the, I was told that the boys from Heated Rivalry got it a lot.

• 33:01Speaker 00

  Really?

• 33:01Speaker 01

  As well, like.

• 33:02Speaker 00

  I still haven't watched that show.

• 33:03Speaker 01

  I haven't either.

• 33:03Speaker 00

  My mum has watched it and she loved it.

• 33:05Speaker 01

  Oh, did she?

• 33:06Speaker 00

  And she let me know every single evening.

• 33:09Speaker 01

  I need to see it, because everybody raves about it, but.

• 33:11Speaker 00

  My mum was being weird about that show.

• 33:15Speaker 01

  Let her enjoy it.

• 33:16Speaker 00

  Yeah, I know. Funny, I let her enjoy it, but I was like, don't call me up and tell me about it, okay? I don't need to know what you're doing in your spare time.

• 33:23Speaker 01

  I don't know, it's just such like a. Yeah, like, I, I don't.

• 33:27Speaker 00

  It's dangerous because it's unfair.

• 33:28Speaker 01

  It's unfair to others.

• 33:30Speaker 00

  And also, what is hard for that online chatter, right, is you're playing a character.

• 33:35Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 33:36Speaker 00

  That is not you, that is not Emma.

• 33:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly.

• 33:38Speaker 00

  Or Jenna. So, so then, but the fans get confused almost. They, they are so desperate because they're in that world. They want it to exist.

• 33:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, and it's so fine if you want to ship characters. Like, I, like, ship one Claire. It's, it's, it's cute, you love it, like, do whatever. Same thing with any other ships in Wednesday. Like, I, I think they're, they're so fun. That's, that's part of shipping fandom culture, I guess. But it, it's sort of like, I don't know, it gets to a point where sometimes it can cross the line when you start harassing other people who are in my life, who, you know, are my, my genuine friends and I love hanging out with them and I want to be around them. And if, it's almost like if I interact with anybody who's not a part of the ship that they want me to be in, then it's, you know, it just is so much chaos.

• 34:24Speaker 00

  How do you handle that noise at the beginning? Probably not very well.

• 34:29Speaker 01

  Probably not. I, I, I didn't handle it very well. It was, it was weird. Seeing my friends get called parasites and leeches for posting pictures with me. Like, no, these are actually my good friends and I hang out with them and I, I'm okay with them posting pictures of me and I, I just try to ignore it now. Like, I, I really am barely on Instagram. I'll, I'll go on to, to like my friends' photos and repost things, but that's about it. I don't really read comments anymore. It's, it's, it, it like hurts me to see people in my life get harassed over this because it's like, I promise, anything you see of me on the internet, like my friends posting pictures, has all been approved by me.

• 35:10Speaker 01

  Like, everybody always checks with me first, so it's not like anybody's invading my privacy or, or, you know, using me for clout, which my, people get accused of that all the time. I genuinely love these people to death and, and like, I am so okay if they want to post pictures of me.

• 35:28Speaker 00

  I'm not using you for clout.

• 35:32Speaker 01

  I'm not using you for clout either.

• 35:34Speaker 00

  We're friends.

• 35:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 35:35Speaker 00

  It's okay, don't come at me, alright? You know, the Wednesday cast is stacked. It's got Jenna Taga, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Billy Piper, Christina Ricci, Joy Sunday. Like, what is it like being on a set like that?

• 35:47Speaker 01

  Oh my god. Everybody is incredible. I, like,

• 35:52Speaker 01

  The adults of that cast especially are so like they're so cool. Billy is incredible. Oh my god, I love her to death and and like just getting to especially one of my first big jobs ever, getting to work with people who are that cool has been such a blessing and and such a pleasure and like Steve Buscemi, I freaked out when he got cast, like I love Catherine.

• 36:23Speaker 00

  I love Steve Buscemi.

• 36:24Speaker 01

  Oh my god, he's the funniest ever.

• 36:27Speaker 00

  He's so great.

• 36:27Speaker 01

  He's so great in everything.

• 36:29Speaker 00

  He he's amazing, but what what give me like a side of what it's like on set?

• 36:34Speaker 01

  Well, I it depends on the day, but I really, really like when all of the kids are sort of kids, I guess, we're all adults but playing kids.

• 36:44Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 36:44Speaker 01

  Um, are like in this giant scene and and the the best times when I don't have any lines, I'm just supposed to be seen in the background so I can goof off and do what I want, but it's so chill like we're shooting in Dublin again and and I know the crew because we worked with them last season and everybody's so comfortable and you know, working with him is great because he's so chill.

• 37:09Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:09Speaker 01

  And he kind of just lets you do what you want. Um, and I like so many people, uh, these this cast is genuinely, they've become

• 37:18Speaker 00

  Your family.

• 37:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's literally my family and I and I love them to death, like I.

• 37:22Speaker 00

  And isn't that amazing, growing up with kind of fantasy and then being in

• 37:27Speaker 01

  I know.

• 37:27Speaker 00

  A fantasy show.

• 37:29Speaker 01

  Directed by Tim Burton.

• 37:30Speaker 00

  You you know what I mean?

• 37:32Speaker 01

  It it would, it's been a dream, honestly, and I'm.

• 37:35Speaker 00

  That is like manifestation to the

• 37:37Speaker 01

  Literally.

• 37:37Speaker 00

  To the nth degree.

• 37:38Speaker 01

  Wednesday has literally opened so many doors for me and not only that, like I've made friends for life, like I Jenna is the most amazing person ever. Uh, the rest of the like Georgie, Hunter, Musa, like I I love them all very dearly and they've been the best ever and it's so good getting to almost grow up with people on a job because it's been five years since we started the first one and um.

• 38:10Speaker 01

  We've all seen.

• 38:10Speaker 00

  Isn't that crazy?

• 38:11Speaker 01

  It's so crazy. It's gone by so fast and we've all.

• 38:15Speaker 00

  You must have changed so much.

• 38:16Speaker 01

  So much.

• 38:16Speaker 00

  Yeah, if you look back at yourself then.

• 38:19Speaker 01

  I cringe.

• 38:20Speaker 00

  No.

• 38:20Speaker 01

  I cringe.

• 38:21Speaker 00

  No, don't cringe.

• 38:22Speaker 01

  But but like in a all. Bless her, Hiaka, she has no idea what's.

• 38:27Speaker 00

  Have you ever seen any of my old work?

• 38:31Speaker 00

  Because then you would cringe.

• 38:32Speaker 01

  Well, it's okay. Everybody, you know, everybody goes that phase.

• 38:36Speaker 00

  Not my old work. Trust me, mine's not great. But what are what are the because it's such a big show like? How secretive do you have to be about it?

• 38:47Speaker 01

  Oh, so secretive. I keep getting asked things about this new season. I'm like, I I literally can't tell.

• 38:52Speaker 00

  So I was gonna ask you a question. You can't tell me anything.

• 38:54Speaker 01

  I can't tell you anything.

• 38:55Speaker 00

  You can't give me anything.

• 38:56Speaker 01

  I can't give you anything.

• 38:57Speaker 00

  I'm not gonna tell anyone.

• 38:58Speaker 01

  I know. Well, you kind of are.

• 39:02Speaker 01

  I can't say anything, otherwise I'll I'll never be seen again.

• 39:06Speaker 00

  You would just disappear. Tim Burton would make you disappear.

• 39:09Speaker 01

  I don't think Tim would care. I think Netflix would care. But I I would love to keep working with Netflix and and, you know, so please.

• 39:17Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:18Speaker 01

  Don't get me fired and, you know, buried somewhere.

• 39:25Speaker 00

  Going back to that idea of religion, right?

• 39:27Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 39:28Speaker 00

  You know, something that's written here, right, is? In twenty nineteen, only twenty two percent of Gen Z believes in God. But it's now jumped to forty five percent.

• 39:37Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 39:38Speaker 00

  Why do you think more young people are turning towards God?

• 39:41Speaker 01

  That's that's a good question. Well, that makes me very happy, but also.

• 39:48Speaker 01

  I think I think with social media is such like. Oh, it can be really good and really bad, but I think some really good aspects of it. Are people sharing their testimonies, sharing their stories? And especially on TikTok, there are people who like do.

• 40:08Speaker 01

  Who will, you know, do like, oh, do a devotional with me sort of thing, or like, here's my story.

• 40:14Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 40:15Speaker 01

  And I think the exposure also really had like, just learning that you're not alone. And and maybe if you've been to a church that has made you feel alone and feel like you're not worth it. And and all this stuff, that there's so many people online that are like, hey, that's not the case. This person is misrepresenting who God actually is and and this is who he is. And and you shouldn't care about those other people, you should focus on this instead. And and I think, I think that has a lot to do with it because I've definitely seen like a rise on on social media.

• 40:50Speaker 00

  Totally.

• 40:51Speaker 01

  Of young people.

• 40:52Speaker 00

  Do you think it's because people want to feel connection as well because of social media, we've become disconnected?

• 40:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, a hundred percent, I think, like, it's so weird. Social media is, I guess, started out as, oh, here's a way to connect with friends and stuff. But it kind of has just evolved into.

• 41:09Speaker 00

  Done the opposite.

• 41:09Speaker 01

  Done the opposite. And I think it's such a good thing to sort of take that back and and make it more about connection and.

• 41:17Speaker 00

  Hundred percent.

• 41:18Speaker 01

  And and I, and yeah, I think that has a lot to do with it.

• 41:21Speaker 00

  Can I ask you a big question?

• 41:22Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 41:22Speaker 00

  What do you think happens when we die?

• 41:26Speaker 01

  That's, you know, that's really hard. It's.

• 41:29Speaker 00

  Truthfully, what do you really think?

• 41:30Speaker 01

  Truthfully, well, I I believe there is life after death. I do. And and I believe that as long as, you know, you you know, God, like, I believe there is life. And I think that, I think really that's all that matters, you know, you having a relationship with him and. Yeah, it's hard because I I I'm not the judge, jury and executioner. I can never look at somebody and say, this is what's gonna happen to you when you're dead. That is not for me to decide, that's not up to me at all. And I and I never want to assume, I don't know what somebody's thinking, I don't know what's going on in their personal life. I don't know what happens right before they die.

• 42:05Speaker 00

  Mm hmm.

• 42:06Speaker 01

  You know, I think that that's such like, it's such an existential question.

• 42:11Speaker 00

  It is.

• 42:12Speaker 01

  And it's so scary, but God says, like, don't be afraid, you know?

• 42:17Speaker 00

  I have a quote that you said.

• 42:20Speaker 00

  As a child, I really wanted to be an actor. So I would lie all the time about everything. Now to make up for it, I'm overly truthful.

• 42:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, I was a pathological liar as a kid. I would lie about everything. Even if I didn't need to lie about it, even if I wasn't gonna get in trouble for something, but just

• 42:39Speaker 00

  Everything.

• 42:40Speaker 01

  Literally everything. I just, I don't know what it was. I couldn't help myself. And then it essentially got to the point where my mom was like, we will never have a good relationship if you keep lying to me about things.

• 42:52Speaker 00

  Did it give you a buzz?

• 42:54Speaker 01

  It, I know. I almost made myself miserable, lying all the time. Like, I was like, oh, somebody's gonna find out that I lied. Like, girl, then stop lying. I don't understand what you're, why you're doing this to yourself.

• 43:06Speaker 00

  But is it because you thought it would make you more exciting?

• 43:10Speaker 01

  Maybe. I don't know. Well, some of it was like, I would lie about doing my math, which didn't need to lie, but like, I always got it done in the end anyways, but even little things, it was like, oh, what'd you do today? Oh, I did this. Totally didn't do it. I don't know. I literally don't know why I would, I, it's more of an impulse, I think.

• 43:28Speaker 00

  I know what you mean. It's, it's, again, that's sort of like an ADHD thing in a way.

• 43:34Speaker 01

  I've gotten so many things.

• 43:36Speaker 00

  Cause I used to lie as a kid as well. I used to also steal things.

• 43:40Speaker 01

  Really?

• 43:41Speaker 00

  Like, yeah, like my dad's money when I was like five. What am I gonna do with that?

• 43:44Speaker 01

  Well, I mean, yeah, I, I, there are so many things that I did as a kid that my therapist is like, well, there's another thing for you to consider.

• 43:52Speaker 00

  Yeah, this could be this.

• 43:53Speaker 01

  This could be that. It's like, oh, great, just another thing to add to it. But yeah, I don't even know why I did it. I kind of made myself miserable by doing it.

• 44:02Speaker 00

  Was it a lightbulb moment when you were diagnosed with ADHD?

• 44:04Speaker 01

  Yes, so many, so many things made so much sense. And I'm still struggling.

• 44:08Speaker 00

  By the way, it's much more difficult to be diagnosed.

• 44:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, it, it, it's, I, I don't, it's so frustrating that that's the case and like, I, I, there's still so many things that my therapist is like, oh, it's ADHD. That I'm like, no, no, no, I'm just being lazy. Or like, no, no, cause like, I can do this one day, but then the next day I can't. So I'm just like, not on, on that day. She's like, That's the A D H D. And it makes so much sense and I'm so glad that I have an answer for a lot of things. Um, because truly it's like my brain needs something different from other people's and and that's fine. And I just have to make sure I give myself that.

• 44:49Speaker 00

  It feels like, I mean, sometimes it feels like in life you gave yourself a bit of a hard time. And it feels like now you're in a place where you're sort of feel you feel confident.

• 45:00Speaker 01

  I am, I'd say. I'm like, I'm, it's weird cause I grew so insecure growing up, such an introvert. And I would still say that I'm an introvert. I I just like personal time. But I also feel like I I know myself so much now and and I'm, I love where I'm at in my life. I I love my friends. I love the people in my life. I I love my job. I'm finally at a place where I'm not miserable twenty four seven like I.

• 45:29Speaker 00

  And when you come from a place like that.

• 45:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 45:31Speaker 00

  You know, and then you you get to a place where you can kind of breathe and you see the blue sky and you were like looking up.

• 45:36Speaker 01

  It's like, I I feel like I can breathe and it's it's, yeah, I'm, I feel like I'm finally enjoying what I do. Even though I've always enjoyed it, but I always felt like I kind of had to struggle to succeed. And that's not always the case.

• 45:52Speaker 00

  You know, there there's a, there's a thing which is like, be careful what you wish for. Because a lot of people I've sat with opposite have wanted something so bad, whether that was to sell out stadiums as a comedian. You know, a guy called Mo Gilligan said this to me, or actors who have wanted to reach that role and get that role. And actually, what happens is when they reach it.

• 46:10Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 46:10Speaker 00

  It's almost like an anticlimax. It's not what they were expecting, what they thought they were gonna get from it, they don't actually get. And what you're not, they're not realizing, or we're realizing is actually you've got to heal your inside first. That's external validations is not gonna help you.

• 46:24Speaker 01

  Exactly. I think I can enjoy my success and and things that I do so much more now. Because I don't feel like I need other people to validate me. I I feel like pretty secure in myself and. And yeah, it's I guess it is that thing of like, oh, I've done this, but I but I've not done this. So I'm not there yet and I.

• 46:49Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:49Speaker 01

  Never be satisfied, but I I think there's like a line, there's. You know, you can be wanting more, but still enjoy what you have and be grateful and. And enjoy life. You don't need to kill yourself over this, this and this, you know, like you can. You can take it easy, you know, not not everybody's path is the same.

• 47:08Speaker 00

  I I I had dinner last night with my friends just launched a book and he's had an amazing story. It's called knives and spoons. And he basically went through like addiction and came out the other side and and. Cheffing and cooking.

• 47:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:21Speaker 00

  Right, helped him get through it. It's amazing story. Um, and I sat on a table with a guy called John, who's a restaurateur, owns a lot of restaurants. And he said the most amazing, he's probably in his late sixties and. Uh, we were talking, getting quite deep, cause I I love to like, when you have those conversations. Yeah, surface level conversation, but because I, the reason I love doing this is because you get to find people's stories.

• 47:40Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:41Speaker 00

  The most exciting thing. And he said to me, if he was to, if his life was to finish tomorrow and he knew it was coming. He would be completely content with his life.

• 47:49Speaker 01

  Which is so good.

• 47:50Speaker 00

  Isn't that an amazing thing to get to?

• 47:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:53Speaker 00

  And it just made me realize that that's actually what we really wanna get to in life.

• 47:57Speaker 01

  Of course. I mean, obviously, like I. But there's stuff that I still wanna do. I I have roles I still wanna play, places I still wanna go see, like I. Obviously would love to do more of it, but I'm, I think like if I if I died tomorrow, like I.

• 48:13Speaker 00

  You have a long way to go, you're you're gonna, would you wanna win an Oscar one day?

• 48:16Speaker 01

  I would love to win an Oscar.

• 48:17Speaker 00

  Come on, let's go.

• 48:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's a goal for sure.

• 48:20Speaker 00

  And can you make me a promise?

• 48:21Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 48:22Speaker 00

  When you're up on that stage.

• 48:23Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 48:24Speaker 00

  And you're holding that Oscar.

• 48:25Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 48:26Speaker 00

  You will thank me.

• 48:27Speaker 01

  I will thank you. There we go. I'll do it. A hundred percent. It might take me twenty, twenty, thirty, forty years, but.

• 48:34Speaker 00

  Don't worry, I'll remember.

• 48:35Speaker 01

  I'll say it.

• 48:35Speaker 00

  Okay, trust me, when I was five years old, I went to a hairdresser's. And she said if I behaved as well as I do today, she'd give me a Kit Kat. And I went back the next time and I behaved and she didn't give me a Kit Kat and I've never forgotten it.

• 48:48Speaker 01

  Well, I won't let you down.

• 48:55Speaker 05

  Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer. With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at go.gle/workspacewithGemini. That's go.gle/workspacewithGemini.

• 49:31Speaker 00

  You were in the Minecraft movie with Jack Black?

• 49:32Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 49:33Speaker 00

  Incredible. I heard you did a lot of your stunts yourself.

• 49:36Speaker 01

  I did, yeah.

• 49:37Speaker 00

  Penny did 90% of them.

• 49:40Speaker 01

  I did every single stunt besides there's a scene where we're all getting sucked into the portal. And we all come flying out one by one and my character hits Jason Momoa across the face and he goes flying. And that's the only stunt I didn't do because they didn't need to be thrown directly into Jason Momoa's face. But I did everything else. And it was super fun.

• 50:05Speaker 00

  What is it like working with people like Jack Black? Jason Murre?

• 50:08Speaker 01

  Just like a childhood dream. I've grown up with the two of them. And like, I couldn't ask to work with any cooler people. Like, they're so...

• 50:19Speaker 00

  100%. Jack Black.

• 50:22Speaker 01

  I was just fangirling the whole time. It's like trying to keep it cool. I love you so much.

• 50:27Speaker 00

  Yeah, that's what I would be like. And never lose that.

• 50:29Speaker 01

  He's the sweetest. Like, my rap gift from him, he drew a picture of the two of us hiking a mountain. And I have it taped on my wall.

• 50:38Speaker 00

  He did?

• 50:39Speaker 01

  I love it, yeah. He's so sweet.

• 50:41Speaker 00

  Where were you hiking?

• 50:42Speaker 01

  Up the Tongariro, which is Lord of the Rings' Mordor Pass.

• 50:47Speaker 00

  In New Zealand?

• 50:48Speaker 01

  In New Zealand.

• 50:49Speaker 00

  Wow, was that a big moment?

• 50:52Speaker 01

  Such a big moment. I was like, wow, that's really cool.

• 50:55Speaker 00

  Did you, did you act anything out as you were doing it, going up there?

• 50:58Speaker 01

  I definitely did, I definitely did. It was me and my sister who went up and we, the whole time, were like, oh, this is where this happens and, oh, that's where that happens. And it was, it was so cool. It's the most, I think the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen.

• 51:13Speaker 00

  Yeah, I've never been, it's the one place where I really wanna go.

• 51:15Speaker 01

  It is amazing. It's, took me eight hours. I got extremely sunburnt, but I have never been happier.

• 51:23Speaker 00

  What is Jack Black like behind the scenes? Because for me, like, he feels like an amazing improv actor.

• 51:28Speaker 01

  Oh, there is no difference between Jack Black on screen and Jack Black off screen.

• 51:33Speaker 00

  So it's wild.

• 51:34Speaker 01

  He doesn't shut off. It's just like, what you see is what you get.

• 51:39Speaker 00

  Are you serious?

• 51:40Speaker 01

  Which is so great, cause.

• 51:41Speaker 00

  Is that quite hard when you're acting alongside it? Because you just don't know where it's gonna go, what's gonna happen?

• 51:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's quite, it's, it's quite hard. I, the entire time was trying not to break. So I think my miserable face on camera is me like really trying not to smile. Because a, a, a lot of the songs that were in the movie were in the script, but I didn't know the tune or how he was gonna sing them, whatever. And he just, you know, would start doing it. And you have to like, oh, please don't laugh. I'm on camera.

• 52:12Speaker 00

  You can't break character.

• 52:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, you really can't. And it's hard, it's so hard.

• 52:16Speaker 00

  Talked about A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, season two. The episode is out right now.

• 52:21Speaker 01

  They're all out right now.

• 52:22Speaker 00

  They're all out straight away.

• 52:23Speaker 01

  They're all out straight away. And BBC iPlayer here and then Netflix everywhere else.

• 52:27Speaker 00

  Great promo.

• 52:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:28Speaker 00

  There you go.

• 52:28Speaker 01

  There we go.

• 52:29Speaker 00

  You've been, you've been.

• 52:30Speaker 01

  I've been conditioned.

• 52:31Speaker 00

  Yeah. Do you wanna look down the camera set?

• 52:34Speaker 01

  Stream now.

• 52:36Speaker 00

  For anyone who doesn't know, can you explain A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, what it's all about?

• 52:41Speaker 01

  So it's based off a book series by Holly Jackson, in the same name, Good Girl's Guide to Murder. It's about a girl named Pip and she decides one day for her EPQ that she's going to do, she's gonna solve a solved mystery in her town that she doesn't think they actually caught the killer. So she wants to find the true killer of this murder. Um, and she discovers the real killer and, um.

• 53:12Speaker 01

  Maybe unearth some other things along the way. And so season two is kind of the continuation of that. And, you know, she's kind of unearthed some, some hard secrets for people around her. And she's sort of trying to juggle that.

• 53:25Speaker 00

  I love how cryptic you're being.

• 53:27Speaker 01

  I know. Even though people probably.

• 53:29Speaker 00

  Netflix are watching. Always watching.

• 53:32Speaker 01

  But yeah, it's about, um, Pipp is essentially a girl who takes on too much.

• 53:38Speaker 00

  How do you, how do you, with Pipp, how do you relate to her character?

• 53:42Speaker 01

  Taking on too much. She, she's.

• 53:44Speaker 00

  Explain that to me, where you take on too much?

• 53:46Speaker 01

  Well, I, I find it so hard to be relaxed if I haven't finished something I started. Like, I'm, I'm such a procrastinator and I will put things off. But the second I start something, I have to sit there and finish it until it's done. Otherwise I feel. Exactly. And, um, and she's also like, so annoyingly insistent and will, will ask until she finds out. And, and gets her answer. And I feel like I'm that way. If I don't understand something, I will ask until I understand.

• 54:18Speaker 00

  That's interesting. So how much do you take? So you take your own individual. So if you read a part, do you have to see yourself in the part?

• 54:25Speaker 01

  No, because I, I like being something I'm not. I think it's fun. I, I, I love being Edith. I'm not like Edith whatsoever. Besides, maybe we're both a bit of an op, we're optimists. But I, I, I love being somebody I'm not. But with Pipp, I, I feel, I feel like I am, a, a lot of me is her.

• 54:50Speaker 00

  It's, I mean, can I just say, thank you so much for coming on the show today.

• 54:55Speaker 01

  Thank you for having me.

• 54:57Speaker 00

  Sometimes I never know what to expect, right? Where this, this goes and just how open you've been, how, um, grounded you feel.

• 55:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm, I'm some, I'm an open book, I feel.

• 55:09Speaker 00

  It was, it's incredible. Before we finish, we like to do eight quickfire questions.

• 55:14Speaker 01

  Let's do it.

• 55:15Speaker 00

  Are you ready for this?

• 55:15Speaker 01

  I'm so ready.

• 55:16Speaker 00

  What's a saying or phrase that makes you smile or cheers you up?

• 55:19Speaker 01

  Oh, well, I've been quoting it so much, but the, the shark tails shrimp guy, when he goes, oh, it's fairly happy. So if somebody asks me if I'm doing okay, I've just been like, fairly happy. And I love it, yeah.

• 55:35Speaker 00

  I like that. Best compliment anyone's ever given you.

• 55:40Speaker 01

  An editor just told me yesterday that I'm very easy to edit because I'm always on. Which is such a good compliment.

• 55:47Speaker 00

  That is a great compliment.

• 55:48Speaker 01

  There's so many shots that you do during the day and you're so tired, but you always have to be on.

• 55:52Speaker 00

  Professional.

• 55:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 55:53Speaker 00

  Amazing.

• 55:53Speaker 01

  It's a great compliment.

• 55:54Speaker 00

  Hundred percent. What scares you most about yourself?

• 55:57Speaker 01

  Oh, I get angry fast. I've got a temper.

• 56:01Speaker 00

  You have a temper?

• 56:02Speaker 01

  I I have a really quick temper and then quickly I'm like, oh wait, it's fine. But I react so strong at first.

• 56:09Speaker 00

  So my wife has that.

• 56:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's something I definitely am working on, but it's it's always been my default. It's like, oh, oh wait, actually, it's okay. It's fine.

• 56:18Speaker 00

  When was the last time you cried?

• 56:20Speaker 01

  Um, this morning I took the spiciest ginger shot of my entire life that I think I died for a minute and I started crying. But if we're talking emotionally, um.

• 56:33Speaker 00

  Ginger shots can do that.

• 56:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, maybe last week or so. I I cry a lot, I'd say.

• 56:37Speaker 00

  What happened?

• 56:41Speaker 01

  When I get drunk, I'm like the sad drunk.

• 56:45Speaker 00

  Oh, you cry?

• 56:45Speaker 01

  I cry. I do. Just because like.

• 56:47Speaker 00

  What were you drinking?

• 56:49Speaker 01

  I, well, I've probably.

• 56:52Speaker 00

  Tequila?

• 56:53Speaker 01

  No.

• 56:55Speaker 00

  Not spirits?

• 56:56Speaker 01

  I was probably on a few Guinesses.

• 56:59Speaker 00

  Again, I was not expecting that.

• 57:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 57:01Speaker 00

  You you you like, you drink.

• 57:02Speaker 01

  I do. Yes, but also.

• 57:04Speaker 00

  Do you split the G?

• 57:05Speaker 01

  I'm I'm so bad at that, but I think like I love a cocktail, but I'm always so conscious because I can hear my mom being like, it turns into sugar in your bloodstream. And so I like can't enjoy a cocktail.

• 57:16Speaker 00

  But I'll drink a Guinness.

• 57:17Speaker 01

  Yeah. It's eighty percent water. It feels a bit better.

• 57:21Speaker 00

  You can survive off Guinness and oranges for the rest of your life.

• 57:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 57:25Speaker 00

  Just that.

• 57:26Speaker 01

  I I.

• 57:26Speaker 00

  You should try it.

• 57:27Speaker 01

  I would. I love an orange.

• 57:29Speaker 00

  What's something you can't let go of?

• 57:31Speaker 01

  My sisters.

• 57:33Speaker 00

  Great answer.

• 57:33Speaker 01

  I would say if there's anybody in my life that is a non-negotiable, I will not have us falling out ever. It would be them.

• 57:44Speaker 00

  Ten out of ten answer. What's your guilty pleasure?

• 57:48Speaker 01

  Dark chocolate.

• 57:50Speaker 00

  Straight up, what percent?

• 57:52Speaker 01

  Oh my gosh, ninety.

• 57:53Speaker 00

  Okay, I like a ninety.

• 57:54Speaker 01

  To the point where it's so hard for me to go without it that I give it up for Lent.

• 57:59Speaker 00

  Oh, you do?

• 58:00Speaker 01

  And it's a real struggle.

• 58:01Speaker 00

  It's that, do you ever get like salt flakes in it?

• 58:04Speaker 01

  Yes, I love the salt, I love the orange or me, even just like a bag of chocolate chips.

• 58:09Speaker 00

  Oh, it's it's like.

• 58:10Speaker 01

  It's so hard for me.

• 58:12Speaker 00

  I've found these, do you like nuts?

• 58:14Speaker 01

  I do.

• 58:14Speaker 00

  Okay, these chocolate, dark chocolate, salted almonds.

• 58:19Speaker 01

  Oh, no.

• 58:20Speaker 00

  I'm gonna get you a bag and I'm gonna send it to your team.

• 58:22Speaker 01

  Oh, please.

• 58:23Speaker 00

  Okay, and I hope your team here, hopefully they'll get it to you.

• 58:26Speaker 01

  It'll be my favorite snack ever.

• 58:27Speaker 00

  They are outrageous.

• 58:30Speaker 01

  Oh my god, I imagine.

• 58:32Speaker 00

  When I, before I die, I wanna be strapped down with my head open.

• 58:37Speaker 01

  Your mouth stuffed with oranges, yeah.

• 58:39Speaker 00

  Stuffed with all that, just can't wait. Um, what turns you off?

• 58:46Speaker 01

  Oh, just people being rude.

• 58:51Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 58:51Speaker 01

  I don't know, there's nothing, it takes no energy to just have basic respect for people.

• 58:57Speaker 00

  Hundred percent. And in general, what turns you on?

• 59:01Speaker 01

  I, I like when people ask questions, like you're doing. I don't know, I like.

• 59:07Speaker 00

  I'm with you, it's the best.

• 59:08Speaker 01

  I hate when there's, where there, you know, you're awkward and you're sitting with somebody and it's like, you're like asking them questions and they never ask you something about yourself.

• 59:16Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 59:16Speaker 01

  You're like, oh, okay, I'll leave you alone.

• 59:19Speaker 00

  I completely agree. When people are inquisitive, when people are interested.

• 59:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, of course.

• 59:22Speaker 00

  Hundred percent. What do you like most about yourself?

• 59:26Speaker 01

  My character, I think. I, yeah, I like my personality.

• 59:31Speaker 00

  Bonus, what would your death row meal be?

• 59:34Speaker 01

  Oh, probably a giant stack of pancakes.

• 59:40Speaker 00

  I'm a, I'm a huge pancake fan, I think they're massively underrated.

• 59:44Speaker 01

  But.

• 59:45Speaker 00

  In the UK especially.

• 59:47Speaker 01

  Yes, American pancakes.

• 59:49Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 59:50Speaker 01

  Chocolate chip.

• 59:50Speaker 00

  Mm hmm.

• 59:51Speaker 01

  Little thing of whipped cream on top.

• 59:52Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 59:53Speaker 01

  I would eat half of them, warm, and then I'd refrigerate the other half and then eat them the other half cold, because I like when the chocolate chips are a bit hard.

• 1:00:03Speaker 00

  We have maple syrup?

• 1:00:05Speaker 01

  On the side, though, so I can dip it in if I want to.

• 1:00:07Speaker 00

  Any bacon?

• 1:00:08Speaker 01

  Hmm, maybe one or two pieces on the side.

• 1:00:11Speaker 00

  Okay, that's great. Emmet, thank you so much.

• 1:00:14Speaker 01

  Thank you so much.

• 1:00:14Speaker 00

  You've been incredible. You are fantastic company. Good luck with everything.

• 1:00:17Speaker 01

  Thank you very much.

• 1:00:18Speaker 00

  Don't forget me at the Oscars.

• 1:00:19Speaker 01

  No, I'm gonna thank you.

• 1:00:20Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 1:00:22Speaker 01

  I will not forget that. I promise you.

• 1:00:24Speaker 00

  Thank you so much.

• 1:00:25Speaker 01

  Thank you so much.

• 1:00:27Speaker 00

  You're amazing.

• 1:00:39Speaker 05

  Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer. With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle/workspacewithGemini. That's goo.gle/workspacewithGemini.

• 1:01:12Speaker 07

  I've got big news. I switched to Verizon and got the new iPhone 18 Pro. Shh. I can keep my old phone. And I also get the latest iPhone every year. Shh, anything else? Verizon let me choose Apple Watch Series 12 or iPad on them. Everybody, listen up. Shh. Switch to Verizon and get the new iPhone 18 Pro now. No trade in needed. And the latest iPhone every year with Simplicity Plan. Plus, choose Apple Watch Series 12 or iPad on us. Simplicity Plan with Simplicity Pro required. Plan and device payment purchase are separate agreements with separate terms. Service plan for Watch or iPad required. Additional terms apply for all offers.