ELIZABETH LAIL - Actor

Summary

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Tales From A Costume Designer – ELIZABETH LAIL (Actor)

Host: Whitney Anne Adams
Guest: Elizabeth Lail
Release Date: April 27, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this engaging conversation, professional costume designer Whitney Anne Adams sits down with actor Elizabeth Lail (known for You, Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 & 2, Once Upon A Time, and more) to discuss the intertwined journeys of acting and costume design. They explore Elizabeth’s early inspiration, collaborative artistry on set—especially relating to her character Vanessa in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2—and the crucial role self-care plays in sustaining a creative and demanding career.

Throughout, they share personal anecdotes and wisdom about craft, collaboration, and the unpredictable nature of life in the entertainment industry—always with warmth, candor, and humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Elizabeth’s Beginnings as an Actor

• Early Inspiration & Overcoming Shyness
  • Elizabeth always wanted to act, even before she knew it could be a real job, experiencing emotional catharsis at community theater as a child.
  • Her mother nudged her into auditioning for local musicals despite her shyness.
  • “My parents would take me to see, like the local community theater. And I just remember being blown away by the experience… the emotional catharsis of it felt really worthwhile from a very young age.” (01:31, Elizabeth)
• Memorable Early Roles
  • Fond memories of being Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Kandi Kane in Wagon Wheels West, and playing an old lady in Arsenic and Old Lace (channeling her grandmother for the voice).
  • “What's really funny is… the play I just did last summer, I was also doing, like, a rendition of my grandmother, but, like, a younger version.” (06:15, Elizabeth)

2. Training & Growth

• Arts-Focused Education
  • Attended North Carolina School of the Arts, first for senior year of high school, then for college—reigniting her passion for acting.
  • “Once I was in an art school, I felt… really alive and fulfilled and inspired... I was, like, on fire for acting.” (07:31, Elizabeth)
• Embracing Learning Curves
  • Both Whitney and Elizabeth share stories of improving with practice, whether in acting, costume design, or even learning to play guitar.
  • “You get a little. A little bit better every day.” (09:21, Elizabeth)

3. The Actor/Costume Designer Collaboration

• Transformation Through Costume
  • “We do have the power of translating through the medium of clothes, people can do anything we want. And that's why I think we're a very important part of the whole cinema product project.” (00:15, Elizabeth)
  • Both agree costumes are crucial for both the performer’s transformation and the audience’s initial perception.
  • “Costumes… they do so much heavy lifting.” (11:13, Elizabeth)
• Vision Boards & Creative Input
  • Elizabeth loves seeing designers’ vision boards—their ideas often expand her own sense of the character’s style.
  • “I get much more excited about what's brought to me than what I myself can create in my head.” (25:16, Elizabeth)
• Fittings—A Collaborative, Emotional Process
  • Fitting rooms are a place for creative play, emotional sensitivity, and sometimes, self-doubt or insecurity.
  • “You start everybody and you're like oh, is this what I look like? Is this what I'm going to look like?” (32:53, Elizabeth)

4. Working on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

• Returning as Vanessa & Costume Evolution
  • More freedom exploring Vanessa’s look after mostly wearing a police uniform in the first film.
  • “I loved what we landed on… I can even see it as a Halloween costume.” (29:32, Elizabeth)
  • Costume choices echoed Vanessa’s journey—structured, neutral pieces that reference the police look, showing her ongoing struggle to find herself.
  • The “date” outfit—a teal early-2000s vintage dress—was an emotional and aesthetic standout.
  • “It almost feels like something she would have, you know, impulse bought as, like, a dream or...something that reminded her of her mom… it felt like something special, even though it's still very muted.” (31:53, Elizabeth)
• Stunts, Doubles & Physicality
  • Every stunt presents unique challenges (driving scenes, harnesses, action with puppets/animatronics).
  • Elizabeth appreciates her stunt doubles and finds power in physical storytelling.
  • “My favorite stunt… is when Mangle's hands are coming in to grab me… that's all acting. It's like puppet acting and me acting. And I get so pleased when I'm like, oh, it looks like it's really grabbing me… but I'm in total control.” (38:33, Elizabeth)
• On-Set Atmosphere
  • The team’s camaraderie and talent made the process joyful.
  • Costume department anecdotes—Elizabeth and Whitney joking about coveting and sometimes acquiring set wardrobe as keepsakes for their personal closets.

5. Character Creation & Auditioning in the Modern Era

• Process of Embodying Characters
  • Discuss the unpredictability and pressure of auditions—both self-tape and in-person.
  • “I feel like auditions are always the first pancake. They're like a little burnt on one side, maybe not quite done in the middle.” (22:33, Elizabeth)
• Role of Vanity and Preparation
  • Elizabeth likes wearing character-adjacent clothing even in auditions: “I like to dress and, and feel closer to the character.” (23:27, Elizabeth)

6. The Emotional Complexity of Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe

• Hair/Makeup Interactions
  • The final “look” can be a surprise or even unsettling if not fully communicated across teams; a lesson learned through trial and error.
  • Whitney, as a designer, over-communicates via boards and group chats to ensure actor comfort and consistency.
  • “You need to feel like the character, and you need to feel like everything is in its place... It's like having a wrong size pair of shoes. You can't do what you need to do.” (48:55, Whitney)
• Personal Insecurities & Comfort
  • Whitney notes her work is “a bit of a mind reader, a bit of a psychologist, a bit of a therapist all wrapped into a designer.” (50:34, Whitney)
  • The fitting, and the hair/makeup chair, are intimate spaces where actors’ insecurities come to the fore—requiring tact and collaboration.

7. Creative Chemistry & On-Set Relationships

• Importance of Trust
  • Building relationships with other actors, directors, and the immediate crew enhances on-screen chemistry and technical performance.
  • “There's an easiness to it that helps in the scenes, right. Where you're like, I know this person. I have experience with this person. They're not some stranger that I have to pretend that I know.” (56:33, Whitney)
• Collaboration with Camera Teams
  • Knowing camera operators and DPs can lead to subtle in-the-moment adjustments that make all the difference.
  • “A really good camera operator can just, like, whisper, like, look to the left and you could stay in the moment. And then your light catches the eye.” (51:47, Elizabeth)

8. Self-Care and Routine in a Demanding Industry

• The Necessity of Wellness Routines
  • Both Whitney and Elizabeth share the routines that keep them grounded—whether breathwork, journaling, exercise, or crossword puzzles.
  • “Outside of doing the job, the second job is taking care of myself.” (59:22, Elizabeth)
  • “I would say the thing I always, always, always do is some kind of warm up and then some kind of cool down. And I think that is, is something that is a saving grace for me that I've learned…” (59:33, Elizabeth)
  • Whitney: her day starts with a crossword in a Snuggie and a cup of coffee as a comforting, brain-waking ritual.
• Food, Sleep, and Energy
  • Both have adapted to the grueling production environment by prepping food, enforcing rest, and fitting in physical activity wherever possible.

9. Reflections on Career Longevity & Advice

• Persistence Over Perfection
  • “My biggest piece of advice is keep going. And that sounds really, really simple. But I think if you get on the path and you keep going down the path in whatever capacity you can… creative success, you will fail many times and you will try again.” (76:02, Elizabeth)
  • “The struggle never really stops… even the highest performing, greatest actors or costume designers… the inner critic is always there.” (80:04, Elizabeth)
• Adaptability and Finding Your Path
  • Both agree that, while initial ambitions may shift, consistent engagement in the creative “arena” helps you find your real place, whether in acting, writing, design, or elsewhere.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the power of costume:
  • “We do have the power of translating through the medium of clothes, people can do anything we want.” (00:15, Elizabeth)
• On learning and improvement:
  • “Something else you don't realize when you're young is that you get better at things.” (09:00, Elizabeth)
• On the fitting room dynamic:
  • “You're going to be thinking about it. Then you can't do your job.” (55:01, Elizabeth)
• On ‘auditions as pancakes’:
  • “I feel like auditions are always the first pancake. They're like a little burnt on one side, maybe not quite done in the middle.” (22:33, Elizabeth)
• On creative collaboration:
  • “I love to get to know the immediate crew very well because I want them to feel like they can help me in those kinds of moments.” (51:47, Elizabeth)
• On perseverance as an artist:
  • “If you keep going, it's just a... numbers game, truly.” (77:33, Elizabeth)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Elizabeth’s Early Acting & Inspiration – 01:31 to 07:00
• Training at NCSA & Growth – 07:00 to 09:57
• The Importance of Costume for Character – 11:01 to 12:05, 25:16
• Influences: Movies, Musicals & Role Models – 12:11 to 16:34
• Script Selection & Character Building – 17:22 to 18:58
• The ‘FNAF 2’ Experience & Costume Process – 27:37 to 35:13
• Stunts & On-Set Experiences – 37:26 to 41:01
• Chemistry & Crew Collaboration – 51:22 to 58:29
• Wellness, Food, Routine, and Self-Care – 59:01 to 72:00
• Wisdom for New Actors/Artists – 76:02 to 82:30

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a heartfelt and practical dive behind the scenes—not just into movie magic, but into the persistence, sensitivity, and deep collaboration it takes to bring stories and characters to life. Whitney and Elizabeth’s rapport is affectionate and honest, offering industry newcomers and longtime creatives powerful reassurance: keep going, seek connection, and never underestimate the magic of a great fitting, a trusted team, or a morning spent with a crossword.

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Transcript

[Elizabeth Lail]

We ask the public to believe that

[Whitney Ann Adams]

every time they see an actress or

[Elizabeth Lail]

an actor that they're a different person. But I think the important interesting thing is that we do have the power of translating through the medium of clothes, people can do anything we want. And that's why I think we're a very important part of the whole cinema product project.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Welcome to Tales From a Costume Designer. I am your host, Whitney Ann Adams, a professional costume designer and lover of cinema. I'm here to explore the filmmaking process with professionals across the industry. I'm so excited to have a fantastic actor on the show today. Her credits include you, Five Nights at Freddy's 1 and 2, Gonzo Girl Mac and Rita Countdown, and Once Upon a Time. She was recently seen on stage last year in a production, Tennessee Not About Nightingales, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Please welcome to the show Elizabeth Lail. Thank you so much for being here, Elizabeth.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Thanks for having me. Yay.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I'm so happy to be reunited.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I know. Me too.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I would love to begin with a bit of background on your journey thus far. Tell me how you made it to where you are today. Was acting always something wanted to do?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Excellent question. It's so funny now that the longer I'm an actor, it's like, how did I get here? I've been doing it for so long now. Yes, yes. Acting is something I've always wanted to do. I think I wanted to do it before I knew it was something you could do. My parents would take me to see, like the local community theater. And I just remember being blown away by the experience of, you know, laughing in a collective, crying in the dark. Just, just the emotional catharsis of it felt really worthwhile from a very young age. And so I always wanted to do it, although I was very shy. And so my mom forced me to audition for community theater.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, really?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Musical.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And she was right, you know, and I saw something. Yeah, I haven't stopped doing it since. You know, I had done like in the second grade I did Hansel and Gretel and then in the fifth grade, the Emperor's New Clothes. Like, I was. I definitely really wanted to be a part of it right from a young age, but I had the fear.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, me too. I remember acting. I was Granny Buttons in a production of Buttons, Pirates and Pearls in like second grade. And I wore a little gray wig and little wire rimmed glasses. My first costume I probably ever wore, like on stage. But I had that fear that, you know, I always loved being in drama, but it wasn't till I was in college I discovered costume design. But it's sort of the acting, like, pulls you in.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yes. Everyone starts out as an actor. Almost everyone.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Amazing. I love how everyone can also remember the plays they were in.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I know.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Even. Even people who aren't professionals in their adult life, they're like, oh, I was number three tree on the left. You know?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Exactly.

[Elizabeth Lail]

We just grow up performing, which I love.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And it sticks in your. In your mind. Were there any roles that, like, really stuck out to you when you were a kid?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Well, obviously Hansel and Gretel, because I was Gretel, which was a huge deal.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Very big deal.

[Elizabeth Lail]

They all do. It's every role. I think the biggest role that really changed the game for me. Well, now, of course, I'm thinking of two. One was in middle school. It was called Wagon Wheels west, and it was like a children's musical. And I played Kandi Kane.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Amazing.

[Elizabeth Lail]

So just your iconic, swooning Western girl. And I just had the best time. And I met some of my best friends doing that show. And then when I got into high school, the stakes were a lot higher. And we did Arsenic and Old Lace, but I was an understudy because I was a freshman. But the girl who was playing the part, she was, you know, one of the old ladies. She had to work, and so I kept filling in. And I remember one of the teachers, she goes, are you sick? I was like, no, no. She's like, oh, what are you doing with your voice? Because I was doing, like, this old lady voice.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, I love it.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And she meant it. She liked it. In the end, I got the part. In the end, the other girl couldn't do it, so I was doing the part, and I had my little old lady voice.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, my God.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That's amazing. Yeah. That kind of started my high school career. It's like each one of these things were, like, little boost into the right direction. But I was. There was luck involved because I was a freshman. I got a break in this kind of roundabout way.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

You were like, no, I need to do the voice. Did you really think about that? You're doing that, or is it just sort of natural? It just came out of you. You're like, no, I should do a voice.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I. Well, they're very old.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I don't know if you've seen the movie, but, you know, I was also. I was wearing, like, one of my grandmother's wigs, and I think I was doing my grandmother's voice.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, I love that.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Maybe with, like, A little more elderliness to it. Like, she wasn't. Yeah. And what's really funny is, like, the play I just did last summer, I was also doing, like, a rendition of

[Whitney Ann Adams]

my grandmother, but, like, a younger version, a young.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yes, just like, the lilt that she has and the way of speaking, because the play is set in the 1930s, so there's something from another time in there that I was stealing from my grandmother because to me, she feels like from another time.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Absolutely. I love getting to pull our family into our work because I do it with either pieces or photographs or research or. It's so nice to have them sort of go on the journey with us in our work in that way.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. And that they've impacted us whether. Whether they know it or not.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah. So did you go to school for acting after high school?

[Elizabeth Lail]

I did, yes. Well, technically, I went my senior year of high school. I went to the North Carolina School of the Arts for my senior year, which is like a boarding school, because they do, you know, they do dance, they do music, opera, and then film and theater. And so you can start in high school. And I auditioned for that with my best friend. We both went, and then I ended up going to college there as well.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, cool.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And that was, like, one of the best things that ever happened to me because suddenly I was really apathetic in high school. I just. Nowadays, I'm like, you should have studied. You should have learned. But I was just interested in acting. So I think I was wasting away a little bit at public school. And once I was in an art school, I felt you know, really alive and fulfilled and inspired, and I was, like, on fire for acting.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It inspired. It was your drive. You found something that you loved, and you wanted to follow that passion. I mean, there's plenty of things in high school, public school, that is just not. We're not interested in. It's not our passion. And, you know, glad I took those classes, but, yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Glad I got that calculus at one point in my life. I don't have it now.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

No. That's totally gone from my head. I have the geometry I use every day in my work, but other than that, no. No calculus.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I bet you do.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I didn't realize how much math would be involved in costume design. There's a lot of math.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. If you could see my face right now, the people in the world, I'm like, oh, no. The terror. That would terrorize me. Although I'm sure one day I'll do the play proof, you know, I'll do Something.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Math.

[Elizabeth Lail]

All math.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And you'll have to really believe those words you're saying.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I have to really work on it. Every once in a while, I think I should take a math class just to prove to myself that I can do it. I just didn't have. You know, I wasn't taught well for the way that I learn, and. And I didn't. Something else you don't realize when you're young is that you get better at things.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah. Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Where as an adult, I try something like, I'm learning to play the guitar right now, and I'm so terrible, but I get a little. A little bit better every day.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Just those little babies.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. And I'm. And I'm like, this is true for everything and including acting. And I'm so grateful that, like, I kept acting and I. I had the opportunity to study at school, because I don't think I was that great in high school. You know, there's some initial instinct and talent that everyone brings, but you're kind of doing an idea of a thing

[Whitney Ann Adams]

and working it out and feeling it in your body and putting on these characters, and you're like, does this fit or this style fit or does. I mean, my early costume designs were awful, but, you know, you got to work out some of those things.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Kept going, right?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Exactly.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Kept going. Because you can. That's how you learn.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

You learn by doing.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Really be willing to make a fool of yourself to be an actor.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

You really do.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. Over and forever.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Like, all the time.

[Elizabeth Lail]

All the time. Constant. I'm doing it constantly, but there's something

[Whitney Ann Adams]

like, both wonderful about that and terrifying. You just have to put yourself fully out there so often, but you're really living life to its fullest, too, at the same time.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And the hope is. And it does happen every once in a while, like magic happens. Lightning strikes. Because you've tried it a million different ways. It's just like inventing something. You've done it so many ways wrong, and then suddenly it clicks. There it is.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And that's the right thing. It's like when I see the character come alive in the fitting room, all of a sudden, it's just. It's not just clothes. It's, here's a new person who wasn't there two minutes ago. Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Well, you're so lucky. You know, you have, like, the actor in the room, and you see them walk in, in their clothes and who they are outside of this character, their energy is different. I can. I can imagine that would be really exciting. Or when you're designing something or fitting something. I mean, we can talk about this a lot. How transformative and important the clothes are. Yes, the costumes are. I mean, they can. They do so much heavy lifting.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I think you need to know who a person is. Admit it. And then you. It's like a relay race, sort of. I'm the beginning of the relay. I mean, I take the vision that you see the person, the character, and then you really develop them into a well rounded, interesting person. But you have to have that initial, like, who are they? Audience sees them, gut reaction, and then you take it from there.

[Elizabeth Lail]

The perceived idea of them just based on what they look like. I love that question.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Were there any characters that really stood out to you when you were growing up? Like, did you watch a lot of tv, film, theater as a kid?

[Elizabeth Lail]

I. Well, the theater that really changed the game for me is I saw Les Miserables at my high school and I wept like a baby during On My Own Eponymous. Although now as an adult, I'm much more likely to weep during I Dreamed a Dream. Yes. Because the dream is, you know, I've

[Whitney Ann Adams]

been dreaming a dream of times gone by. Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I was like, it's so funny how you relate to different people at different stages in your life.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right? Absolutely. I'd be so interested to listen to Les Mis again because I loved that musical. I saw it a million times. We did it when I was in high school. Yeah. And I bet I would very much identify more.

[Elizabeth Lail]

You might relate to Javert. This is what I'm saying. That that musical, you never know who's gonna hit. Yeah. And my parents, they had seen, you know, like, the London cast, and they had the CD on in the car of the Broad, the West End London cast. So I grew up listening to that a lot and being really taken by that story. And then I also. I just watched, like, really, like, cheesy films growing up that I adored. Maybe cheesy is an unfair word, but one of my favorite films was Ever After.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Love Ever After.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Talk about wonderful costumes as well.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Beautiful. So informative. Like Angelica Houston and her outfits. So good as a kid.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

As a. Whatever. We were tweens at that point, when that came out. And how just the romanticism of it, the beauty of those costumes and taking you on that journey. And what I love about those kind of movies, that. Yeah, they're playing to our inner idealistic selves of love and romance and happiness. And I think that's beautiful. I love those films. They're some of my favorites.

[Elizabeth Lail]

This is my favorites. And Then I watched a lot of Zorro.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Also so good to me. Like, these are the films I grew up on, and they're just, like, strong storytelling. I think it's just such strong storytelling. And then as I got older, I watched Moulin Rouge. Yeah, that was high school for me, which, I mean, gutted me.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

My favorite. My favorite film.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Is it your favorite? Yes. I mean, it's my favorite favorite of all time because it's so beautiful.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's. I just saw it on 35 millimeter for the first time last week at the Academy museum.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Oh, man, I want to do that.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It was so cool. It was very special to get to. It was only the second time I'd seen it in a theater because, you know, it came out when I've never

[Elizabeth Lail]

seen it in a theater.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, really? Yeah. Because it came out in, what, 2001. So if you missed it, you sort of missed it in the theater.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Right.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And it's not until now that things are being put up on the screen again. But I definitely had to go see that. Just that's what made me want to be a costume designer, that movie.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Oh, gosh. I don't. I bet it inspired, like, a whole generation of people to get into the movies. It's like, oh, this is what we're doing. Absolutely. Yep.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Sign me up.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Count me in.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I'm there.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Count me in.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Were there any other sort of actors that you really admired or would, like, seek them out when you're in school? Or is it just you liked the storytelling and the. Like, the adventure of Zorro and.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, it's so interesting because I think it's maybe more common the other way, where someone falls in love with an actor. But for a lot of that time, I don't think I connected that that was an actual person. Right. Like, I wasn't really following celebrity culture other than Britney Spears, of course.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Of course.

[Elizabeth Lail]

We had to, because I originally wanted to be Britney Spears in the third grade.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I. Let's be honest, I just, like, re. Listened to Baby one more time on repeat for, like, an hour yesterday, so.

[Elizabeth Lail]

She's such a boss.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

So good.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It's so good. She's amazing.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes. So Brittany forever.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, I don't think I. And of course, now there's so many actors and actresses that I love and adore and admire, but when I was young, it was. It was less about the specific person and, like you said, more about. It's always been for me and continues to be for me, more about the feeling that I'm left with at the end or even in the middle, or just. I love to be moved by whatever I'm watching or taking in.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right. I never want to ask, so why did that get made? You know, I want to really have a feeling of, oh, that really took me on a journey.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, That's a dark question. Why did that.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I definitely had that a couple times, and I hate having that feeling. So I really. I do. I do often ask when I'm interviewing for a project, like, what do you. What do you want the audience to feel at the end of the film? Like, when you're actually reading a script for a potential project, what do you look for in a character or a script or what draws you in?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Exactly that. It's the same thing. It's. What. What do I feel reading the story? Because I'm not really. You know, people always ask, what's your dream role? And if there are all kinds of plays that I would die to be in. But, you know, most of the time, I'm reading film scripts that are. That I don't know anything about, you know, unless it was Joan of Arc, you know, I don't know who this person is, and I don't know why she's there, and I don't know why we're telling the story. And if I know those things by the end, then I know I've read a really good script.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I love that.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I know why she's there. I know how she moves the story, and I know what this story could bring about because of what it. The feeling it put in me. So it's not super technical.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

No, that's great. It's about a vibe, too. I mean, does it make me feel something? That's what I first look for in a script as well. The same thing. Is it making me feel some kind of emotion, or do I want to go on this journey? And I also look. Is it a capital C costume movie? You know, is it period? Is it. Do I get to have fun with certain characters?

[Elizabeth Lail]

You know, I want to be in a capital C costume movie. Me, too.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Me, too.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Let's work on that. Whitney. I was like, I'd like that, too. Absolutely. Give me period clothes.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I love doing period. It's super fun. And I love, like, the 20th century.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And I think also, you know, like Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice, I rewatch

[Whitney Ann Adams]

that every, like, three months.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That's another movie that, at a young age, really took me, and I. Yeah, I rewatch it all the time because it's a perfect. It's a Perfect film.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It really is. I mean, from every aspect, from the design to the score, to the performances, to the direction. I mean, it is a masterpiece. And it moves you through this amazing piece of literature that maybe is a little inaccessible language wise to us. And so adapting it into this beautiful moving picture, it's stunning. And in terms of getting onto a project, do most of your auditions happen on Zoom now or self tapes or, you know, do you often just have to do that and not be in an audition room?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yes, I did do an audition this year in a room for the first time, I think, in a year, over a year. And I was very aware of that. I was. I was like, oh, my goodness, I have to go and be an actual person in front of people and then try and do something true but so fake at the same time. Because we're all sitting there and it's

[Whitney Ann Adams]

a new character and you're in this, you know, transitional space, some random room somewhere. Is it harder to do that than a self tape or is it different at this point?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Unfortunately, I think it's just like anything. It's a muscle.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And I feel very lucky. When I started my career, everything was. Almost everything was in person. So I started going in the room, figured out how to do that, and then everything became on tape. And now I have figured out to do that. And there's. There's more magic that can happen in the room for me, but there is more control and therefore a sense of safety in a self tape. And sometimes maybe willing to take a greater risk in a self tape because it's just you. It's you and your friend.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And if you didn't like that version

[Elizabeth Lail]

of something, do it again.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah, tape it again. You can find the right version of it and play around with different things. But when you're in a room, there is that magic that can happen. But then also you get your one take or your one shot at it,

[Elizabeth Lail]

one or two maybe, and it feels a lot more precious. And therefore sometimes for me, it can make me feel like, okay, just do it perfect once and do it. Perfect is never the way to. Right. You can't.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

You can't do it perfect because perfect doesn't exist.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And doesn't exist.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

You haven't had time with the director and you don't know what their take on the character is. And you're sort of coming at it from what's on the page and what you take from what's on the page, which is its own specific thing.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, it's a. It's that it goes back to what I was saying about making a fool of yourself. You do that a lot.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right. You have to get comfortable.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Very kind. Yeah. Nobody's ever kicked me out of an audition room or. And when I say make a fool, it doesn't mean, you know, don't prepare. I'm super prepared.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And ready to work. Happy to try. But I always, I feel like auditions are always the first pancake.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

They're like a little burnt on one side, maybe not quite done in the middle. Yeah, yeah. And you, and you yourself are also trying on the character for the first time. And so sometimes you're like, oh, this really fits. And then sometimes you're like that did not fit at all. And good to know. Right? To know.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right. You're like, maybe this isn't the way or the character or xyz.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And then at home you have to be your own cinematographer, your own art department, your own costume department. Like you have to be a little one person show to do the self tape too.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. There's a lot more vanity in a self tape. For better or for worse.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Do you ever like add a costume piece or do you try to keep it more neutral?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, no, you know, I'm always. And of course there's a lot of different opinions about stuff like this, but I, I like to dress and, and feel closer to the character. You know, if it's something period, if, if you're wearing this, it's going to be harder for them to see you, you know, and like I'm wearing a button down shirt. I keep forgetting people can't see me. You know, like you want to do something that hints to the character or if there's something in the scene, sometimes it's something really specific like oh, she has turquoise earrings and I'm like, oh, I think, I think she should be wearing some kind of turquoise jewelry. Like I think these things are in the script for a reason.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Absolutely.

[Elizabeth Lail]

When I auditioned for five nights at Freddy's, it was very, you know, like hair back, black shirt, cop. Right.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Strong, structural.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. Everything in order because I am not strong and structural. And I think that's a part of Vanessa's like weird quirkiness is there's something kind of incongruous about her. But I think, yeah, that's a part of the fun. So I like being the costume designer for self tapes. I would, I, I wouldn't want the load for a film. And I'm so grateful for costume designer because like we were, we were talking before we Started about the, the schlepping you guys have to do with the

[Whitney Ann Adams]

bags so much, taking stuff everywhere, shopping,

[Elizabeth Lail]

then the returning of the shopping. Anyways, I'm very grateful.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

So when you're reading a script, does the look of the character ever pop into your mind or do you sort of wait until you start to talk to the costume designer and hair and makeup heads?

[Elizabeth Lail]

It pops into my mind absolutely. I think I love when a costumer sends their vision board for the character though, because oftentimes their creativity when it comes to clothes is much wider than my own. And usually I get, I get much more excited about what's brought to me than what I myself can create in my head. But that, and I think that's very specific to me because I am not particularly fashion forward, you know, I don't know. You know, I don't want to like, say I'm, you know, terrible with clothes, but I'm just not as interested in clothes as I am other things. And I have people in my life who are super interested in clothes and so they shop a lot more. And every piece has a story and is beautiful and so quality and. And I'm over here thinking like, oh, I should go to Marshalls soon. Or, you know, like, I'm just right. I'm such a creature of habit. So I just wear the same things over and over again. Anyways, that all that to say is that where my brain can go? It's not nearly as far as where I feel a professional costume designer's brain can go. So it normally gets me very excited to see their vision. And there's always, and I've never worked on anything where it was like really far to left from what I felt and thought would align with the character. That's really good because, knock on wood,

[Whitney Ann Adams]

it's happened to me a couple of times on occasion. But it's like you always get there, it's always working it out. It's about a feeling I know in the fitting room. It's like playing around with different things I never have. Like this is exactly what they have to wear. I mean, unless you are building something from scratch, then it's much more of a lead in process. But if you're trying on contemporary clothes, like, you can really play around, you can really have a lot of fun and find the character together. I mean, that's what we did for Vanessa. And then maybe this is a perfect opportunity to talk about Five Nights at Freddy's 2. We pick up with Vanessa after she's recovered from her injuries. At the end of the first film and she's still trying to figure out who she is. How is it coming back to a character you've played before?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Well, it's really exciting because you feel, I will say, the comfort level you feel is greater because you've gotten to see the first movie. You see what is trying to be made. Not to say that I knew exactly how number two was gonna go or that I fully understood the story we were gonna tell from the get. But I love coming back and collaborating with the same people. That is such a joy when you love them. And I just love our crew. I love our cast. I love our whole team.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

They're incredible. I mean, how lucky. I was one of the very few new people and I felt so welcomed in and everyone was just so wonderful. Our cast is incredible. Just some of the nicest people around.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And there's so much talent because there's just so much being created in that film with the puppets, the animatronics, just mind blowing. The set design, everything is. And you guys doing like the faz fest, oh my gosh. Was just amazing.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

You'd walk into our, you know, costume office. They're just stuff everywhere.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Sorry. Vanessa.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Vanessa, she's very close to me in the sense like she hasn't found her.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Her direction or she knows what she's comfortable with shape wise and she's still figuring out her direction.

[Elizabeth Lail]

She's still hiding to a big degree. And I think her cloth reveal that I know.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I could not wait to get you on the phone because for me, I'm always trying to get my actors production to allow me to contact my actors as soon as possible. Because I like to get started and see what feelings my actors have. And especially with the first movie, you're mostly in your police uniform and then one contemporary outfit. And so it's like, okay, we have so many different places we can go in this film.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. I loved what we landed on as well. Like the maneuver, her main look. I can even see it as a Halloween costume.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It was. It's so good. I'm really happy, you know, and it took us a while to get there. It took us like, I think we had three fittings to just finalize everything because going with this more minimalist color palette, minimalist shapes, it had to be perfect. It had to be exactly right. So I think we tried on so many different coats and shirts, like the text, the jacket.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, you needed something, she needed a little something and she needed to be covered.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right. I'm always thinking about Stunts.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Oh, yeah. And thank God you're thinking about that. I was thinking about, you know, emotionally,

[Whitney Ann Adams]

both important for both.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Absolutely. Right. She needed. Yeah, she needed places to hide.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Exactly. Well. And her color palette really stayed in this neutral place that really came from the police, you know, uniform and the tan sweater and still, you know, neutral. It's still trying to figure out who you are. Right. It's like Vanessa's not a bright color girly at all.

[Elizabeth Lail]

No, no. She's like. She's a very dirty penny on the side of the road.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I do love your. Your shiniest moment is the date outfit, which I loved that teal dress.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That was so exciting.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It was fun to get to dress you up.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It was really fun. And I feel when I came in, you know, I could tell. I was like, oh, people aren't used to seeing me this way. They're like, oh, she cleans up nice. And I feel like Josh was like, oh, that's really nice. I was like, yeah, I know. I don't normally look this good.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right. It was like, you're making an effort. Vanessa's making an effort, and she wants to look good. And is it a date? Is it not a date?

[Elizabeth Lail]

I loved that dress. That was beautiful.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

That was vintage from the early aughts. I, like, literally went to every rental house in LA and was searching for the perfect early 2000s dress, since we're in 2002. And that one just sort of sang to me, especially because it's got this beautiful texture on it, and the rest of your clothes have very, very, like, no pattern and very minimal texture. And so it was sort of her most stepping out of her comfort zone, which I loved totally.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It almost feels like something she would have, you know, impulse bought as, like, a dream or an idea or something that reminded her of her mom, you know, that's like. It felt. It felt like something special, even though it's still very muted, not. Nothing crazy. I'm so glad we got to do that. That was another thing, though. It was like, how much skin can we show?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah. Like, couldn't go too open necked. And it had to also. You had to be covered layer wise. So we found the sweater to go over it because we felt like it was too. She was too uncovered, too revealed, because she's still trying to cover herself up to it a huge extent, big time.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And that's another thing you're talking about, like, collaborating with the actor on top of having, like, whatever the creative vision is between, you know, the costume designer and the actor on Top of that you have the actors insecurities.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah. Right.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Like truly. I mean at least for me.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

You start everybody and you're like oh, is this what I look like? Is this what I'm going to look like?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I think we all think about our own personal lives too. Like when we're not on camera and we are uncomfortable in the fitting room. You magnify to a million when you're an actor.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Well. And what's good for a camera, especially tv. But I would say even in this it was like we tried on a baggier jean which in my life I would wear all the time and I'm like these are great. Love a baggy jean. But for film they're. They're like no, no.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It just. Yeah, it looked.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It needed to vague. Yeah. It needs to be more structured which I think is right. Kind of what we were talking about. Even with my self tape. Like she needs to have some structure.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah, structure, control. Like the bagginess was too cool and it was. It didn't follow the line of who. Who she was. I think her casual clothes needed to sort of echo the uniform. So that's why she's in a button down structured shirt. That's why she's in the coat that almost looks like it could be a cop coat and everything is that echo and it's what she feels comfortable and safe in. So yeah, we tried so many good looking things. We're like, we love this on you, Elizabeth.

[Elizabeth Lail]

You should have this for your life.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Which I think I do do have some of those things because they were like that's another way I get clothes. Costume shops.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Exactly. Well, it's like if we you know, bought a vintage or it's unreturnable and production doesn't want it. It's like so nice to be able to share these things that we either altered for you or just fit you perfectly. It's like nice to be able to share those pieces and it's nice to

[Elizabeth Lail]

have something from a memory from a film set. You're like, oh, I got my pants. They're my Vanessa pants.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I love that I have this plaid shirt that was. We were trying to decide between the one that you wore for that last out your main outfit. And then there was this black and blue plaid shirt that could have been it. And we decided too much pattern. Well, I have that in my closet. So every time I see it and I wear it a lot I think of you in the movie because it's

[Elizabeth Lail]

like could have been Vanessa.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Could have Been Vanessa. But it's me now.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That would happen to me so much. Just like shopping. The costume department is so dangerous.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, believe me, I have to rein myself in for my purse because when I'm out in the mall, oh, I see this for myself and then pull out my wallet. And I was like, whitney, no, you can't shop for yourself. Put it back. You're on a job.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That must be so hard.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's hard to turn that part of my brain off. But. So I have a. I cannot. I have a spending freeze for myself when I'm on a job. I can't. I cannot.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Really?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah. I'm not allowed to buy stuff for myself.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Wow. And is this like something you like that is just internal or is there like something that is an actual barrier?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's just internal, but it's more like, oh, okay.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I was like, is there a brick for spending?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I wish.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I have a brick for Instagram.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

That's so smart. I need to get one of those.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That's good.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

But it's nice to just know this is what I'm doing. Kind of like when I'm on a job, I wear kind of the same outfit every day, so I don't think about what I'm personally wearing. I wear the same black slacks, the same style button down shirt. I have like 10 pairs of these pants and shirts.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yes, but you have great earrings on always, right?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Always. Good accessories.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. You might be being uniform, but I always remember noticing and be like, oh, those are such cute earrings.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's my favorite thing to collect your bumblebees and things. Yes, I love my bumblebees. They're. They're the ones I wear the most. But yeah, that's the main thing. I have a spending freeze on is jewelry because I love it so much. That's my issue. Yes, I love that. I can't resist a good. A good jewelry.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I love dressing the same every day for work. I think that's such a good idea,

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I think because our lives are so chaotic and you know, I have a question later about wellness, but how just having any kind of routine is super helpful to get us through the chaos of this job and all the crazy things that you have to prepare for. I mean, you had a bunch of stunts in this. Were there anything that you hadn't done before? Or harnesses you got to wear for the first time?

[Elizabeth Lail]

I mean, everything I hadn't done before, really. I mean, every stunt is its own new thing. There might be elements of it. They did put me in a Harness. But I think ultimately they decided not to. To do the stunt. But we rehearsed a harness stunt. The driving I had never done before. And for some reason, driving on set, suddenly I feel like I'm 16 and I don't have a license. Oh, absolutely. Like, I get really, really camera shy. Driving because everyone's looking at you driving. Roll it into the ditch. And I'm like, oh, I'm. I'm rolling it into this ditch.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

You want me to do this or.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Because you have to stop at such a specific spot, but you can't look and you. They can't see it in your eyes that you're looking for an orange cone.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right. And you have to.

[Elizabeth Lail]

You're supposed to. Exactly. You're supposed to have some kind of sense of urgency because you're trying to get somewhere.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And then you have to get this.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I'm just looking for the cone. The stress of driving is really overwhelming for me.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

But I can imagine. You did it.

[Elizabeth Lail]

You did such a great job, and it's totally fine. I don't know why I'm hard on myself in general, but. And then the stunts with the. My favorite stunt in the second film is when Mangle's hands are coming in to grab me. Because that's all acting. It's like puppet acting and me acting. And I. I get so pleased when I'm like, oh, it looks like it's really grabbing me and yanking me out of this window. But in actuality, I'm in total control. That's just cool. The. The. The power of, like, physical storytelling is so fun and cool to me.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And it felt so real. Especially it was the button on the end of our main trailer. Like, it was that amazing of a moment. And so, you know, getting to have control over that.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, that whole sequence, I love doing that. It was like being in an action film a little bit for me. Yeah.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

You had a lot of action days. There was just a lot. I think you had three different stunt doubles. So I had to dress a lot of people in that outfit. Thank God for them. I had so many wonderful multiples of that outfit. Probably 15 of each piece, I think.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. They wanted me to back up the car at one point, and I was like, can Lee do it? Lee is my stunt double. Because it wasn't on camera. And I just, like. I get so.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Especially the backing up. There's the. The rolling into the ditch feels like a totally separate thing than backing up

[Elizabeth Lail]

and backing up quick. Yes. But I rely heavily. I always say I do the baby stunt Anything that I can do, I will do. And then the stunt doubles, they do all the.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Lee was amazing.

[Elizabeth Lail]

She was amazing. They do all the. The big. What I love most, though, about us, like, side by side in the same outfit is there's me, and I'm like, a little curvy, a little soft, and then there's Lee, and she is pure muscle.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I love the side by side photos. Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I was like, oh, is that. Is that what I could look like if I lifted more weight? Anyways, she's beautiful.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

So beautiful, so strong. Did so many great stunts, especially, I mean, all the marionette stuff at Freddy's. Yeah. There's a lot of crazy. There's a lot of crazy things that happen in this one. A lot of water. I had a lot of multiples for water. I mean, just water, Joe. Well, Josh had to. Josh had to fall in the water.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Oh, Josh in the water.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, gosh.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I. Yes, but he nailed it.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

He nailed his fall. We only did it the one time.

[Elizabeth Lail]

First time.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

He was perfect at it.

[Elizabeth Lail]

He's. He's like that. He's just.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

He's just that good.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. He just knows what it takes.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I mean, he's one of the nicest, most lovely actors I've ever gotten to work with. It must have been really fun reuniting with him on this.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I adore Josh. I absolutely adore him. I feel very similar. He's such a great. He's such a great number one for our whole team. And he's such good energy, such a professional, and just a lovely. A lovely human and a lovely time.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Absolutely. And a big dog lover. And, you know, we had our costume dog, Cosmo, Sweetie, who loved everybody, but was especially in love with Josh because he could just smell the dog lover on him.

[Elizabeth Lail]

The love, which I think dogs, they can tell. Every time a dog approaches me in the park, I'm like, see? I'm a good person.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yep.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I think that animals can tell.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

They totally can. Dogs like dogs. Dogs and cats run up to me anytime I'm around them. So I think they just have that sense of someone who wants to get to know them or loves them unequivocally.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It was also important for me to connect your character with your father and brother, color wise. So I made sure you're all wearing different shades of purple at different points in the film, which is my little subtle nod to the game and the important purple in the franchise. But we only see you in purple in the dream because it really didn't make sense to put you in it anywhere else. Because I felt like you had to stay like that neutral color for the rest of, like, Vanessa during the day.

[Elizabeth Lail]

But I love the dream, because I love the dream. She's in her family home. She's confronting her family. So it makes sense that that's how she would manifest, even in her own mind.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And then getting to make that little mini version of your outfit for young Vanessa. So cute.

[Elizabeth Lail]

So that's what I would look like if I was still a child.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

So many multiple versions of you.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yes. Yeah.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Did the marionette terrify you? As much as it terrified me, it was mostly just Piper being super scary.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That's what I was going to say. I. The actual. The puppets themselves, I'm more in awe, Amazed. I think the animatronics, they just look amazing. The marionette looks amazing. So I'm always just, like, fangirling over the artistry of it. But Piper as the marionette was truly terrifying because she had this maniacal laugh that she. It was almost like she was in character, this demonic character the whole time. Although I think someone did have to go up and say, piper, you can't laugh like that anymore. Because it was. It was hard for the crew to do their job because it was so bone chilling. You know, it would make you startle. It was terrifying.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

She did. She channeled that and harnessed whatever that was and did such a great job. But she was truly. See, when I was, like, adjusting her sweater on set and she was laughing into my ear, I was like, piper, you're doing such a brilliant job. I'm scared right now. I'm terrified.

[Elizabeth Lail]

But nobody else can do their job because you're so. You're too far gone. Yes.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Come back.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Come back into the most terrifying version of her. And Piper's such a sweetheart, too.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Love her.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That. To see. And it's not that she was not mean. She was just scary.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

She was. She was getting into character in such a great way. And it's so cool. She is so good, too. And I feel like so good. Acting at that age must be so difficult.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Miraculous. I couldn't do it, That's. That's for sure. It's really special what she's able to do. Yeah. At her age. Amazing.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And then in terms of working on any sort of film, not just five nights at Freddy's, like, what's your collaboration like with hair and makeup? Do you talk before you get there? Do you talk when you get to set?

[Elizabeth Lail]

You definitely talk before you get there. But I find with hair and makeup, you don't really know until you know, until it's happening to you.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right. That it's being put on your face. Right.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Which makes it trickier because with costumes we try a billion things on. I tell you, I'm like, oh, I feel weird about this part of my body. X, Y, Z. You know, there's, there's a lot of communication. Whereas in hair and makeup, I find there's a lot less.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's also harder to visualize what the finished thing is going to be till it's done. Right. Or like.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yes. And sometimes like if wigs are involved. Like I wore a wig in the, the play that I did and the first wig made me look like a matronly old lady, which was just so wrong for the character. But I had to wear it for a rehearsal which was so internally painful.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right. Because it felt so wrong.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. And it, it shifts you so much. And I've had that with hair before. Like especially on tv, you show up and they, they do it on the day. There's not always a lot of talk and then suddenly they've done your hair casually. But then the costume is a business outfit and there wasn't that communication. Yeah. Sometimes it's like you need to know exactly what you're wearing almost more than anything else. These are just things I've learned as I've worked, which is like I, this is why they put the photo. When they give you your costume, they're like, this is what it looks like.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Here it is.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And I'm like, I love to see that before I go into hair and makeup. Because sometimes you read a scene and you think, oh, this is the casual outfit or she's at home.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right.

[Elizabeth Lail]

But costumes has decided, no, no, no, she's just come from work.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Exactly.

[Elizabeth Lail]

When the details aren't all in the script, they get filled in by different teams. And if all the teams are not

[Whitney Ann Adams]

on the same or not communicating with each other, like you want a hair and makeup department who's also talking with costumes. Like I'm the most over communicative person because I want everyone to know everything. So I'm on a group chat with hair and makeup at all times. Okay. I just fit this outfit or with this, just got changed to this. This is what they're wearing. Get it over to them. I do these crazy boards of every single outfit in every single scene. So you have it. Hair and makeup has it. Everybody has it. So if we're all on the same page, then. Because I don't want you, the actor to be stuck in the middle of those kind of communication issues, like, you shouldn't be. Bear the brunt of that lack of communication, and that can be tough.

[Elizabeth Lail]

But you do. You. Do you. Like, I've had to. And I did not experience this on five nights at Freddy's because I think you were very communicative. And my look was very. It was the same. So there was. And the makeup is very minimal. The hair is very minimal, which was great. I loved it.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And we had amazing team.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. I love our team. And I. Because I know them well now I also feel like I could say, hey, this feels weird sometimes. That's the thing with hair and makeup, is that you don't. For me, I would love to hear what other actors feel about this, is that you don't want to insult someone's work by saying, hey, this isn't right.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And even. Even though that's usually never the intention. The intention is usually, this isn't right for my character or this isn't right for vanity's sake. Both of which unfortunately matter. Yeah. Because they. They. They create the energy of the whole.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

If you feel uncomfortable on camera, nothing's gonna work. You need to feel like the character, and you need to feel like everything is in its place or the correct version of it. You can't feel off kilter. It's like having a wrong size pair of shoes. You can't do what you need to do.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And I've done too many, you know, because I'm a bit of a people pleaser, so I've done too many moments where I've just taken it and felt off kilter, like you said. And now as I've gotten a little older, I'm like, no, no, that's not. That's not my job. And in fact, it serves the greater good to say, hey, this isn't right. Or from like, I prefer it this way. It's so silly. But there is a piece. I mean, it's the same in clothes, unfortunately. Like, you're also dealing with a woman's insecurities or any person's insecurities.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Absolutely. Every single person who walks into my fitting room takes. We all have our own baggage that we carry with us. And what's important. What can people look past what needs to be addressed? And, you know, I have women going through menopause who can't wear sweaters. So even if it's winter, we're not doing sweaters.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Interesting.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Finding ways to make it look like the appropriate season, but then they're not drowning in sweat. Or feeling uncomfortable or feeling too hot and, you know, thinking about every single person and where they are in their life. And, I mean, half of my job is just being able to read between the lines of what an actor needs or see.

[Elizabeth Lail]

See how you're like, oh, she doesn't feel good.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah, yeah. And without them having to say it too. It's. So I have to be a bit of a mind reader, a bit of a psychologist, a bit of a therapist all wrapped into a designer on top of it.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It's very emotional. It is clothes, your body.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It really is.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It can be very emotional. And like I said, both of the hair and makeup and costumes inform so much of the character. And. And to act, you need, like, a level of freedom, even if the character is not free, you, the actor, need to feel like you can do anything at any moment within the boundaries that have been created with the hair, makeup and costumes. And then, of course, like, the circumstances and the set and safety, you know,

[Whitney Ann Adams]

all of those things that you have to keep in your brain and then also have the freedom to do whatever scene that you're doing. I mean, do you have much interaction? I'm sure you have interaction with the DP on set, the camera operators, because you have to, you know, communicate with all the directions and the director's telling you where to go. And, like, there's a lot of different people you're interacting with to make sure that you can do that.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I love knowing definitely both the camera operators or however many like as well as possible, because they can really help you. They're right and they're right there. They're so close to you. So you might be doing something and your eye isn't catching the light, but you're so in the moment. And a really good camera operator can just, like, whisper, like, look to the left and you could stay in the moment. And then your light catches the eye, which, of course, the DP is in the background going like, oh, her eyes. Not in the light. You know what I mean? That's what they're thinking. So I love to get to know the immediate crew very well because I want them to feel like they can help me in those kinds of moments.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Because you can't see, which, like, where your head is turned, you have a feeling and a blocking from rehearsal.

[Elizabeth Lail]

But yeah, and that's only like, 5, 10% of my brain is concerned with that. And the rest of it is just trying to do the truth of the moment. So you need the whole team. You need everyone, because you could do some Incredible acting. And it doesn't count for anything because it's out of focus or. Right. Classic.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Or your. Yeah. Or your head's. You're not. You don't have the glint in your eye.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It takes all of us together. We truly are everyone.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And. And even like the. The wardrobe people on set. I rely on them so heavily. Like you said, psychologists, therapists. I feel like hair and makeup, everyone is. Is playing that role to a degree.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And also knowing, you know, my team has to know like, what's important to fix, continuity wise. What's not important to fix. Is it better to keep an actor in the moment so they don't like have a customer running up and adjusting something when they're actually in an emotive moment? It's knowing when to back off and when to step in and when to help out.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It's a special skill.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Truly.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It's really magical when someone's great at it. And again, we had such an incredible team.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I love my team. They were incredible. Shout out to my entire set team for knocking it out of the park.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. And taking such good care of me and everyone else. But I always felt very, very well taken care of.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

That's the best. That's what we aim for.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That goes a long way. Yeah, it goes a long way. And in my psyche.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

So you can focus on what you're there to do. My goal is to set the actor up for success as much as possible. So you don't have to think about the costume when you're on set. It is just there and is aiding you. But you're not thinking about it because we did all the thinking beforehand. We figured all that out before. So then you can just be. Instead of having it take up a percentage of your concentration.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That's the hope with everything. And that's the same with hair and makeup as well. Going back to. If something feels a little off. If you don't fix it, then you're going to be thinking about it.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes. And then distracting you from what you're actually doing?

[Elizabeth Lail]

What are you doing? Yeah. Then you can't do your job.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

So do you try to talk with some of your other actors before you get to set? Do you talk to them, like when you get there? Do you often have rehearsals?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Depends. Depends on the project. I'm working on something now and the director wants me and the other actor to hang out. Even though in the film. I'm sorry, my cat is scratching. I don't know if you guys will be able to hear that or Not. But in the film, it's not like they're best friends or know each other very well, but he. This director sort of believes in. In chemistry just from the actors knowing each other. And I think there is something to that, because I've noticed, like, in theater, as you go on, it just gets deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper. And a part of that is you've rehearsed it, but another part of that is I know this person. This person knows me. So there's a lot of faith and trust in the collaboration. So I. I think it. I think it really serves to be in relationship with the other actors. Doesn't mean they have to be your best friend or that it has to go beyond filming. Although oftentimes it does, because actors are really incredible people. Oftentimes like Josh. Josh and I are very good friends. And Freddie and Piper. If Piper was a little older, we'd be besties.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah. Yeah. It's building that trust and the connection so you don't have to. There's an easiness to it that helps in the scenes, right. Where you're like, I know this person. I have experience with this person. They're not some stranger that I have to pretend that I know.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And I know they're gonna catch whatever I throw at them. There's. I think that's. Yeah, that's an amazing feeling to. And I. I've noticed that because I've done. I've done a lot of TV where you work with people, maybe just for a day or two, but then you work with someone over eight episodes, and by that eighth episode, the two of you or whoever you're regularly interacting with. I do feel like there's. Your characters have history, but then you have history.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right?

[Elizabeth Lail]

And there's just a lot more going on in between you. And we're always trying to create, you know, in story, what is between these two people.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And sometimes it's an alchemy that you can't really quantify. It just is. Is an energy, is a feeling. And, like, that's the huge part of it, big time.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That's the exciting part of it.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

That's what I love. And I love working with actors that I've worked with before, too, because we already have a shorthand. We get to walk into the fitting room already knowing each other, already trusting each other, already knowing that we're on the same page and can communicate and figure things out. So anytime I get to rework with actors again, I really love it, and I really treasure that it's Rare that that gets to happen.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Me too. I see why directors want to work with the same people over and over again. I get it. Because. Because of exactly what you just said. There's a level of trust that is built when you do the first thing that just allows you to fly even further the next time.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah, I feel like I do some of my best work when you're in that safer position of knowing someone and trusting someone and getting to experiment a little further. I mean, I've done four movies with this one director, Christopher Landon, and getting to do four with him. It's like by our last one, we had so much of a shorthand, we could really play around with stuff. And I wasn't worried about throwing things at him that maybe would or would not work. It was just a lot more freedom and fun.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Well, I hope we get to do it again.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Me too.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I really hope so.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Me too. Circling back to the wellness of it all, I think we've talked in the past how important it is to take care of ourselves while we do this challenging work, both mentally and physically. I mean, for me, a routine is so important to keep me grounded. What do you do to keep yourself like. Well, both on and off set?

[Elizabeth Lail]

So much. I do so much, I would say, outside of doing the job, the second job is taking care of myself.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Absolutely.

[Elizabeth Lail]

So much. Just like the whole day is. Especially because you're so busy when you're on set, or at least you're, you're. You're energetically busy, even if you're sitting in your trailer for two hours, which sometimes happens, that still takes an energy from you. I'm a. Like I would say the thing I always, always, always do is some kind of warm up and then some kind of cool down. And I think that is, is something that is a saving grace for me that I've learned, and I've learned to do this over my career because my body has reacted really poorly before while working. And my theory is your body doesn't know the difference. Your body thinks it's going through this breakup or is being chased by these animatronics or whatever the circumstances. Your body is experiencing it with a. With truth.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's a real stress response. It's like these things are actually happening to your body. Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

The emotions are not fake. I know it might seem like that's how it's done, but like, emotions are emotions and maybe an actor uses something else to get to that emotional place, but then you're still in that emotional place. So I find I have to do, like, at least, like, 10 to 20 minutes of breath work at the end of a day, at the end of a show, at the end of anything, to say, hey, you're safe. I've got you now. And to kind of, like, create a boundary between work and home. So I would say, like, breath work, number one most important thing. And then something I started doing on five nights at Freddy's is I started taking a walk at lunch.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, nice. That's great.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Because a lot of times we're in the. On the sound stage, and you're not

[Whitney Ann Adams]

seeing daylight, and you're sitting and waiting.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Sitting, you're waiting or whatever. But walking is so regulating for me, and I imagine for most people, and I would just walk around the parking lot, you know, it wasn't a pretty. You know, because you know where we were. It wasn't pretty to look at.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

But it's a nice, big parking lot, so you can really get a good lap in there big time.

[Elizabeth Lail]

So. And sometimes it's nice to be out of your head. That's another thing. In acting, you can get caught in your head a little bit. So anything that is meditative, whether it's an actual meditation, which I also do, or journaling, which I also do, I mean, I do everything. Any kind of wellness tip that you've heard, I do it. And walking. Walking was such an easy one that I found to be really useful.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's the best thing for my brain. Like, I do at least three miles a day if I can, and I get out in the morning, get that sunshine on my face, and I do my best thinking. I do my best work. Like, if I'm facing an issue or I can't figure out a costume or something's happening, I just immediately go out for a walk, and I solve it. By the time I'm back from the walk, it just really frees my brain up in such a crazy way and then calms me down too.

[Elizabeth Lail]

You should try it at work.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Can you even take lunch off? I don't know. It's different for us. We get, like, 30 minutes off, so. I know, okay, I'm on lunch. You can't bother me.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I'm usually working through lunch, though.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, that's what I thought. You guys don't get 30 minutes off.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

My team does. I make sure they do. But luckily, my costume supervisor, Kristin, who, you know, I've done now six movies with her, she's like my favorite person in the world. She will. We do an afternoon walk with the dog, so at least you know, we do a lap, like around the stages, around the building. So we do get a little afternoon break in. And then she'll yell at me if I don't sit and eat. She'll like, put my phone away.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Like, thank God. Thank God for her taking care of you.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

She takes great care of me. I love her so much, but because I am sometimes my own worst enemy and will just work, work, work, work, work. And then all of a sudden, I haven't eaten, I haven't taken a walk. I've been sedentary all day. Of course I'm having a panic attack.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, your body. That's what I'm saying. Your body is going to internalize that and you can do it for so long, but then eventually it's going to hit.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Exactly.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I know this from experience.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I kept. I also needed to find a routine because I kept going on location and especially I've done three movies in New Orleans now. And eating the catering and I would gain £20 and I would feel like, terrible, and I would get out of my routine. I'm like, okay, so I've been practicing my meal prep this whole last year. So now I like, have found my things that work for me. I joined a gym near my house that I'm obsessed with, like, just finding all these great routines.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I get up during five nights at Freddy's. 3.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I would love that.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. I also, I don't eat the food on catering. And it's no shade to the catering. It's truly like, I. I don't want to emotionally eat and that's the most tempting thing about it. So I also, I order sakara, if

[Whitney Ann Adams]

you've ever heard of it.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yes. When. When I'm working on a set, normally that would be my go to because then I know I'm getting like fresh food and, but not full of, like oils and salt and.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And you don't have to think about it.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I don't have to think about it. Yeah. I. You know who cooks, though? Josh.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Oh, nice.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Josh doesn't eat all day. He only eats blueberries. Sorry. I'm really just revealing his secrets to the world. I love blueberries all day. Full of antioxidants. Maybe that's a part of his genius. I don't know. I would be hangry, a hangry wench

[Whitney Ann Adams]

if I did that. Yeah, me too. Me too.

[Elizabeth Lail]

So girls gotta eat, but Josh eats blueberries and then he goes home. It doesn't matter what time of day it is, he goes home and he will make a proper meal. That's like amazing aside like the whole shebang. And I think that's, I. I actually think that's maybe a way that he winds down.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right. That's his routine.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. There's something very grounding about cooking and feeding yourself, which I totally get for some reason. For me, sleep is the most important thing. And you only have so many hours before you need to be asleep by your wake up when you're filming. It's a very short time. It's not a ton of time to have dinner, digest, chill. So I make choices.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes. And the choice is sleep.

[Elizabeth Lail]

The choice is to be in bed as soon as possible.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's like we all have the things that work for us. For me, sleep sometimes gets sacrificed for food. Like I need to eat. I get so hungry, so hangry. I need to eat kind of right when I wake up. And I've done this practice so now I have the meals that I don't have to think about what the ingredients are. I just do it. And I just did it on my last movie. I put my new routine to the test on my last movie. And how did it go?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Great.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I did it. I worked out every morning. I lifted weights almost every morning, got up at 5am every day, sometimes 2:30am when I had to be on set at 5am and I kept it up the whole film. And I'm really proud of myself. And now I'm like, okay, I can do it. I can find a healthier way to live because production is no joke. It is so hard to stay okay and to stay healthy mentally, physically. You know, I needed to stretch every day and lift weights because my job is so physical. It's so much schlepping and moving stuff and you know, don't want to pull my back or do something bad.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I love an evening stretch. I would say that's one of my go tos. I will say when I'm not working and it sounds like you're the same. I go very hard on self care.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It's almost like my main job is getting as fit as I can, eating as well as I can, spending time with loved ones, quality time, all the things that get taken away from you. Which sounds dramatic.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's true though. It's so true.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It isn't. It's true. So you have as much in place, your baseline is as healthy as possible because you know it's going to take a hit.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Absolutely. Like I work out somewhere between 90 to 120 minutes every day right now and like go for my Long walks. And like I'm doing all this now because it is my full time job, same as you is like right now is being healthy and taking care of myself and getting sleep. Because as soon as I'm on a job as so much of that gets thrown out the window and I have to keep to my like 20 minute workout in the morning and my stretch in the morning and the evening and that's kind of it. But at least there's. That part of the routine stays intact.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I know, I know actors who wake up early, you know, before the 4:30 call. Kind of like what you were saying. Get up at 2:30 or. Yeah, wild. And work out. I'm not one of those because for me like mentally it's painful. Even if I got enough sleep, the mental idea of Waking up before 4:30 is already painful.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah, it is, but aggressive.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I'll do like 20 minutes when I get home. But it's. Everything gets truncated. And then the weekends you do proper exercise.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Anyways, it's amazing anyone's a human at all.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I don't know how we all survive. I will say last thing about my routine. I do start it with a cup of coffee in my Snuggie. Doing the crossword.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Oh, which crossword?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

The New York Times crosswords. So I have my cup of coffee. I'm like. So I know the minute I open my eyes in the morning I have something I love and I get to do immediately. So that helps me get up and get out of bed.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Are you really excellent at the crossword?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I'm getting better. I, I can do through Friday without much stress. But like Saturday is really hard.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Is Saturday like the challenging puzzle?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I do the New Yorker crossword and the challenging ones are just. I don't, I'm, I'm waiting. When am I going to get better at that? I don't know when that's going to come.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's like learning crossword ease, you know, like they have their, their whole different language than us normal human beings.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I haven't learned it, but I'm trying and I've certainly googled.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

You know, what is, what does this mean? Crossword.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

When it has a question mark, it's usually something silly.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Right, Right, exactly. It's usually like a pun or something. I love that. That sounds so cozy.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It really helps wake me up and also gets my brain going.

[Elizabeth Lail]

You would do that on a work day?

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah, I do it every, every morning. That's.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Well, you know, I love cozy socks. So I'm really there for The Snuggie. I love. I love something. Yeah.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Texturally, my Snuggie came from our producer from Bea. It was my wrap gift from five nights at Freddy's, too.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Oh, that's so sweet.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I wear it every day.

[Elizabeth Lail]

See, that's lovely.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah. The best wrap gift I've ever gotten. That's so my hot pink leopard Snuggie from Bay.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Oh, my gosh. Yes. Wow. I gotta step up my game. Crossword first thing in the morning. So you're awake.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I'm awake. And then by the time I finish the crossword of my cup of coffee, I'm ready to put my exercise clothes on and work out.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Wow. I like that because it's like you get a little personal pleasure first thing.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

It's like, me, total me time for me. Yeah, I like that. I should do that.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I just did it quick. Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Like, I should do something nice for myself at some point during the day. Even though I do things that I think are, you know, quote unquote, good for me. Like, I will meditate and drink water.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

But sometimes it's fun to have my first as like a. That almost feels like. Am I doing something bad? I'm taking.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, like a treat. A little treat. It's not bad.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

No, it's great.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Maybe I'll. I have the crosswords.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

So maybe a little morning crossword time or. Anytime. Anytime.

[Elizabeth Lail]

But he. But here's my issue. Sometimes when I do the crossword, I get frustrated.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

So it's possible I might start my day off feeling frustrated. Frustrated with myself for not knowing the answers.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right, right. Well, you know, I don't know about the New Yorker, but on New York Times, you can buy, like, Monday packs, which are the easy ones, so you could start with.

[Elizabeth Lail]

That's what I need to get. I need to. To get a book of Mondays.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Get a book of Mondays.

[Elizabeth Lail]

So I can build up the confidence. Yeah, I think that's a part of it as well. You learn it, you build confidence in them.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I've been doing them with my mom, like, my whole life. So I guess it's something that I love doing. It makes me think of her and my uncle, who I'd always do the New York puzzles with. So it's another, like, connection to my family, too. I do the wordle. I do all of it. Strands and wordle. And every version of the crossword. Like, that's my morning puzzle time.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I love that. I love that. So it's almost like morning newspaper time.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes, yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

But you've got your section and your section is Puzzles and Games.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Puzzles and Games, My favorite. I just have a couple more questions. I would like to circle back to Williamstown and what was it like being on stage after, you know, doing so many projects in a row of acting on screen? Was it an adjustment to be on stage?

[Elizabeth Lail]

It was heaven.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I bet. Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Just heaven. Which again, no shade to film and tv but there is just nothing like live theater. Truly felt. It felt really good. And also it had been a while, although I had done a play I guess like a year and a half ago so. But before then it had been eight years since I had done a play. Like I don't do a lot of theater so every time I do do it, it's a real treat. And just felt I was terrified because I'm hard on myself. But by the end of it I was like, oh, I can still do it.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

But what a great challenge to put, put yourself in that place where this is. I think we. I like being terrified of a project. Right. It pushes us to be our best versions of ourselves.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. And you know you're going to get something from it. There's something worthwhile here. And I had to learn how to take care of myself in that schedule. That schedule is very different and, and what's required of you is a little different than a 14 hour day on set. But I absolutely loved it. I mean I was doing a Tennessee Williams play, an early Tennessee Williams play that's not done a lot because it's not perfect. So it was challenging in that way. But it's also there was a lot of room for us to color outside of the lines because of that as well. And I just loved that. So you're working with great text and, and you are. And we knew, you know, Tennessee Williams other work. So you could kind of assume or pick and choose like, oh, maybe she's like Blanche in this way. And so the. And you know, he writes incredibly complicated female characters and the woman I was playing was the same and I just adored her and I adored the costumes because it was period.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

There was a beautiful polka dotted dress I saw in a photo that I loved.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, it was. And they made some things from scratch.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Well, I love that you got to be on stage. I mean I like to joke that I am a film costume designer to afford my theater habit.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yes, you have a huge theater habit.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I love it so much.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I also have a theater habit.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

It's what a joy it would be to get to design you on stage sometime. I would love that to happen. We'll have to manifest.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Absolutely. Let's put. Yeah, let's put that on the vision board. Let's put it on the list.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

What advice do you have for actors who are starting out in the industry?

[Elizabeth Lail]

My biggest piece of advice is keep going. And that sounds really, really simple. But I think if you get on the path and you keep going down the path in whatever capacity you can, whether that's going to class or in an improv group or creating something for yourself, or if you're auditioning for things, if you're on the path and you keep going, you will learn, you will grow, you will find creative success, you will fail many times and you will try again. And like, you just. You never know what magic is gonna lie there, even in the failure. There's magic, there's growth, there's discovery. But I. I do think it's also. It's a perseverance game because it's a hard. I'm sure it's the same with you guys, because these are not easy industries to get into and they are not always kind to the psyche. I find that people are lovely. It's. It's really your mind, it's your inner critic that's the worst. At least for me, people are so lovely, but my inner critic is such

[Whitney Ann Adams]

a. Oh, mine is the worst.

[Elizabeth Lail]

The worst. She's gotta go. So if you can keep going, it's just a. It's a odds. It's a numbers game, truly.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

You never know tomorrow, like, we could book something that would take the whole rest of the year. You know, that's what. It's sort of like gambling every day. You're doing a little gambling every day, like, what's coming my way.

[Elizabeth Lail]

But if you do it enough, like, you will hit the jackpot. Yeah.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Your odds keep getting higher every single day. And 20 plus years into this industry, for me, it still is. Is a fight and a struggle, both mentally and just trying to keep going through. But every single thing that's happened, from the strikes to the slowdown to xyz, the million issues going on in our world, every time something like that would happen, I would sort of look inward, like, could I do another career? Could I switch? And the answer is always no. This is what I'm meant to do. This is what I love. For better, for worse. I'm going to persevere through it.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Me too. And sometimes I've certainly been in spots where I've thought, gosh, it would be so much easier if I didn't want to be an actor. Like, my life would be so much simpler if I had less ambition.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah, same.

[Elizabeth Lail]

But that's not what we're working with. This go around.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

No.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And so my. I. I agree. I feel like if you know in your soul and in your bones, you're meant to be on this path. I also think for some people, kind of like what you were saying, we all start on stage, we all want to be performers, but then you discover another element of it and you're like, oh, I actually really shine and thrive writing or developing or producing or in costumes or. It's really just the collaboration I love or whatever. I think your path will reveal itself if you stay consistent and you check in with yourself and just keep putting

[Whitney Ann Adams]

yourself in those places. Right. Like, I knew I loved drama. I knew I loved theater. I didn't know where it would take me, but I just wanted to be in the environment of that magic. And I eventually found my spot and my place. It took, you know, till college, which still is quite early, but it took till then for me to suss it out and be like, oh, this is what I meant to do. But, you know, just being in those spaces and rooms and eventually we figure out what path is the right one, but just keep putting ourselves out there.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah. And I also think you and I are examples of the reality that the struggle never really stops.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah, it's constant.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Maybe it's. I don't. I don't think it stops for anyone. Even the most highest performing, greatest actors of our time or costume designers fill in creative role here. I think it. It never stops. Like, the inner critic is always there. The having to make a fool of yourself is always there. Putting yourself out there is always there.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lail]

So it's. It's a. And that's why self care. I think that's why we could talk about that for ages because we know without that we. You need that touchstone to tend to yourself because you're. You're in a battlefield, a creative battlefield that is so worth the fight. But it comes with some hits, some major life does. It's just life. It's just life. Unfortunately, I reckon everyone's suffering to some degree.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right. This is a lot of self suffering. Sometimes, like we're.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yes, we put a lot on ourselves,

[Whitney Ann Adams]

but like the, The. The need for mental health and staying. Well, I didn't do it early in my career and I definitely suffered for a long time, both physically and mentally. And I would have panic attacks and my body was a mess. And it's really the last five years in these actual, the worst times in the industry I've experienced where I was like, look, I can't live like this anymore and I need to figure this out. And now I feel like the best version of myself. Even if the work side has been difficult road to sort of go through. I feel like health wise, I'm in the best spot I've ever been, which has been a journey totally.

[Elizabeth Lail]

And I feel like since you've been doing this for a while and, and at least I lean on this for myself, is that I have felt like I was in a rut before. And then like you said, you get a job, it takes the rest of the year and then you don't have time to think about your. Right.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

You're, you're so much of it.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I just have a lot of time to think about what I don't have. But I think when once you've been acting for a long time, you'll soon discover life is going to keep happening. It's going to keep coming towards you, you're going to keep finding it and you'll go through periods where you want to throw in the towel.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Right.

[Elizabeth Lail]

But that's why, that's why that's my number one advice. Don't throw in the towel.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah. Keep going. That's my number one as well. That's my favorite. You never know what's gonna happen. I mean, getting the text from Bea to be like, hey, are you available?

[Elizabeth Lail]

And then we're meeting with Emma.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

And then I was busy until February last year, you know.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, yeah. It's gonna happen any minute now and the world needs what you have to offer.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah. Well, I think that's the perfect place to end on. Thank you so much for joining me today, Elizabeth.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Thanks for having me.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Where can the listeners find you on social media?

[Elizabeth Lail]

Excellent question. Technically, my Instagram handle, I believe, is Elizabeth Lail.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Fantastic.

[Elizabeth Lail]

What is it? I think it's my name.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Great.

[Elizabeth Lail]

At one point in time it was. Wasn't my name, but I'll link it

[Whitney Ann Adams]

in the show notes. I'll put it in there.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Yeah, they can follow me on Instagram if you want. I'm not the most active, but I certainly post about work, which is kind

[Whitney Ann Adams]

of the best place to be. I'm trying to disengage.

[Elizabeth Lail]

I do that for my mental health as well. I, I realized it doesn't serve me a whole lot to be on social media and so I'd, I'd much rather do a crossword or learn. I think I told you I'm Learning guitar.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Things that are a little more active,

[Whitney Ann Adams]

like going for a walk and bettering ourselves. I mean, there's so much I love about social media and connecting with fans and colleagues and friends, but I'm trying to make it a lot less percentage of my life and, you know, post my work and then close it and go on a hike.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Close it. That's the issue. It's like, do the thing, look at the thing you wanted to see, and then close it. That's where I struggle. So I. I got a brick. You should have Brick sponsor this podcast.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Seriously. Because I think a lot of us need that.

[Elizabeth Lail]

For sure. Unfortunately, we're just. We're being very well manipulated.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I certainly am. It's. It's a drug.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Me too. Yeah. And they're. They're. It's very tasty. They're doing a very good job at getting me.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

I know. No, we must. We must resist. Well, I hope that we get to go do some working out in New Orleans sometime soon.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Me too. And then we can post it on Instagram.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Exactly. Wave to all of you out there.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Taking care of ourselves.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

Amazing. Well, thank you again, Elizabeth.

[Elizabeth Lail]

Thanks, Whitney.

[Whitney Ann Adams]

If you want to follow me, you can check out the show on Instagram. Alesfromacosteumedesigner. And on Twitter and TikTok. Alesfromacd. All of the rest of our social media links will be in the show notes. If you want to support the work that I do, you can meet me over on our Patreon page. Thanks so much again for being here, and we'll see you next time. And just remember, everyone would be naked without us.