On her first day shooting Apple TV+’s new hit series The Studio, Chase Sui Wonders walked onto the Warner Brothers lot and straight into a trial by fire.
Creators and executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg told her they’d “start light,” filming just one scene for the day, between her and Ike Barinholtz. The two had met only a few minutes earlier, but once the director called “action,” it was on: They chased each other up and down the lot, hurling insults and threats. At one point in the finished episode, aptly titled “The War,” a 6’2” Barinholtz towers over a 5’5” Wonders, yanking a burrito out of her hands. But she doesn’t flinch. She squares up and calls his bluff, yelling, “Let’s go, old man!”
“That was day one, scene one,” Wonders tells Vogue with a laugh. “In hindsight, it was definitely a test from Seth and Evan. They were trying to drop the baby in the deep end of the pool to see if I could swim.”
Up until now, Wonders admits her wheelhouse has largely been “sad girls,” like the emotionally guarded Riley in HBO’s Generation or the insecure Emma in Halina Reijn’s slasher flick Bodies Bodies Bodies. They were roles that she loved, but The Studio was a chance to do a complete 180.
The comedy series is both a loving tribute to Hollywood and a scathing roast of it. In an industry obsessed with box office-driven IP, sequels, and reboots, newly minted Continental Studios head Matt Remick (Rogen) finds himself struggling to balance the commercial objectives of his CEO (played by Bryan Cranston) with his own sensibilities as a cinephile. Wonders costars as Quinn Hackett, Remick’s overeager assistant. With her sensible bob and business-casual wardrobe, Quinn is bursting at the seams with a desperate, manic ambition that makes her a thrill to watch.
“Quinn is an absolute savage,” Wonders says. “I remember that feeling of wanting the whole world right now. But at the same time, I think I have a little more respect for my elders than she does.”
Born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Wonders chalks her taste for comedy up to the constant stream of DVDs her dad would bring home—everything from Blue Streak and Black Knight, both starring Martin Lawrence, to the Austin Powers trilogy. Although she intended to study astrophysics when she left Michigan to attend Harvard University in 2014, Wonders instead found herself majoring in film and joining The Harvard Lampoon, the school’s highly competitive humor publication. (Conan O’Brien, Colin Jost, and BJ Novak number among its alumni.) “It was like a boxing ring for jokes,” she says. “You had to train yourself to only pipe up if you knew you were gonna crush.”
The Studio was the Lampoon on steroids, and this time, the peers she was playing off of were comedy heavyweights like Rogen, Barinholtz, Catherine O’Hara, and Kathryn Hahn. It would’ve been a dream job for any actor, but for Wonders, who also has plans to write and direct, the show was a veritable masterclass—a chance to hone her skills and connect with a revolving door of guest stars, such as Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Steve Buscemi, and Charlize Theron.
Ahead of episode five of The Studio, the actress spoke with Vogue about the show, her upcoming projects, and how her aunt, Anna Sui, helped bring Quinn’s style to the red carpet.
Vogue: Did you relate at all to Quinn when you were first starting your career?
Chase Sui Wonders: In the early days of the show, Seth, Evan, and I would talk about what it’s like to be young and hungry in this business, where it’s so hard to break through. You’re young and naive, and you feel like, I’m so smart, I’m exactly what this industry needs. There’s a sense of frustration that comes with that, like, How come no one’s listening to the voice of a generation? [Laughs.] It’s such a strong, delusional sense of self-belief. I definitely felt that on certain days, and on others, I remember feeling so dismayed that I was like, “I’m going to move to China and get a corporate job,” because I didn’t think I could do it anymore.
Is there a sense of freedom that comes with playing someone as uninhibited as Quinn?
Oh, yeah. There would be women on set who would be like, “Oh my God, I love Quinn. I wish I could talk to my boss the way she does.” I haven’t seen many characters like her. Even when I was asking Seth and Evan about references, there weren’t that many to pull from in terms of a young, brazen, little twerp who is smart, but so full of herself that she thinks she’s the Second Coming.
She has a Machiavellian streak, too. In “The War,” she realizes she can outmaneuver Sal (Barinholtz) by weaponizing her identity.
I thought that part was so interesting because it was calling out the tokenism of it all. She knows she’s a woman of color and the odd one out, and she’s using it to her advantage. She’s thinking, Okay, if the pendulum of #MeToo and cancel culture is swinging this way, I’m swinging with it. She’s going to use whatever she can to catch you when you slip up, and I think it was a really fresh way to talk about the identity politics of the period we live in.
What was it like making the turn from drama to comedy?
It felt so, so good. It was my first time playing someone who has a job [laughs], and I was really nervous and scared about the comedy element at first. Honestly, I think it’s way harder than drama. Everyone on set can do dramatic stuff in their sleep because comedy takes the drama and dials it up a notch. But you also really have to thread the needle. It was challenging, but I really want to keep doing it, so I hope we get more seasons and more opportunities to do this.
The show has a pretty stacked cast. What was it like working alongside so many comedic powerhouses?
I’ve never learned so much from my fellow costars as I did on this set. Kathryn Hahn and Catherine O’Hara are so incredible. They’re just the kindest, sweetest, most generous human beings, but when they get in front of the camera, it’s like this beast within them comes out and it’s so fun to watch. It really inspired me to just let it rip. I mean, Kathryn is just an absolute weirdo, but she’s so compelling, and beautiful, and sexy doing it—she’s everything I could ever want to be and more.
You also had a pretty impressive lineup of guest stars making cameos. What was that like?
It was so cool. I mean, just shaking Martin Scorsese’s hand? Oh my God. But also, it was cool to see these legends be so down to play and make fun of themselves. I think it’s a real badge of honor in this industry to not take yourself too seriously. Like, Ron Howard plays an absolute ass on the show, but he’s such a nice guy and I would ask him so many questions on set. I went up to Evan after, and I was like, “I’m being really annoying, I keep asking Ron Howard so many questions.” And he was like “No, no, no. Do that. We have Ron Howard on set! Ask him everything.”
Looking ahead a bit, what kind of storylines would you like to explore with Quinn if there’s a season two?
I don’t want to give away spoilers of what we’ve already talked about, but I think there will be a chance to go back in time and see the characters’ early stories. I also want to see her helm a movie on her own, like a Gaspar Noé movie that she tries to make into a big, commercial project. I just want her to get more power to see how she would use and abuse it, and how she would get herself into hot water that way.
The show has such a fun, frenzied energy to it. How did it feel, actually shooting?
Early on in rehearsals, I would kind of whisper to Evan, “What if I try this?” And he would say, “You don’t even have to ask, just do it.” That’s how I found my footing. You could see which jokes hit, what the crew would laugh at, and then once it got time to actually film you had to be locked in, because if you messed up the timing, you’re screwing it up for the whole team. It was very daunting, because the weight of one joke falling flat could mean a 15-minute reset for everyone.
Quinn has a very specific, almost seventies-inspired wardrobe in the show. How did her clothes inform your performance?
Her clothes are totally a sense of armor. She’s dressed almost like a little Napoleon, and her suits are like a carapace of steel on her body, with these big shoulder pads. I think she so desperately wants people to take her seriously, so she’s dressing like a little mini-me of Seth’s character, Matt. She’s seeing his Brunello Cucinelli suits, and she’s like, Okay, I’ll do the female version of that so that I can have a seat at the boy’s table. Even when I first put them on, I felt like suddenly my posture was straight, and I was just click-clacking in my heels on the studio lot.
I have to know: Was Quinn always going to have the bob?
Always the bob. Always the blunt bob. [Laughs.] I mean, it was a wig, but it had to be this very Edna Mode–coded look. Something sort of masculine, powerful, and no-nonsense.
You’ve worn a few designs by your aunt, Anna Sui, during the show’s press tour. How did that come about?
Kameron Lennox, our costume designer on the show, did such a good job curating these fully fleshed-out characters with very distinct styles. Thomas Carter Phillips is my brilliant stylist and we had lots of conversations about how to match that vibe. We made mood boards with a lot of vintage Miu Miu, Prada, and Anna Sui, so I told my aunt it would be cool to wear some vintage Anna Sui on this press tour. And she was like, “Well, I have the archive…”
Oh, wow.
Yeah, the archive is something that’s very precious to her, and rightfully so. It’s all the original pieces that she only has one copy of, and I got to dig around in it. It was the first time I’ve ever stepped foot in there, and I tried on some pieces from the ’90s and 2000s, which I told her I would guard with my life. The ruched pink look I wore to the LA premiere fit me perfectly, and thank God, because she was like, “You can’t alter it.” I still feel like I’m finding my footing in terms of my red carpet style, so for things to kind of converge for this was really very special.
The Studio was a bit of a departure for you, and looking at your upcoming projects, it seems like you want to keep people on their toes.
I mean, this year alone, between The Studio, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and the Gregg Araki movie, it’s kind of a dream scenario in terms of hitting so many different quadrants of the industry.
Olivia Wilde, who just played herself in Episode 4 of The Studio, will also be in Araki’s I Want Your Sex. The details of the film have been kept under wraps. What can you tell me about it?
I’m so excited for it to come out. I saw Olivia at the LA premiere [of The Studio], and we were talking about how weird and fun it is. I mean, [Araki’s] movies are always pushing the envelope. They kind of leave you with a feeling that you have to work through privately. I think that this movie will do that too, but it is also a comedy. With my character, it was fun going from The Studio to that set because I had my comedic engines revving. It was so fun getting to play with Cooper [Hoffman] and Olivia, because we were laughing the whole time we were filming. I can’t wait. Gregg is such a legend. I love all his movies, and I think this is a really fun, kind of commercial turn for him that’s still true to his spirit.
Outside of acting, you’re still working on writing and directing. Who are some of your biggest influences?
Haden Guest is the director of the Harvard Film Archive, and he’s the greatest cinephile I’ve ever met. He introduced me to Fellini, which was huge, and Nagisa Ōshima. I watched his movie Boy on my birthday on the original 35mm print, and it was the coolest birthday ever. I was also introduced to Cassavetes around then, and seeing Husbands for the first time was just like, oh my God. Those were the movies that made a huge impression on me.
How do you balance your ambitions and your love of film with some of the critiques and obstacles that are satirized in The Studio?
I mean, the show is both a love letter and an absolute takedown of Hollywood. You really feel how much Seth and Evan love movies when you watch it. They’re the biggest cinephiles ever, they know all of these movie references, and most times, between takes, we were all just talking about movies, telling stories about Hollywood. Everyone is obsessed with it and also so frustrated with it. I hope it shows people the blind spots of the industry, and I hope that studio execs are noticing and holding up a mirror to themselves.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.