00:00Hi, my name is Sivana Lira-Rose, and you're watching In Studio with The Hollywood Reporter.
00:08Before we get into things, I have the most important question for you.
00:12Okay.
00:12So Elliot on the show says that everyone's favorite Starburst flavor is pink.
00:18Do you think that's true?
00:20I think...
00:21It's my least favorite.
00:22I think social media has a way of influencing our tastes and what we like like, because I'm a lemon
00:28fan.
00:29Okay.
00:29I like the sour, you know, I think it holds a lot.
00:33I think it does what Starburst should do.
00:35I'm personally not a pink fan, so, I mean, if you like it, you like it.
00:39So Elliot was influenced by social media.
00:41I think Elliot is just, he's just, yeah, crazy, right?
00:45This show gets deep.
00:46It's so deep.
00:47Glad you're talking about Starburst, but congrats on the show, seriously.
00:50When did you first hear about the project, and can you kind of talk about your audition process for it?
00:55Well, when I first heard of the project, I had just finished a short film called Running
00:58Shadow.
00:59It was a student film through AFI, and that was a great time, and I learned so much with
01:03a bunch of students, and as a first-time actress, learned about, you know, how to work in the
01:07field.
01:08And so when Chambers came around, I actually didn't even get the audition at first.
01:13I got a call back two days later, and they were like, oh, change your minds.
01:16We would actually like you to come in and audition, and I...
01:19That's a nice call back.
01:20Right?
01:21That really made me, like, sit back and go, okay, well, someone believes in me.
01:25All right, I'm going to put my best foot forward.
01:27And so I just did my best as I could.
01:31I had, you know, two sessions with an acting coach, so I had an idea, and I was just like,
01:35okay, I'm just going to go in and be honest, you know?
01:37And I think it worked out.
01:39I mean, look at where we are.
01:40For those who haven't watched the show yet, how would you define it?
01:44Well, Chambers is a contemporary Native American story about Sasha Yazzie.
01:51She gets a heart attack, gets a heart transplant, and then the world just gets freaky, all out
01:58of nowhere.
01:58That's such an understatement.
02:00From the start of production, though, did you know Sasha's entire story, or did you kind
02:03of learn each episode through each script, or how much did you know going into it?
02:08Well, the process for me, I would read the entire scripts as, you know, they change throughout
02:13filming, but I did focus a lot on some days just on Sasha's portion of the story, because
02:19the other story was changing, you know, it does go to different places, but, and I wanted
02:23to focus on Sasha's, but I was always keeping up with, like, the entire script, and they do
02:26change really fast, so it helps you keep in, like, tune with, you know, the emotional,
02:31like, steps you're going towards.
02:35Is that, I'm glad you said that.
02:37Yeah, that's kind of what it felt like, and I was, but at the same time, I was, like,
02:41I'm glad that I'm doing this kind of work, you know, it is hard work, but at the same
02:45time, I was just, like, this is going to be sick.
02:47Like, I can feel that it's going to be sick.
02:48There were a lot of, like, gut-wrenching, heartfelt moments in the series, and one thing
02:53is when Sasha finds out how her mother really died.
02:56Did you know about that from the beginning, or?
02:58Yeah.
02:58What was your reaction to that?
02:59Well, it was, I knew as, you know, Sivan, but it was supposed to be unbeknownst to
03:06Sasha, and it was, it was in her, you know, in the little breakdown, meaning Leah Rachel
03:11and Alfonso Rejon Gomez got to, like, you know, sit down and talk about, was-
03:15Those were the directors on the show.
03:16Yeah, he directed 101 and 102, and he really just helped, like, let us create a character
03:22down to the quirks.
03:24You know, it's little stuff you feel like would pass over, especially in TV, you know,
03:27where it's, the character is more up front, you know, it's in the clothes, it's in the
03:32talking, it's in the complete, you know, style, and I think what helped Sasha out was that
03:36she, we got to play with her, and you got to really see her slowly bloom and kind of
03:43develop, you know, instead of just, like, outright, you know, a character, teen girl
03:48in your face.
03:49For you, though, it's interesting because you're both playing Sasha, but you're also playing
03:53Becky kind of taking over Sasha.
03:56Yeah.
03:56What are the challenges, what were the challenges of that?
03:59Well, I would, you know how-
04:01You're essentially playing two-
04:02Three, right?
04:03Three, oh yeah.
04:03Like, I'm going, it's like three people, right?
04:04There's me, the actor, going to Sasha, and then going to Becky, going into Sasha, so
04:09it goes really back and forth, right?
04:10Yeah.
04:11So, I think what helped a lot was hanging out with Lilia Scarlett, so I got to feel what
04:17she had in mind for Becky, what she felt was Becky, and just whenever those moments
04:22happened would take on at least as much personality that wasn't Sasha.
04:27Yeah, and it's also interesting, too, because Sasha's a teenager, and when you're a teenager,
04:31you're learning about yourself, but at this time, she's being taken over by someone else,
04:37essentially.
04:37That's the biggest horror story, is being a teenage girl and going through, like, spooky
04:42demon stuff.
04:43Yeah.
04:43That's probably, like, the worst case scenario, coming as a, you know, I wasn't too long ago
04:50in high school, you know, I'm only 19 now, and I'm a brown girl, so I understand a lot
04:56of Sasha's, like, insecurities and a lot of her fears where we kind of came from, so it
05:03was nice to work off of that and kind of, what I wanted her to be, and I always say
05:06this,
05:06is that I wanted her to be who I wish I was in high school.
05:09You know, she's, like, even though there is, like, spooky demon stuff going on, she is
05:14really confident in her sexuality, confident with her relationship, she's very open and
05:18emotional at the same time, but, you know, has, like, an edge, and, you know, you can't
05:22really mess with her at the same time.
05:23No, don't.
05:23Yeah, don't mess with her.
05:24Don't mess with her.
05:25Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
05:26What would you say, I guess, were you the most attached to for Sasha, and maybe something
05:31that's stuck with you since after filming?
05:33The nails.
05:34Okay.
05:34Yeah, because Sasha and, like, the story of how I, it's a long story of how I actually
05:41got to Chambers, and, you know, the leading of events that just allowed for such a beautiful
05:46opportunity to unfold, but the nails, my mother is a cosmetologist and a nail tech, and I had
05:52always gotten my nails done my whole life, so I thought it was really funny that that
05:57was a big personality trait for her, because I was like, well, this is one and the same for
06:01me, and I had so much fun, like, helping pick out colors and, like, all designs and stuff
06:05for her.
06:06It was super sick.
06:06Now, the series really does explore a variety of different relationships, which feels very
06:10real.
06:11I think Yvonne is probably the best best friend anyone could ever have.
06:14She's one of my favorite characters.
06:15Kiana, Simone, Simpson, and me, like, when we first met each other, we were like, okay,
06:20you know, we have to play best friends, so let's just get to know each other, and we
06:23ended up just, like, actually becoming best friends.
06:26Which other relationships stood out to you in the show, whether it's with Sasha or maybe
06:30another dynamic?
06:32I think Sasha's whole family dynamic is very unique in the first place as representation
06:36of Native Americans in Hollywood.
06:38You know, she has a super soft, sweet, sensitive boyfriend who cares about her.
06:42Like, yeah, they have their, like, their relationship's in trouble, but they're, you don't see all the
06:48dramatic, over-dramatized clashing of young couples.
06:51You know, her and Big Frank, her uncle, have a beautiful father-daughter relationship.
06:56They're super open and comfortable with each other, and I think that's very healthy to
07:00portray for Native American families, and her friendships.
07:04I think she's just, I think the way they set up the families is a really good way to show
07:07it.
07:07Going out there for Native American families watching this, why do you think it's important
07:10kind of to tell these stories?
07:12Just to, it's just nice to see yourself.
07:14Even if you, even if you don't, even if you didn't grow up the same way she did, it's
07:18still nice to just be in on the, be in on the joke.
07:22I hope Native people enjoy it and, you know, feel included and feel, you know, inspired if
07:27they do want to pursue the entertainment industry or go into other fields, because it's been
07:32a long time coming, you know.
07:33We've really been pushed and, like, systemically erased from all points, and it's, it sucks.
07:38You know, I always have this discussion of, like, we mask our identity in so many different
07:44ways, but we're still just not represented, and that's what makes it so hard for us.
07:49For you, what would you want to see other, like, what kind of other stories would you
07:52want to be, want to see, be told, and what kind of other projects do you want to join in?
07:56Well, I mean, I would love, like, you know, Native sitcoms, you know, fun stuff like that,
08:00but at the same time, I would also just love to continue seeing Native actors in roles that
08:04aren't Native-centered and just allowing us to be as creatively, free-flowing as the
08:09rest of everybody.
08:10That's so incredible.
08:11Now, this is a breakout role for you, and you have a breakout role opposite Uma Thurman.
08:16Legend.
08:17Just, that's very rare.
08:19She means the world to me on so many levels.
08:22She, at first, she was a woman I thought I would absolutely never meet, thought it was
08:26a pipe dream, just watched Kill Bill and, like, all of her movies.
08:30Like, I told her this, that My Crazy Super Ex-Girlfriend is, like, my favorite movie of
08:35her race.
08:35Because Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction are sick, obviously, right?
08:38They're, like, Gattaca, too, right?
08:38She probably likes hearing that more than, you know.
08:41Yeah, but My Crazy Super Ex-Girlfriend goes so hard.
08:43Yeah.
08:43And, but she was just this woman I really didn't think I was going to meet.
08:47I was a brown girl on the res, you know, hope is thin kind of thing.
08:51And the, when I tell you, like, I still shake.
08:55When I think of, like, the moment, they're, like, oh, you're going to audition for this,
08:58and here's who you're, like, here's who you're getting, like, the chance to run with.
09:02And it was just, it was, like, heart-stopping.
09:04Did she offer you any advice as an actress as you're kind of working out right now?
09:07Well, while we were working together, she wasn't, like, you know, holding my hand and
09:11being, like, a, you know, like, acting coach.
09:13But she was, like, giving me a little actor notes, little nuggets.
09:17She would, she would, like, want me to be around while she was setting up, you know,
09:21for her scenes just so I could see this is how she does it, you know, and take my own
09:25little notes from there.
09:27So I just learned a lot from her by example.
09:29And I think that's, I think that was what made it so much more comfortable and allowed
09:32me to really fall in love with acting was that, like, these people genuinely love it.
09:38You know, it was nice to see people that also love it.
09:40Now, for how season one ends, is there a season two?
09:44What can you tease about that?
09:45And what would you, or do you think it's a close-ended story or?
09:49Wouldn't you like to know?
09:50You would love to know.
09:52Diana, if she's last name.
09:53I just want to say, so far, about season two, you're just, you're not ready for it.
09:59Like, everyone is not even ready for this first season.
10:02Yeah.
10:03Like, we have to get through the first season and everyone has to get ready just to digest
10:06it, and then we can talk about the next one.
10:09If you haven't watched Chambers yet, make sure to watch it right now, streaming on Netflix.
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