May 6, 2026 • 32 mins
Actor, author & dancer Maddie Ziegler joins Kyle this week and the two get right to unpacking Maddie’s incredible worth ethic & ambition, how she manifested her Pretty Lethal role & reconnected with dance, what it was like working with Uma Thurman, Kyle & Maddie’s love for tap dance, starting a dance career at age 2, therapeutic crafts, the one & only Shirley Temple, Maddie’s transition into acting & the magic of working with Steven Spielberg, her recent Coachella performance & more. Don’t miss Kyle & Maddie guess iconic lines that highlight the sisterly bond in a game of Sister Showdown!
Tune in every Wednesday for new episodes of What Are We Even Doing?
Executive Producers: iHeart Media, Elvis Duran Podcast Network & Full Picture Productions
Executive Produced for Full Picture Productions by Desiree Gruber & Anne Walls Gordon
Produced by Ben Fingeret, Nora Faber & Maia Mizrahi
Editing by Mikey Harmon & Nicholas Giuricich
Research by Kimberly Walls
Music by Yatta
Art by Danica Robinson
Additional GFX by Chris Olfers/The Southern Influence
Styling by Dot Bass
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I just did a film where I had to sing
like with a group of people and it's meant to
be sweet and endearing and fun like I'm singing to
like a baby. And it was literally the day that
I was dreading the most on the whole set. And
it was the easiest thing, but for me.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Very vulnerable when you sing.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
So vulnerable, and I just was so embarrassed.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
What are we even doing? What are we even doing? Yo,
welcome to What are we even doing? Where I Kyle
McLachlan am the host of this show. They've given me
this responsibility. I don't know why. We sit down with
(00:40):
young creatives gen Z, young millennials. We talk about what
they're up to, we talk about their creativity, we talk
about how they use social and we do this all
in this fantastic format where we're sitting here with two microphones.
And today we have a wonderful guest. She's an actress,
she is a dancer. You're an author. You're a self
proclaimed homebody, which we were just talking about what time
(01:03):
you like to go to bed ladies and gentlemen, boys
and girls. Mattie Ziegler is here with us. Gods. So
nice that you're here.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Thank you so much for having me. I feel very honored.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Do you feel honored to be here?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I do?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I sure do you feel honored to be with you?
You hardworking? Thank you, even when you were just a
little tich yep.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
I feel like I just like came out the room
like ready to work.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
You're like, I'm going to do stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Yeah, it's so weird. It's like very I always say
it's kind of like toxic of me, but like I
just can't help it. That's just how I've always been.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I think that's a fantastic quality.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
And I think if you're going to be in this world,
particularly the world today, yeah, because social plays such a
big part of it. I think being able to like
do what you do and approach things and be open
to all these different opportunities is really it's really special.
So I think I think you're born in the right
place in the right time.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Although you have said otherwise, yeah, you felt like you
were an older soul or you everyone it.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Has it's like I know that's such a cliche and
people always no, no at all, but I do feel like
an old soul and a lot of people have told
me that I'm an old soul, and I do feel
like I've lived so much, even though I'm so young.
I know I have so much to live, but I
think just starting. I started dance when I was two,
(02:19):
and I started like working. I was on a TV
show at seven, and so I started working at that
age show.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
First of all, you are you are a very calm presence.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
And you're very even and you're very balanced. Okay, there
we go. I am not talking about I'm more like
the duck, you know that's looking at the duck swimming
on the waters will calm, peaceful, and then a little
feet underneath are like going like this.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, that's I'm a little bit like that. I feel.
People always say they're like, you look you never look
like you're freaking out, and I'm like, it's all internally happening,
but I stay pretty calm. I'm pretty I am a
pretty calm person, but like, emotionally, internally I'm freaking out.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
A lot of a lot.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Not right now. I feel good. Right now, I felt
really calm. You're very calm, and I'm just feeding off
of your energy.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Oh yeah, that's very cool. Well, this is what acting
is all about, right it's the that's true of the
other person. Yes, and you've done some really fun stuff.
I'm so interested in this one about the ballerinas that
go in and make havoc in this. Tell me about
that experience.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yes, pretty lethal. It was so fun. I had the
best time, I think for me. And I have said
this a bunch now that we've done a lot of
press for this, but it had been a few years
since I danced publicly and honestly in general, and.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
I kind of moved away.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
I did because it felt like I wanted to prove
myself as an actor. And I felt like, and still
to this day, I'm always constantly getting dance films brought
my way, and while I'm so grateful for that, I
also am not just that, and so I really wanted
to be able to differentiate the two. And then it
(04:02):
had been a few years, and literally two or three
days prior to the script coming into my lap, I
was on the phone with my manager, who I've been
She's been my one only manager since I've been eight
years old, and yeah, so she knows me better than
anyone and she's my family, and she I was like,
I just have this missing piece. I just miss danced
(04:22):
so much. I just don't know how I could do
it again, because I've accomplished it in so many ways
more than I could have ever imagined, So how do
I find a new fun way to do it? And
then the script came in my lap when I was like,
this is bonkers and insane, and it just felt right.
It felt like the universe was like calling for it,
(04:44):
and it just like presented it to me. And I
feel so lucky to have had that opportunity. I really did,
I really did. But it was really fun to do
a ballet action camp. Very it's gory, it's it's all
the things.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
It's fantastic because you do lean into the camp. I
mean we really don't, you know. And it's some serious
there's some serious ass kicking that goes on absolutely, which
is so fun. Yes, I mean, you know, I grew
up with kind of watching Uma Thurman. Yeah, I mean so,
I'm like, and so when she's there and she's she's
doing this accent is very interesting, it's so fun, fantastic.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
She's amazing. She was She was absolutely the reference for us,
So the fact that we got her was just mind
blowing to us. Yeah, she is the action queen, So
it was so cool to have worked with her. We
had already started prep and we were already there by
the time we'd found out that she had then signed
all so we were waiting for like, who's there going
(05:37):
to be to be yeah, and we were like, there's
no way.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
So it was really it was really fun and she's
such a calm presence and I've I learned I just
observing her sort of process and method was really fun.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well that's interesting because I was thinking, you've been you've
been doing it for a while. But I'm thinking in
terms of work because when I work with people that
are that when I started out, Now i've become the
person that people look to. Yes, some examples. How did
that happen? Yes, But when I first started, definitely was
looking at other actors and just kind of watching how
they navigated the set, yeah, really you know, and how
(06:15):
and how they were aware of everybody, how they made
everyone feel so comfortable and welcome, and then down to
like how they're working with the camera, what they're doing
with the other actors, what they're doing with their character,
how are they what's happening between setups, where are they
where they're resting, what are they doing? Yes, and just
must have been really interesting to watch Uma navigate.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yes, that's my favorite thing to do through every set
that I'm on is just pick up on everyone's little things,
rituals and whatnot. So she was knitting the whole time, okay,
and she gave us all knitting kits at the end
of filming.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
That's awesome. And I actually did you start?
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Yeah? I did. I've made a bunch of scarves. That's
all I can do with scarves because it's just one
long line.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yeah, it's like maybe a blanket.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
I could do a blanket essentially.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Just if you had time.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, but that was my thing. No, I wanted to
do a beanie and it.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Was just like I didn't have a good idea.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah, but crocheing is easier apparently, So I actually maybe
I need to get into moving into cchet. Ye.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Yeah. I used to knit actually too, did you It's
really therapeutic. I loved it. Yeah, but I'm OCD too,
So it's just.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Like I am a little bit too. I'm like such
a perfect like it's.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
And I wondered about this. So you as a dancer,
So I think some of these qualities. OCD quality in
particular is actually helpful for sure. You know what I
mean Because we were talking earlier and I told you
that I danced. It wasn't until call well actually danced
in high school and remember of it. I took tap.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeahlf was my thing when I was a little.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
It's fun, right, I love tap is really you have
to be an athlete.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Absolutely, dancers are athletes.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Oh, for God's sakes, Yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
I love that you danced. I feel like do you
feel like it informed a little bit of your sort
of career in your life and acting and getting into characters.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
It was well, we spoke earlier about body consciousness, yes,
because I grew up playing sports and all that kind
of stuff. But it wasn't really in two things. Actually
was going to the gym lifting and you suddenly are
aware of your body, you know, with instructors that can
help you and dance. I danced in college at the
University of Washington for two years. My ballet teacher I
took ballet was ruth Anna Boris, and she was a
(08:24):
dancer for Balanchine, Russian ballet dancer, and she was tough,
but if you could get her to crack a smile.
That was everything. I don't know if you had, if
your ballet experience was like that was. Yes, if there's
something that you just love a tough teacher, yes, right.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Absolutely every person. It's a universal experience people who do ballet.
Every teacher is extremely tough, but there are some of
those teachers who find the balance where getting that little
crack of a smile or you know, like it's tough love.
And I I loved all of my ballet teachers growing up.
I noticed that when I was doing pretty lethal because also,
(09:06):
you know, you do experience some more of the like
crazier side of things growing up with like oh no,
like that kind of I need to take a break
from from this.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah, the intensity maybe, yes.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
But my one of my co stars on a Condor,
she did ballet growing up as well, so we were
kind of both sharing this experience going into training being
like that's we're a little nerd. Yes, but we did
like ballet boot camp. We did like a few weeks
of ballet for four hours and then start training for
the next four hours, and we did that every day
(09:38):
for like four weeks.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Were for four hours, Yes, yes, we were. I never
had to do shoes. But the girls talked.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
About it, it's brutal, it's brutal, and we did. We fought.
We wear them the whole film. So our feet were
Once you get like past the point of your feet
being numb, then it's fine because then you don't feel anything,
and it's fine, but.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
You gotta have numb fee Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
But Lon and I were so worried because we were like, oh, no,
are we gonna Is this going to bring up some
stuff for us going back into the training, certain teachers
or experience, But we had the most positive experience in
our ballet. Who was to teach it, Yes, Will Will Tucket.
He's incredible and has worked with Oral Ballet and he
(10:23):
him and his team, Yeah, they're they're incredible. And he
was extremely positive and fun and would crack jokes and
we would make fun of each other and in a
fun light, hard way, and it was so fun.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
That's what you want because the camaraderie of the girls
altogether in that situation, because you have to pull together
to sort of yes.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
You know, yes, break the ice and like make it
a fun experience.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Yeah, that's that is so cool. So we started dancing
until you. Ballet sort of came, was it? You start
with ballet?
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Started out of ballet school when I was two. Lord, okay,
and obviously when you're two, you're just kind of running around.
My mom wasn't even a dancer. She did gymnastics and
put me in because she thought my first daughter, she
cut and too, let's try it out.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
So you can from a family of people that yes,
this is the thing, Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
We just I started ballet at two. And then when
I don't remember this, but this is what my mom
tells me that when I was four, I told her
I want to do tap and hip hop.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
I don't remember that right, but that is a very
like specific hip ho.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
It was totally fun. I wanted to do it. Yeah,
I was too old to do hip hop.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
No story, now, hey, why not?
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Very sad, very sad.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
There's some togetter hip hop classes.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I could. I could, I don't know, it would be
really tough. That's interesting. So you so you so dance
definitely in the in the in the vibe, in the
in the body, and you're like, I'm going to do this.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Yeah. And then I was competing at four. I already
started competing.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
By four that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Yeah, and I was full on. It was my everything.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah like that that's just early discipline, I think. Yes,
pretty incredible, thank you, because you do strike me as
someone who was who was very disciplined in terms of
your approach.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I'm a bit crazy with it.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah, no, it's it's not a bad quality.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Thank you. I've I've tried to find the balance because
I do feel I was so serious when I was younger,
and I still find myself to be serious when I
do my work. But I also want to make sure
that I'm still finding the joy and having so much
fun while doing it right.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
That's important. Yes, what do you do for fun? I mean,
is there something you like to escape or when?
Speaker 1 (12:20):
What do you I'm very like crafty, artsy. I love
to paint, I love pottery. I've been recently getting into.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Rhyin stoning stoning. What about that? What's it called dazzling?
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, like that's that's I like, was like, I just.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Want you to know I was an early but dazzler.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
I did a few like shirts. I did my phone charger,
my phone case. You know, I don't know why. It's
also just so not my aesthetic. It's just more like
a therapeutic, fun thing to do.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah. No, I was wondering too about because you also
a writer, and I thought interesting that you wrote, and
so I had I positive this idea that this was
a way for you to kind of separate yourself from
the dance world every the time. Yes, and also just
sort of maybe therapeutic and studing.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
I'd love to put my energy into other creative outlets,
and I think it's Yeah, it's very therapeutic and helps
me quite a lot. So yeah, I just love It's
so funny because for me, I've always had sort of
like one option in my life. It's always been like,
this is what I'm doing, and I'm going to make
sure that I do it, and I have hobbies and things,
(13:32):
but I'm so set on what I do that so the.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Dance has moved to acting. This is yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Yeah, I love acting so much. I only started acting
probably when I was eleven, but I realized through dance
that I was playing these characters and developing all these
little traits for the pieces that I was doing on stage,
and I was like, oh, I'm definitely acting and creating
these It was so fun for me. It's been cool, though,
(14:00):
to make the transition to acting, because I do think
that so much of my dancing and forms the way
I act, and I'm grateful that it's helped me be
able to always hit my mark, know how to hold
my body, you know how to get into the character
and remember my lines. Like choreography is everything. So I'm
grateful for that. But it's also been interesting to sort
(14:23):
of like, when you perform, you're performing you have to
project to every single person in the crowd, and acting
is so much more quiet internal and so it's been
fun to find the ways to like sort of change.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah, well you've and you've done stage work.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Yes, I haven't really done like theater though, which would
be right.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
I was thinking with West Side Story, was it like
a hybrid kind of thing, like sort of film theater.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
I loved doing that project. I think as a dancer
specific I mean, I think anyone but I, you know,
grew up loving the original Side Story.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
It's special.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
It's so special, it's iconic, and it was so cool
to be a part of that. But it was interesting
for me because it definitely I just felt like a
dancer there because I, you know, the jet girls don't
really have much to do, right, and I did happen
when jet you're a jet, when you're a jel exactly exactly. Yeah, yeah,
(15:18):
So we did, like the dance at the gym scene,
that big scene where everyone meshes together. It took us
two weeks to film just that scene, which was wild.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Yeah, but I I'm very grateful to have been a
part of it.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
I would love to be on a Spielberg set. I've
never been on a Spielberg set. Lauri Darn talks about.
She said, that's obviously it's amazing. But I was like,
you should, I would see it just an idea. Mattie
says I should, So I'm thinking, even yeah, yeah, just
to watch him, just to watch him work, how he
uses the cameras, how he creates the environment. All that
very special.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I'll never forget that experience. I was like fifteen or
sixteen when I did that.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
And such a long time ago, so.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Long ago, it does feel like forever. Howenty three, oh
my god, twenty four in September.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
All right, you've accomplished a lot, thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
But it was cool to see him. He was so
excited every day and was jumping up and down behind
the camera and just dancing with everyone, and it was
just such a such a special environment.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
I love hearing that.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Yeah, he was so right in it.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Yeah, because he's done so many things at a certain point,
as he get tired, as he get jaded, is it
and it sounds like the joy, Yes, the creative joy
is just in him.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yes, you know, and absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Those are the best experiences people that I've worked with
that Actually, you know, there's a lot that goes into
getting ready and prep and everything that there's a lot
of like boring stuff you got to do. But the
actual creative you know, when you're there with the camera
with the cast and you're actually you know, action to cut,
you know, it's like this is what we live for.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yes, it's that like adrenaline.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
It's still so cool, the pure joy of reading. Okayd
I'm jealous. So you got to work with Steven Spielbrosque.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
On a very like I wasn't you know, I wasn't
really in it in it, but.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
You were in it. You were around come on. Yeah,
and I'm sure they ask you to sing a huge number.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
And I'm so grateful that I didn't have to sing
in that movie because I don't sing.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
You're grateful too, honestly, No, so no singing. I don't
want to say, how did you miss singing?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Well, no, I actually didn't miss singing. I did like
seven years of voice lessons and I hated every second
of it.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
And it's funny because when I was little, I wanted
to do Broadways so bad.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
I had to sing and dance, that's yes.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
And I got Billy Elliott when I was little, and
then I had already signed my contract for the show
that I was on, so I couldn't do it. And
when you're six and seven, you know you can. You
could sing and it's cute. Yeah, and then you grow up.
It's not that I'm tone deaf. This is a This
is a huge conversation because my sister's an artist, she's
a singer. Yes, yes, and I just it's not that
(17:58):
I am tone deaf. It's it's not that I sound terrible.
It's that I don't love my tone.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Okay, And I also.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I like singing bad for fun at home when no
one can hear, right, But it's not something that I
enjoy publicly, like it's something I just did a film
where I had to sing, like with a group of people.
I started on my own and it's meant to be
sweet and endearing and fun, like I'm singing to like
a baby, and I was. It was yeah, but I
(18:27):
was singing like a Christmas song and I was exactly
something like that. And it was literally the day that
I was dreading the most on the whole set. And
it was the easiest thing.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
But for me, it was because singing is very You're
very vulnerable when.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
You sing, so vulnerable, and I just was so embarrassed
and it was fine. I got through it, and I
just everyone knew that it was my thing that I
was like, it's.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Hard for me to imagine you self conscious though, I mean.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
That's I don't get that self conscious, right, but was
singing that's it. I'm gone. I'm like, hi, I'm sweating,
I can't think straight. I just want it to be
over with.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
I had a thought too, I said, one of your
favorite movies was Whiplash, Right, I love because.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
The discipline, you know, I see I look at that
film and that hunger and that drive, and it's just
like I really.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Totally identified with it. I had the same reaction. I said, Wow,
that is that is drive. I had the drive when
I was younger. I still have drive.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
I guess this is so fun. Do you enjoy doing this?
Speaker 2 (19:34):
I really do get. I get nervous now. I get
nervous beforehanded, and I'm like, oh, but when I'm sitting
here and I'm talking with someone who I don't really
know well and we're talking about but the shared process
of creativity, which is really what I'm most interested in,
what I love, Yes, and to be able to work
on that level, it gets me very, very excited. Where
it came from. When you when did you know, hey,
(19:56):
this is what I want to do. Absolutely it sounds
like it was four when you, I mean you like
dance and stuff for you said hip hop? YEA going
to be my new thing. It was like, but then
the acting thing, there was something that happened. You had
an experience or you saw a performance that you moved
you to that point of like, this is what I
want to do. This is what I want to do.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
I used to watch and we had like a minivan,
you know, with like the little TV that and my
mom just played Shirley Temple all of her movies. When
I was younger and seeing her tap dance and just
I would watch that every day in the car, whether
we were going to dance or school or whatnot. So
I think it was like just there. I was always like, yes,
(20:41):
that's it.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
She's a consummate performer. Yeah at such a young age too.
It's good that that was like, hey, I look, I
can do this too.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Yeah. Yeah. I always felt like it was possible, which
was cool, and I definitely feel grateful to my mom
for just being so. She never pushed me. It was
just she hoarded me.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Expose you to something that you not knowing your passion.
What do you do? Do you meditate or anything?
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Or do you like I don't actually do journal maybe
or just to keep I do I do? If I
do crass cliches coming, Yes, I do. I do love
to do some breath work. I think that's really fun
for me. I actually do quite a lot of sort
of body work as well. I just try to take
care of my body, and that for me is kind
of a meditation.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Okay, what do you think of plates as pilates?
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Absolutely, but like traditional plates and I like to do
it on a reformer, but I also like black.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
And white pilates.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yes, exactly exactly early temple. But oh it's so hard.
You're using muscles that you didn't even know existed.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
That's so true. I think you're in good shape and
then you're like, what just happened? Yes, I was so
tell me about I never been? What is this? What
is It's fine for me?
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Well, first of all, you are not really missing much.
I'm sorry as.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
A that makes me feel.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Better, certified her home body. Yeah, festivals are not my thing. Okay, okay,
I've been a few times before. I I've performed before
Interpretive Yes, yes, yes, yes, on stage I was singing,
of course, and I'm just kid. Yeah, I just I
just don't love it. The big crowds, it's very overwhelming.
(22:27):
It's extremely hot. Anyway, a lot of golf and a
lot of pickaball. My mom My mom went and she
played pickaball. Yeah. One of my dear friends, Addison, we've
been friends for a long time now, and she's okay,
I'm genuinely a fan of her, like I love her
(22:48):
album was my most listened to album last year. And
it's so fun when you have I'm sure you feel
this way. It's so fun to have friends who are
killing it and inspiring and cool, and I just I'm
so grateful to have that. Yeah. But yes, Addison, it
was cool because in I think it was December or January,
(23:08):
we were just we went to dinner and she was
sort of like, oh, would you want to come dance
with me at Coachella? And I was like, I mean, yes,
of course, that would be so fun. And then we
just kind of dropped the conversation. And you know, sometimes
people say things and they don't really mean it, not
saying it's who she is. But months later she was
really serious and really wanted me to do it, and
(23:29):
I was just very grateful to have that moment.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
How did you talk about what you were going to do?
Was this something that you choreographed?
Speaker 1 (23:35):
You know? She planned it? So. She has an amazing choreographer, Patrick,
and he's also one of her dancers, and I have
danced with some of her dancers before, so it was
really cool to come in and feel really Yeah, it
was so fun and she was so open to, you know,
whatever I felt comfortable doing. But she was like, we're
(23:56):
going to do this song aqua Marine and you're kind
of going to play my ghost and I was like, okay,
great or whatever, and it was. It was so fun
and people I was like, no one will recognize me.
People just think I'm one of your dancers, and she's like,
that's definitely not going to be the case. And it
ended up being a really cool moment.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Well fun, yeah, a great thing to experience.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
It was fun. And then I went back weekend two,
because why not. I was just going to do one
weekend and then everyone was like, come on do it
and I was like, well, I'm actually free and I
would love to dance.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Again, so again, and you went and did the same thing.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
It was really fun. I had a great time. I
love dancing on stage. I don't get to do it anymore,
so it was really.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
It seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
It was the perfect opportunity. I was wearing dancing in
like five inch Lubaton heels, which was a new experience
for me. But other than that, it was really fun.
I think it was just unexpected, but also at the
same time, Addison and I were like we've been friends forever.
People were like, what an unexpected to do, and I'm like,
this is not unexpected at all. But it was awesome
and I'm such a fan of her and her her
(24:53):
set was so fun. Yeah, it was cool.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
That's awesome. So too many thousands of people, I'm sure.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
It was like the crowd was huge.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Yeah, you know, it's crazy being in front of that.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
Many people and you kind of have to tune it out.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
I remember walking on stage. It was in London as Wimbley.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Wow, I mean, what a massive I.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Walked on stage. Yeah, I introduced something I don't even
remember what it was, and I looked around and it's
so big that you're like, there's nothing here. That's so unreal.
When the sound comes at you, Yes, and it builds
like it's like a wave kind of building comes at you. Yes.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
It's so funny because my whole life, I'm not a
super nervous person like I. It's more the anticipation, the nerves,
like it's.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Excited what you're going to do.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Yet before every single performance I've ever done, I get nervous. Yeah,
and then once I'm on stage, I'm fine. But it
is that thing. It's just that energy that is so
it's wild. It's a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Yeah, it's it's it's Yeah, it's overwhelming, overwhelming.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Well, maybe one day you'll you'll hit Coachella.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I got to get the outfit. Yeah, one of the guys,
the guys where girls are all dressed up kind of
liked people go.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Some guys do too.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Think it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Yeah, I was going to say the chaps people, but
people people kind of do as.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
There's a lot of well, which is it's so weird
because I was thinking that there was a movie that
you did with Aubrey, Yeah, My Old Ass, which I
thought was a movie about me, my Ass because and
I thought that would be you don't want to see that.
But I love Aubrey. I don't know her. She is.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
She's incredible.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Ingrid Goes West. I think when I saw that's my
favorite writing to. She made me so. I was so like,
who is this force of nature?
Speaker 1 (26:39):
She can do everything?
Speaker 2 (26:40):
She can do everything. All right, we're gonna we're gonna
play a game, yeah, that we've designed just for you.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
I'm nervous.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
It's called Sister Showdown. So but we're gonna get into
that when we come back. We're back, and we are. Yeah,
we're addressed. For those of you who are not watching,
we are wearing. We're wearing. I'm wearing choke, I'm wearing
a choker. You got to tune in for this. You
got a choker as well. And the shirt says, I
(27:08):
don't know what is my this is? It is a
sister thing.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
It's a sister thing. Apparently, Apparently we're trouble when we're together.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Who knew we were in trouble together? Okay, sister showed.
I've got to.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Think I think their best. This is best and your
sister friends.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
It's called sister showdown. So this is gonna be a competition.
So let's not get too friendly.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
And I am very competitive and you are.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Highly competitive about okay. So as an ode to you
being part of an iconic sister duo, we have pulled
lines from similarly iconic movies, shows, even Broadway. Okay, so
those are three things. Remember they highlight the sisterly bond.
I will read these lines and provide multiple choice options
(27:56):
of which project they're from. You must guess which is correct.
That was an old Johnny Carson. All right, shall we
says Okay, don't you realize what's happening? Oh man, this
is beyond coincidence, this is beyond imagination. I only have
a mother and you only have a father. That was
(28:20):
very good. You think you knew the answer, but you
had to get You had to just get it.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
I needed I needed to hear you only have a mother.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
And you only have I'm not sure, but this one
Daddy said, Daddy said to be home by sundown. Daddy
doesn't know.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
That's Hamilton said to be home by down.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Maddie said be home by sondown. Maddie doesn't need to know.
I'm substitute daddy for Maddie.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
That's what my friends call me, daddy Maddie because I
take care of everyone.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
I get that. I get that. Yeah, she's my sister.
She would never hurt me.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Is it multiple choice?
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Is frozen? Frozen? Twitches? Practical magic, practical man? No, if
you guessed again, it would be it's frozen. Okay. I'm
nine and three months, and no matter what my sister
tells you, I'm not a pest. My dad says, I
have an overactive imagination, which does come in handy. It
(29:18):
makes the fun parts funner and the scary parts scarier,
and frankly, it's good to scare yourself once in a while,
because if you can't be brave at recess, how can
you do it when it really Counts, Sister Sister, full House,
Ramona and Beesus? Is it Jesus?
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Oh, it's Romona and Beesus. I love that movie.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
I almost thought it's a Romona and butt Head, but
I know I'm wrong. Okay, I've lost my mother. Now
I've lost my father. I have no family. I'm an
orphan and I'm running away. So don't you dare? Tell daddy?
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Why am I wanting to say? Is it Annie? Oh?
This is a sister thing.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Oh that's really crazy. Despicable me? It takes two Annie?
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Is it despicable me?
Speaker 2 (30:04):
With her accent?
Speaker 1 (30:05):
No Olsen twins? No? Yeah, I actually never saw that.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Next, where's your sister going? She's meeting some bikers, big ones, charmed,
bad sisters. Ten Things I Hate about you?
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Is it? Ten Things I hate? I that's one of
my favorite realm comeds ever. It's just beautiful.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Watch I'll watch it. Well, that's it. You passed with
flying Colors. You only missed one, and.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
I know, but I also kind of had some help.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
That was good. So what's happening? And you're like, what
can we talk about?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I have a holiday rom calm coming out of Christmas?
Tell me about I did it's my first rom com
i've done. Okay, it's gonna be on Netflix. It was
so much fun. Roblows in it, Patton O's Wall, Jackie Sandler,
Andrea Andrews, Gilbella's It's a great group of people.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
That's fun.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
It's really fun. It's based off of a book and
it's sort of like groundhog Day, where the same day
repeats from you over and over again.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
I can't wait, let's finish the title or called Holidays
in A Holidays in a Holidays in holidays? And is
it in the days? Is days? Groundhog Day is one
of my favorite favorite favorite movies me too. It's amazing,
it's incredible. Well, thanks for being on the show.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Thank you for having me. I'm such a fan of
you and this is so cool to do this.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Thank you. I'm glad you didn't wear the two two.
I know you're talking about that. I know that would
have been weird.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I know. I just thought we're already twinning enough.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Exactly right, I gotcha. All right, Well this is it.
We're finished. What are we even doing? Is we've we've
solved the problem? What are we even doing? Maddie? Thanks
for being on.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Thank you so much all right pleasure.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
What Are We Even Doing is a production of iHeartMedia
and the Elvis Duran podcast Network, hosted by me Kyle McLachlin,
and created and produced by Full Picture productionists Yay, featuring
music by Yata and our Work by Danica Robinson. For
more information about the podcast, please visit our Instagram and
(32:05):
TikTok at wawed with Kyle. Please rate, review, and subscribe
to What Are We Even Doing on Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
or anywhere you get your podcasts. Exclamation Pointcasts
I just did a film where I had to sing
like with a group of people and it's meant to
be sweet and endearing and fun like I'm singing to
like a baby. And it was literally the day that
I was dreading the most on the whole set. And
it was the easiest thing, but for me.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Very vulnerable when you sing.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
So vulnerable, and I just was so embarrassed.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
What are we even doing? What are we even doing? Yo,
welcome to What are we even doing? Where I Kyle
McLachlan am the host of this show. They've given me
this responsibility. I don't know why. We sit down with
(00:40):
young creatives gen Z, young millennials. We talk about what
they're up to, we talk about their creativity, we talk
about how they use social and we do this all
in this fantastic format where we're sitting here with two microphones.
And today we have a wonderful guest. She's an actress,
she is a dancer. You're an author. You're a self
proclaimed homebody, which we were just talking about what time
(01:03):
you like to go to bed ladies and gentlemen, boys
and girls. Mattie Ziegler is here with us. Gods. So
nice that you're here.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Thank you so much for having me. I feel very honored.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Do you feel honored to be here?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I do?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I sure do you feel honored to be with you?
You hardworking? Thank you, even when you were just a
little tich yep.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
I feel like I just like came out the room
like ready to work.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
You're like, I'm going to do stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Yeah, it's so weird. It's like very I always say
it's kind of like toxic of me, but like I
just can't help it. That's just how I've always been.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I think that's a fantastic quality.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
And I think if you're going to be in this world,
particularly the world today, yeah, because social plays such a
big part of it. I think being able to like
do what you do and approach things and be open
to all these different opportunities is really it's really special.
So I think I think you're born in the right
place in the right time.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Although you have said otherwise, yeah, you felt like you
were an older soul or you everyone it.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Has it's like I know that's such a cliche and
people always no, no at all, but I do feel like
an old soul and a lot of people have told
me that I'm an old soul, and I do feel
like I've lived so much, even though I'm so young.
I know I have so much to live, but I
think just starting. I started dance when I was two,
(02:19):
and I started like working. I was on a TV
show at seven, and so I started working at that
age show.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
First of all, you are you are a very calm presence.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
And you're very even and you're very balanced. Okay, there
we go. I am not talking about I'm more like
the duck, you know that's looking at the duck swimming
on the waters will calm, peaceful, and then a little
feet underneath are like going like this.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, that's I'm a little bit like that. I feel.
People always say they're like, you look you never look
like you're freaking out, and I'm like, it's all internally happening,
but I stay pretty calm. I'm pretty I am a
pretty calm person, but like, emotionally, internally I'm freaking out.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
A lot of a lot.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Not right now. I feel good. Right now, I felt
really calm. You're very calm, and I'm just feeding off
of your energy.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Oh yeah, that's very cool. Well, this is what acting
is all about, right it's the that's true of the
other person. Yes, and you've done some really fun stuff.
I'm so interested in this one about the ballerinas that
go in and make havoc in this. Tell me about
that experience.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yes, pretty lethal. It was so fun. I had the
best time, I think for me. And I have said
this a bunch now that we've done a lot of
press for this, but it had been a few years
since I danced publicly and honestly in general, and.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
I kind of moved away.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
I did because it felt like I wanted to prove
myself as an actor. And I felt like, and still
to this day, I'm always constantly getting dance films brought
my way, and while I'm so grateful for that, I
also am not just that, and so I really wanted
to be able to differentiate the two. And then it
(04:02):
had been a few years, and literally two or three
days prior to the script coming into my lap, I
was on the phone with my manager, who I've been
She's been my one only manager since I've been eight
years old, and yeah, so she knows me better than
anyone and she's my family, and she I was like,
I just have this missing piece. I just miss danced
(04:22):
so much. I just don't know how I could do
it again, because I've accomplished it in so many ways
more than I could have ever imagined, So how do
I find a new fun way to do it? And
then the script came in my lap when I was like,
this is bonkers and insane, and it just felt right.
It felt like the universe was like calling for it,
(04:44):
and it just like presented it to me. And I
feel so lucky to have had that opportunity. I really did,
I really did. But it was really fun to do
a ballet action camp. Very it's gory, it's it's all
the things.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
It's fantastic because you do lean into the camp. I
mean we really don't, you know. And it's some serious
there's some serious ass kicking that goes on absolutely, which
is so fun. Yes, I mean, you know, I grew
up with kind of watching Uma Thurman. Yeah, I mean so,
I'm like, and so when she's there and she's she's
doing this accent is very interesting, it's so fun, fantastic.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
She's amazing. She was She was absolutely the reference for us,
So the fact that we got her was just mind
blowing to us. Yeah, she is the action queen, So
it was so cool to have worked with her. We
had already started prep and we were already there by
the time we'd found out that she had then signed
all so we were waiting for like, who's there going
(05:37):
to be to be yeah, and we were like, there's
no way.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
So it was really it was really fun and she's
such a calm presence and I've I learned I just
observing her sort of process and method was really fun.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well that's interesting because I was thinking, you've been you've
been doing it for a while. But I'm thinking in
terms of work because when I work with people that
are that when I started out, Now i've become the
person that people look to. Yes, some examples. How did
that happen? Yes, But when I first started, definitely was
looking at other actors and just kind of watching how
they navigated the set, yeah, really you know, and how
(06:15):
and how they were aware of everybody, how they made
everyone feel so comfortable and welcome, and then down to
like how they're working with the camera, what they're doing
with the other actors, what they're doing with their character,
how are they what's happening between setups, where are they
where they're resting, what are they doing? Yes, and just
must have been really interesting to watch Uma navigate.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yes, that's my favorite thing to do through every set
that I'm on is just pick up on everyone's little things,
rituals and whatnot. So she was knitting the whole time, okay,
and she gave us all knitting kits at the end
of filming.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
That's awesome. And I actually did you start?
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Yeah? I did. I've made a bunch of scarves. That's
all I can do with scarves because it's just one
long line.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yeah, it's like maybe a blanket.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
I could do a blanket essentially.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Just if you had time.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, but that was my thing. No, I wanted to
do a beanie and it.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Was just like I didn't have a good idea.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah, but crocheing is easier apparently, So I actually maybe
I need to get into moving into cchet. Ye.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Yeah. I used to knit actually too, did you It's
really therapeutic. I loved it. Yeah, but I'm OCD too,
So it's just.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Like I am a little bit too. I'm like such
a perfect like it's.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
And I wondered about this. So you as a dancer,
So I think some of these qualities. OCD quality in
particular is actually helpful for sure. You know what I
mean Because we were talking earlier and I told you
that I danced. It wasn't until call well actually danced
in high school and remember of it. I took tap.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeahlf was my thing when I was a little.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
It's fun, right, I love tap is really you have
to be an athlete.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Absolutely, dancers are athletes.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Oh, for God's sakes, Yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
I love that you danced. I feel like do you
feel like it informed a little bit of your sort
of career in your life and acting and getting into characters.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
It was well, we spoke earlier about body consciousness, yes,
because I grew up playing sports and all that kind
of stuff. But it wasn't really in two things. Actually
was going to the gym lifting and you suddenly are
aware of your body, you know, with instructors that can
help you and dance. I danced in college at the
University of Washington for two years. My ballet teacher I
took ballet was ruth Anna Boris, and she was a
(08:24):
dancer for Balanchine, Russian ballet dancer, and she was tough,
but if you could get her to crack a smile.
That was everything. I don't know if you had, if
your ballet experience was like that was. Yes, if there's
something that you just love a tough teacher, yes, right.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Absolutely every person. It's a universal experience people who do ballet.
Every teacher is extremely tough, but there are some of
those teachers who find the balance where getting that little
crack of a smile or you know, like it's tough love.
And I I loved all of my ballet teachers growing up.
I noticed that when I was doing pretty lethal because also,
(09:06):
you know, you do experience some more of the like
crazier side of things growing up with like oh no,
like that kind of I need to take a break
from from this.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah, the intensity maybe, yes.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
But my one of my co stars on a Condor,
she did ballet growing up as well, so we were
kind of both sharing this experience going into training being
like that's we're a little nerd. Yes, but we did
like ballet boot camp. We did like a few weeks
of ballet for four hours and then start training for
the next four hours, and we did that every day
(09:38):
for like four weeks.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Were for four hours, Yes, yes, we were. I never
had to do shoes. But the girls talked.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
About it, it's brutal, it's brutal, and we did. We fought.
We wear them the whole film. So our feet were
Once you get like past the point of your feet
being numb, then it's fine because then you don't feel anything,
and it's fine, but.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
You gotta have numb fee Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
But Lon and I were so worried because we were like, oh, no,
are we gonna Is this going to bring up some
stuff for us going back into the training, certain teachers
or experience, But we had the most positive experience in
our ballet. Who was to teach it, Yes, Will Will Tucket.
He's incredible and has worked with Oral Ballet and he
(10:23):
him and his team, Yeah, they're they're incredible. And he
was extremely positive and fun and would crack jokes and
we would make fun of each other and in a
fun light, hard way, and it was so fun.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
That's what you want because the camaraderie of the girls
altogether in that situation, because you have to pull together
to sort of yes.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
You know, yes, break the ice and like make it
a fun experience.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Yeah, that's that is so cool. So we started dancing
until you. Ballet sort of came, was it? You start
with ballet?
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Started out of ballet school when I was two. Lord, okay,
and obviously when you're two, you're just kind of running around.
My mom wasn't even a dancer. She did gymnastics and
put me in because she thought my first daughter, she
cut and too, let's try it out.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
So you can from a family of people that yes,
this is the thing, Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
We just I started ballet at two. And then when
I don't remember this, but this is what my mom
tells me that when I was four, I told her
I want to do tap and hip hop.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
I don't remember that right, but that is a very
like specific hip ho.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
It was totally fun. I wanted to do it. Yeah,
I was too old to do hip hop.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
No story, now, hey, why not?
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Very sad, very sad.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
There's some togetter hip hop classes.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I could. I could, I don't know, it would be
really tough. That's interesting. So you so you so dance
definitely in the in the in the vibe, in the
in the body, and you're like, I'm going to do this.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Yeah. And then I was competing at four. I already
started competing.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
By four that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Yeah, and I was full on. It was my everything.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah like that that's just early discipline, I think. Yes,
pretty incredible, thank you, because you do strike me as
someone who was who was very disciplined in terms of
your approach.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I'm a bit crazy with it.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah, no, it's it's not a bad quality.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Thank you. I've I've tried to find the balance because
I do feel I was so serious when I was younger,
and I still find myself to be serious when I
do my work. But I also want to make sure
that I'm still finding the joy and having so much
fun while doing it right.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
That's important. Yes, what do you do for fun? I mean,
is there something you like to escape or when?
Speaker 1 (12:20):
What do you I'm very like crafty, artsy. I love
to paint, I love pottery. I've been recently getting into.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Rhyin stoning stoning. What about that? What's it called dazzling?
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, like that's that's I like, was like, I just.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Want you to know I was an early but dazzler.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
I did a few like shirts. I did my phone charger,
my phone case. You know, I don't know why. It's
also just so not my aesthetic. It's just more like
a therapeutic, fun thing to do.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah. No, I was wondering too about because you also
a writer, and I thought interesting that you wrote, and
so I had I positive this idea that this was
a way for you to kind of separate yourself from
the dance world every the time. Yes, and also just
sort of maybe therapeutic and studing.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
I'd love to put my energy into other creative outlets,
and I think it's Yeah, it's very therapeutic and helps
me quite a lot. So yeah, I just love It's
so funny because for me, I've always had sort of
like one option in my life. It's always been like,
this is what I'm doing, and I'm going to make
sure that I do it, and I have hobbies and things,
(13:32):
but I'm so set on what I do that so the.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Dance has moved to acting. This is yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Yeah, I love acting so much. I only started acting
probably when I was eleven, but I realized through dance
that I was playing these characters and developing all these
little traits for the pieces that I was doing on stage,
and I was like, oh, I'm definitely acting and creating
these It was so fun for me. It's been cool, though,
(14:00):
to make the transition to acting, because I do think
that so much of my dancing and forms the way
I act, and I'm grateful that it's helped me be
able to always hit my mark, know how to hold
my body, you know how to get into the character
and remember my lines. Like choreography is everything. So I'm
grateful for that. But it's also been interesting to sort
(14:23):
of like, when you perform, you're performing you have to
project to every single person in the crowd, and acting
is so much more quiet internal and so it's been
fun to find the ways to like sort of change.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah, well you've and you've done stage work.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Yes, I haven't really done like theater though, which would
be right.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
I was thinking with West Side Story, was it like
a hybrid kind of thing, like sort of film theater.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
I loved doing that project. I think as a dancer
specific I mean, I think anyone but I, you know,
grew up loving the original Side Story.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
It's special.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
It's so special, it's iconic, and it was so cool
to be a part of that. But it was interesting
for me because it definitely I just felt like a
dancer there because I, you know, the jet girls don't
really have much to do, right, and I did happen
when jet you're a jet, when you're a jel exactly exactly. Yeah, yeah,
(15:18):
So we did, like the dance at the gym scene,
that big scene where everyone meshes together. It took us
two weeks to film just that scene, which was wild.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Yeah, but I I'm very grateful to have been a
part of it.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
I would love to be on a Spielberg set. I've
never been on a Spielberg set. Lauri Darn talks about.
She said, that's obviously it's amazing. But I was like,
you should, I would see it just an idea. Mattie
says I should, So I'm thinking, even yeah, yeah, just
to watch him, just to watch him work, how he
uses the cameras, how he creates the environment. All that
very special.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I'll never forget that experience. I was like fifteen or
sixteen when I did that.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
And such a long time ago, so.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Long ago, it does feel like forever. Howenty three, oh
my god, twenty four in September.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
All right, you've accomplished a lot, thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
But it was cool to see him. He was so
excited every day and was jumping up and down behind
the camera and just dancing with everyone, and it was
just such a such a special environment.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
I love hearing that.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Yeah, he was so right in it.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Yeah, because he's done so many things at a certain point,
as he get tired, as he get jaded, is it
and it sounds like the joy, Yes, the creative joy
is just in him.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yes, you know, and absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Those are the best experiences people that I've worked with
that Actually, you know, there's a lot that goes into
getting ready and prep and everything that there's a lot
of like boring stuff you got to do. But the
actual creative you know, when you're there with the camera
with the cast and you're actually you know, action to cut,
you know, it's like this is what we live for.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yes, it's that like adrenaline.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
It's still so cool, the pure joy of reading. Okayd
I'm jealous. So you got to work with Steven Spielbrosque.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
On a very like I wasn't you know, I wasn't
really in it in it, but.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
You were in it. You were around come on. Yeah,
and I'm sure they ask you to sing a huge number.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
And I'm so grateful that I didn't have to sing
in that movie because I don't sing.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
You're grateful too, honestly, No, so no singing. I don't
want to say, how did you miss singing?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Well, no, I actually didn't miss singing. I did like
seven years of voice lessons and I hated every second
of it.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
And it's funny because when I was little, I wanted
to do Broadways so bad.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
I had to sing and dance, that's yes.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
And I got Billy Elliott when I was little, and
then I had already signed my contract for the show
that I was on, so I couldn't do it. And
when you're six and seven, you know you can. You
could sing and it's cute. Yeah, and then you grow up.
It's not that I'm tone deaf. This is a This
is a huge conversation because my sister's an artist, she's
a singer. Yes, yes, and I just it's not that
(17:58):
I am tone deaf. It's it's not that I sound terrible.
It's that I don't love my tone.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Okay, And I also.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I like singing bad for fun at home when no
one can hear, right, But it's not something that I
enjoy publicly, like it's something I just did a film
where I had to sing, like with a group of people.
I started on my own and it's meant to be
sweet and endearing and fun, like I'm singing to like
a baby, and I was. It was yeah, but I
(18:27):
was singing like a Christmas song and I was exactly
something like that. And it was literally the day that
I was dreading the most on the whole set. And
it was the easiest thing.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
But for me, it was because singing is very You're
very vulnerable when.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
You sing, so vulnerable, and I just was so embarrassed
and it was fine. I got through it, and I
just everyone knew that it was my thing that I
was like, it's.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Hard for me to imagine you self conscious though, I mean.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
That's I don't get that self conscious, right, but was
singing that's it. I'm gone. I'm like, hi, I'm sweating,
I can't think straight. I just want it to be
over with.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
I had a thought too, I said, one of your
favorite movies was Whiplash, Right, I love because.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
The discipline, you know, I see I look at that
film and that hunger and that drive, and it's just
like I really.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Totally identified with it. I had the same reaction. I said, Wow,
that is that is drive. I had the drive when
I was younger. I still have drive.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
I guess this is so fun. Do you enjoy doing this?
Speaker 2 (19:34):
I really do get. I get nervous now. I get
nervous beforehanded, and I'm like, oh, but when I'm sitting
here and I'm talking with someone who I don't really
know well and we're talking about but the shared process
of creativity, which is really what I'm most interested in,
what I love, Yes, and to be able to work
on that level, it gets me very, very excited. Where
it came from. When you when did you know, hey,
(19:56):
this is what I want to do. Absolutely it sounds
like it was four when you, I mean you like
dance and stuff for you said hip hop? YEA going
to be my new thing. It was like, but then
the acting thing, there was something that happened. You had
an experience or you saw a performance that you moved
you to that point of like, this is what I
want to do. This is what I want to do.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
I used to watch and we had like a minivan,
you know, with like the little TV that and my
mom just played Shirley Temple all of her movies. When
I was younger and seeing her tap dance and just
I would watch that every day in the car, whether
we were going to dance or school or whatnot. So
I think it was like just there. I was always like, yes,
(20:41):
that's it.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
She's a consummate performer. Yeah at such a young age too.
It's good that that was like, hey, I look, I
can do this too.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Yeah. Yeah. I always felt like it was possible, which
was cool, and I definitely feel grateful to my mom
for just being so. She never pushed me. It was
just she hoarded me.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Expose you to something that you not knowing your passion.
What do you do? Do you meditate or anything?
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Or do you like I don't actually do journal maybe
or just to keep I do I do? If I
do crass cliches coming, Yes, I do. I do love
to do some breath work. I think that's really fun
for me. I actually do quite a lot of sort
of body work as well. I just try to take
care of my body, and that for me is kind
of a meditation.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Okay, what do you think of plates as pilates?
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Absolutely, but like traditional plates and I like to do
it on a reformer, but I also like black.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
And white pilates.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yes, exactly exactly early temple. But oh it's so hard.
You're using muscles that you didn't even know existed.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
That's so true. I think you're in good shape and
then you're like, what just happened? Yes, I was so
tell me about I never been? What is this? What
is It's fine for me?
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Well, first of all, you are not really missing much.
I'm sorry as.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
A that makes me feel.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Better, certified her home body. Yeah, festivals are not my thing. Okay, okay,
I've been a few times before. I I've performed before
Interpretive Yes, yes, yes, yes, on stage I was singing,
of course, and I'm just kid. Yeah, I just I
just don't love it. The big crowds, it's very overwhelming.
(22:27):
It's extremely hot. Anyway, a lot of golf and a
lot of pickaball. My mom My mom went and she
played pickaball. Yeah. One of my dear friends, Addison, we've
been friends for a long time now, and she's okay,
I'm genuinely a fan of her, like I love her
(22:48):
album was my most listened to album last year. And
it's so fun when you have I'm sure you feel
this way. It's so fun to have friends who are
killing it and inspiring and cool, and I just I'm
so grateful to have that. Yeah. But yes, Addison, it
was cool because in I think it was December or January,
(23:08):
we were just we went to dinner and she was
sort of like, oh, would you want to come dance
with me at Coachella? And I was like, I mean, yes,
of course, that would be so fun. And then we
just kind of dropped the conversation. And you know, sometimes
people say things and they don't really mean it, not
saying it's who she is. But months later she was
really serious and really wanted me to do it, and
(23:29):
I was just very grateful to have that moment.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
How did you talk about what you were going to do?
Was this something that you choreographed?
Speaker 1 (23:35):
You know? She planned it? So. She has an amazing choreographer, Patrick,
and he's also one of her dancers, and I have
danced with some of her dancers before, so it was
really cool to come in and feel really Yeah, it
was so fun and she was so open to, you know,
whatever I felt comfortable doing. But she was like, we're
(23:56):
going to do this song aqua Marine and you're kind
of going to play my ghost and I was like, okay,
great or whatever, and it was. It was so fun
and people I was like, no one will recognize me.
People just think I'm one of your dancers, and she's like,
that's definitely not going to be the case. And it
ended up being a really cool moment.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Well fun, yeah, a great thing to experience.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
It was fun. And then I went back weekend two,
because why not. I was just going to do one
weekend and then everyone was like, come on do it
and I was like, well, I'm actually free and I
would love to dance.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Again, so again, and you went and did the same thing.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
It was really fun. I had a great time. I
love dancing on stage. I don't get to do it anymore,
so it was really.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
It seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
It was the perfect opportunity. I was wearing dancing in
like five inch Lubaton heels, which was a new experience
for me. But other than that, it was really fun.
I think it was just unexpected, but also at the
same time, Addison and I were like we've been friends forever.
People were like, what an unexpected to do, and I'm like,
this is not unexpected at all. But it was awesome
and I'm such a fan of her and her her
(24:53):
set was so fun. Yeah, it was cool.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
That's awesome. So too many thousands of people, I'm sure.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
It was like the crowd was huge.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Yeah, you know, it's crazy being in front of that.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
Many people and you kind of have to tune it out.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
I remember walking on stage. It was in London as Wimbley.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Wow, I mean, what a massive I.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Walked on stage. Yeah, I introduced something I don't even
remember what it was, and I looked around and it's
so big that you're like, there's nothing here. That's so unreal.
When the sound comes at you, Yes, and it builds
like it's like a wave kind of building comes at you. Yes.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
It's so funny because my whole life, I'm not a
super nervous person like I. It's more the anticipation, the nerves,
like it's.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Excited what you're going to do.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Yet before every single performance I've ever done, I get nervous. Yeah,
and then once I'm on stage, I'm fine. But it
is that thing. It's just that energy that is so
it's wild. It's a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Yeah, it's it's it's Yeah, it's overwhelming, overwhelming.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Well, maybe one day you'll you'll hit Coachella.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I got to get the outfit. Yeah, one of the guys,
the guys where girls are all dressed up kind of
liked people go.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Some guys do too.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Think it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Yeah, I was going to say the chaps people, but
people people kind of do as.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
There's a lot of well, which is it's so weird
because I was thinking that there was a movie that
you did with Aubrey, Yeah, My Old Ass, which I
thought was a movie about me, my Ass because and
I thought that would be you don't want to see that.
But I love Aubrey. I don't know her. She is.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
She's incredible.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Ingrid Goes West. I think when I saw that's my
favorite writing to. She made me so. I was so like,
who is this force of nature?
Speaker 1 (26:39):
She can do everything?
Speaker 2 (26:40):
She can do everything. All right, we're gonna we're gonna
play a game, yeah, that we've designed just for you.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
I'm nervous.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
It's called Sister Showdown. So but we're gonna get into
that when we come back. We're back, and we are. Yeah,
we're addressed. For those of you who are not watching,
we are wearing. We're wearing. I'm wearing choke, I'm wearing
a choker. You got to tune in for this. You
got a choker as well. And the shirt says, I
(27:08):
don't know what is my this is? It is a
sister thing.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
It's a sister thing. Apparently, Apparently we're trouble when we're together.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Who knew we were in trouble together? Okay, sister showed.
I've got to.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Think I think their best. This is best and your
sister friends.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
It's called sister showdown. So this is gonna be a competition.
So let's not get too friendly.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
And I am very competitive and you are.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Highly competitive about okay. So as an ode to you
being part of an iconic sister duo, we have pulled
lines from similarly iconic movies, shows, even Broadway. Okay, so
those are three things. Remember they highlight the sisterly bond.
I will read these lines and provide multiple choice options
(27:56):
of which project they're from. You must guess which is correct.
That was an old Johnny Carson. All right, shall we
says Okay, don't you realize what's happening? Oh man, this
is beyond coincidence, this is beyond imagination. I only have
a mother and you only have a father. That was
(28:20):
very good. You think you knew the answer, but you
had to get You had to just get it.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
I needed I needed to hear you only have a mother.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
And you only have I'm not sure, but this one
Daddy said, Daddy said to be home by sundown. Daddy
doesn't know.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
That's Hamilton said to be home by down.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Maddie said be home by sondown. Maddie doesn't need to know.
I'm substitute daddy for Maddie.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
That's what my friends call me, daddy Maddie because I
take care of everyone.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
I get that. I get that. Yeah, she's my sister.
She would never hurt me.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Is it multiple choice?
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Is frozen? Frozen? Twitches? Practical magic, practical man? No, if
you guessed again, it would be it's frozen. Okay. I'm
nine and three months, and no matter what my sister
tells you, I'm not a pest. My dad says, I
have an overactive imagination, which does come in handy. It
(29:18):
makes the fun parts funner and the scary parts scarier,
and frankly, it's good to scare yourself once in a while,
because if you can't be brave at recess, how can
you do it when it really Counts, Sister Sister, full House,
Ramona and Beesus? Is it Jesus?
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Oh, it's Romona and Beesus. I love that movie.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
I almost thought it's a Romona and butt Head, but
I know I'm wrong. Okay, I've lost my mother. Now
I've lost my father. I have no family. I'm an
orphan and I'm running away. So don't you dare? Tell daddy?
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Why am I wanting to say? Is it Annie? Oh?
This is a sister thing.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Oh that's really crazy. Despicable me? It takes two Annie?
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Is it despicable me?
Speaker 2 (30:04):
With her accent?
Speaker 1 (30:05):
No Olsen twins? No? Yeah, I actually never saw that.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Next, where's your sister going? She's meeting some bikers, big ones, charmed,
bad sisters. Ten Things I Hate about you?
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Is it? Ten Things I hate? I that's one of
my favorite realm comeds ever. It's just beautiful.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Watch I'll watch it. Well, that's it. You passed with
flying Colors. You only missed one, and.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
I know, but I also kind of had some help.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
That was good. So what's happening? And you're like, what
can we talk about?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I have a holiday rom calm coming out of Christmas?
Tell me about I did it's my first rom com
i've done. Okay, it's gonna be on Netflix. It was
so much fun. Roblows in it, Patton O's Wall, Jackie Sandler,
Andrea Andrews, Gilbella's It's a great group of people.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
That's fun.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
It's really fun. It's based off of a book and
it's sort of like groundhog Day, where the same day
repeats from you over and over again.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
I can't wait, let's finish the title or called Holidays
in A Holidays in a Holidays in holidays? And is
it in the days? Is days? Groundhog Day is one
of my favorite favorite favorite movies me too. It's amazing,
it's incredible. Well, thanks for being on the show.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Thank you for having me. I'm such a fan of
you and this is so cool to do this.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Thank you. I'm glad you didn't wear the two two.
I know you're talking about that. I know that would
have been weird.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I know. I just thought we're already twinning enough.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Exactly right, I gotcha. All right, Well this is it.
We're finished. What are we even doing? Is we've we've
solved the problem? What are we even doing? Maddie? Thanks
for being on.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Thank you so much all right pleasure.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
What Are We Even Doing is a production of iHeartMedia
and the Elvis Duran podcast Network, hosted by me Kyle McLachlin,
and created and produced by Full Picture productionists Yay, featuring
music by Yata and our Work by Danica Robinson. For
more information about the podcast, please visit our Instagram and
(32:05):
TikTok at wawed with Kyle. Please rate, review, and subscribe
to What Are We Even Doing on Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
or anywhere you get your podcasts. Exclamation Pointcasts
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