Podcrushed — Lili Reinhart (Nov 12, 2025)

Main Theme / Purpose

In this candid and warm episode, the Podcrushed hosts (Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin, and Sophie Ansari) sit down with actor and producer Lili Reinhart to explore her journey from middle school awkwardness in Cleveland to the frenetic world of LA acting, her breakthrough on Riverdale, and her evolution into indie projects and producing. The conversation is infused with nostalgia, real talk about rejection and ambition, and honest musings on creativity, self-worth, and belonging.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Childhood & Early Ambition

• Early Drive: Lili describes 12 as “a transformative year,” when she booked her first acting job on a PBS pilot, igniting hope for her and her family who had little industry knowledge or guidance.
  “We were all just kind of crossing our fingers.” — Lili Reinhart (10:12)

• Audition Adventures: She recounts marathon trips from Cleveland to New York for casting calls, many of which were overwhelming and anxiety-inducing.

  • Her mom driving their blue minivan into Manhattan, armed with printed MapQuest directions.
  • Encounter with David Schwimmer at an audition:
    “First of all, you can’t say that when the man is three feet away.” (12:36)

• Struggles With Rejection: By 19, Lili had received “2,000 nos,” embedding deep anxieties and causing her to dread auditions.
  “From 12 to 19, I experienced 2,000 nos. And so...I think I still carry that with me today.” — Lili Reinhart (15:04)

• Feelings of Isolation: Pursuing acting made her feel like an outsider at school, leading her to retreat into theater and her own imagination for solace.

Middle School Adversity & Awkward Moments

• Crushes and Heartbreaks: Lili admits she often developed set crushes as a teen actor and shares a childhood heartbreak about confronting a friend for “flirting” with her crush—via a pretend conversation in the mirror. Her dad overheard this, creating a charming, awkward moment: “I remember, like, looking in the mirror at myself pretending I was talking to her... down the hall, my dad goes ‘Lili?’” (37:32)

• Embarrassing Incident: The classic “it was the chair not a fart” episode in choir class (39:05), commiserated by both Lili and Penn.

The LA Leap & Riverdale

• Early LA Struggles: At 18, unsupported by family in the city, Lili lived in shared housing under less-than-ideal conditions, including a now-humorous battle with loud bathroom neighbors. “I could just hear people shitting all day long next to me in my room.” (28:22)

• Hitting a Wall: Overwhelmed, she temporarily returned to Ohio. Parents welcomed her back, before she tried LA again at 19—a month later, she booked Riverdale.

• Riverdale Breakthrough:

  • She describes the nail-biting casting process: first an audition tape, then multiple in-person callbacks in LA, and the surrealism of moving to Vancouver to start the show—having never left the country before.
  • No one expected it to become a cultural phenomenon.
    “We shot all 13 episodes with none of them airing at the same time. So it really felt like we had no idea. We were just having the time of our lives, or I was at least.” (47:25)

• Favorite Memories:

  • Season one remains the most precious:
    “That energy, we weren’t known, no one knew who we were, we didn’t have any pressure.” (50:18)
  • Formed deep bonds with her “mom” on the show, Mädchen Amick, especially during COVID isolation in Vancouver.

Indie Projects, Creating Meaningful Art, and Producer Life

• Helen Harper: Lili’s passion for indie TV is evident in her love for Helen Harper, an 8-episode series created by Cooper Raiff. She describes the show as a miracle that defies industry logic by existing at all.

  • The team shot the series independently before finding a distributor.
  • She highlights the emotional challenge of trying to sell projects in a market addicted to “background noise.”
  • “It was the best thing I had ever read...but no one makes television this way.” (60:07)
  • “The industry...it seems like the things that I always care about the most are the things that one, never get made or two take six years and then one person...goes ‘nah.’” (65:04)

• On Audience & Art:

  • Insider platforms often rejected Helen Harper for being “too slow” or “too quiet”—made for watching attentively, not for passive viewing in the background.
  • The show finally found a home with Mubi.

• Reflection on Making Art That Matters: Lili wrote to Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd, expressing admiration for getting a vulnerable, personal story into the world.

Navigating Fame, Criticism, and Adaptation Pressure

• Handling IP and Fan Expectations:
  • With her production company, Lili is bringing the highly anticipated Love Hypothesis to life. She likens the pressure to what she faced stepping into Riverdale. “I try not to listen to the background noise of people’s opinions...I don’t think I make movies for the general public’s approval. I think I make films because I want to be a part of it.” (70:09)
  • She chooses to create for herself and those she collaborates with, not for online critics.

Looking Forward: New Projects & Growth

• Producing Slate: Multiple films are on the horizon:

  • Forbidden Fruits (horror comedy, witchy girl gang in a mall, with Victoria Pedretti, Lola Tung, Alexandra Shipp; “very Jennifer’s Body humor”)
  • The Very Best People (political thriller comedy, “think Coen brothers”)
  • Fake Wedding
  • She relishes shifting between wildly different roles and values fun and creative fulfillment over careerist choices.

  “I really look at things through the lens of: am I going to have a good time on this?” (77:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Early Rejection:
  “I grew up in an environment where I was as a child and a teenager trying to pursue my dream, being told no on a very consistent basis... It was also incredibly isolating.” — Lili Reinhart (15:04)

• On Art vs. Business:
  “You watched it, you gave them your view... So guess what, they're gonna keep doing it. And they’re not gonna think that they need to support independent TV and film.” — Lili Reinhart (66:35)

• On Indie Spirit:
  “Everybody just was there for the art of it all. And I think that's why indie is so special—you're not there for the money, and you're there because you want to make art.” (67:49)

• On Outgrowing Teen Years:
  “You can enjoy being a kid along the way. I feel like I genuinely really sacrificed being carefree as a kid...I would have said: just be a freaking kid.” (79:01)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [09:26] — Lili’s first acting gig, Cleveland childhood, early auditions
• [14:56] — Rejection, anxiety, and the psychological toll of auditioning
• [28:22] — LA struggles, living in shared housing, early career setbacks
• [41:35] — Riverdale break, booking the role, moving to Vancouver
• [50:18] — Preciousness of Riverdale’s early seasons
• [59:01] — Helen Harper, independent TV, and the struggle for meaningful art
• [66:35] — The current state of TV/movies, why good shows are hard to make/sell
• [70:09] — On handling fan expectations for The Love Hypothesis
• [74:27] — New projects: Forbidden Fruits, The Very Best People, balancing art and fun
• [77:58] — What she’d tell her 12-year-old self

Conclusion

This episode is a rich, insightful journey through Lili Reinhart’s formative years — from uncertain early auditions, through the highs and lows of becoming a young TV star, to her present as a multifaceted, intentional artist and producer. The conversation is peppered with relatable adolescent awkwardness, hard-won wisdom, and a genuine love for art, even when the path is unpredictable or solitary.

Listeners come away with a sense of Lili’s resilience, her evolving sense of self, her humility, and her heartfelt advice for anyone who feels like an outsider or is struggling to balance ambition with simply enjoying life.