Reneé Rapp Interview_ Advocating For Herself & Making Mean Girls 2024

I have eight numbers here, you pick three of them and I ask you whatever question corresponds to those numbers. Is it one through eight? One through eight. Okay. One number at a time, because I'm never gonna remember three. Perfect. Um, two. All right, number, oh, okay. So, I try not to be judgmental. I will judge your answer to this particular question. That's all right. Because it's cheese fries. What is the best cheese to put on cheese fries? American cheese. I'll accept that. Right? I mean, there's mozzarella, but American is appropriate. Oh, well, you know what? Actually, I think I, no. Well, also, I'm not really eating cheese fries like that. Wait, so how are you eating cheese fries? I don't know. I guess, like, not. But I would assume American. I don't know. So, we're in New York. I'm gonna give you a little homework right now. Yeah. Because no state in this country has a diner like a New York City diner. That is true. You have to go to a New York City diner and get their cheese fries, because it's next level. Really? Okay, all right. Let's get good on it, then. I have many years of experience in that department. All right, done, done. Second number. Five. I like this one. This one's called favorite least favorite. What is your absolute favorite part of the acting process? You know, hitting the set for the first time, rehearsing, then I also want, not necessarily your least favorite, but a part of the process where you still seem room to grow for yourself, and you're looking forward to tackling that. Ooh, my favorite part of the process is when you, like, do a really great take, and it feels lovely. It feels very euphoric. It's nice. My least favorite part of the process is very easy. It is waiting around. I don't like it. I don't do well with downtime. I don't know how to run a set. I don't claim to know how to run a set. However, why the hell am I there if I'm just sitting for 18 hours? What are we doing? I do take issue with that internally, most times externally as well, but that's the part I don't like. I don't blame you. That's part of the reason why I sit on this side now and eat some fake boobies, because I can't pass the downtime either. I can't do it. I'm like, what am I doing? I can't relax. I have to follow up on the first half of that answer. Is there any particular shot on Mean Girls where you remember having that feeling, where when they called cut, you're like, wow, like, we nailed that? You know, for me, personally, no, because I think I've just done this script so many times that I don't know if I get that same feeling anymore. And also, I haven't watched the movie yet, so I'll see it for the first time tomorrow. That makes sense. Yeah. Because tomorrow's your premiere. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I've seen a couple clips, but I don't really like watching stuff that I do that much. So, I don't know. I don't know. It's so easy for me to say, like, you should watch yourself and be so proud, but then also, when I quality check my interviews after they've been edited, I'm like, I just wanna crawl in a ball and die right now. Yeah. I don't wanna look at my face anymore. No, I understand that. I understand that. I feel similarly, yeah. I will confirm, though, you're exceptional in this film. Thank you. Third number. Eight. So, let's say there's a zombie outbreak. You could pick two co-stars from Mean Girls to team up with. Who do you pick that you think will give you the best chance of surviving the outbreak? Oh, Angourie and Jon Hamm. Okay, why? Well, Jon is tall, and I imagine I could, like, be on his shoulders. And Angourie is smart and knows how to do a lot of, like, she knows how to knit. She knows how to do some shit like that, so I feel like she could get crafty. All right, that's fair. So, what's your special skill in a zombie outbreak? What do you bring into the team? I could seduce the zombies. I would totally believe this. Yeah, I actually do, too, in a way. I'm like, they would be into me, and they'd be like, wait, we don't need to eat her. I'd be like, yeah. I feel like this is a movie in the making. Like, this is a whole new layer to the zombie apocalypse genre that we haven't explored yet. Yeah, absolutely. I just play with them. What's up, everyone? Welcome back for a brand new edition of Collider Ladies Night. I don't wanna put you on the spot, but I feel like Renee Rapp is the perfect guest to kick off 2024 for Ladies Night for the new Mean Girls movie. This makes me so happy. Congratulations. Thanks, dude. Thank you, I appreciate it. I assume that the initial dream was singing, first and foremost, right? Definitely. So, what is the performance you saw, personal experience you had, you name it, that first made you say to yourself, I have to be a singer? Ooh. You know, I don't, honestly, I didn't have one of those moments. I never did. It was something that was just always that. There was never a time in my life where I wasn't knowing that that's what I wanted to do or that that's what I was going to do. It was just kind of inherently there. I was always just singing and performing, even before I could really talk and form sentences. It was just what I was doing. I wanna refer to one particular quote that I read. I think, yeah, a theater teacher had said it about you. He said, there's a special distinction with you. There's a difference when that vocal ability is coupled with sincere emotions that can move an audience and that literally can excite an audience. It's one thing for someone else to see that in a person, but it's another to recognize you have it yourself. Given that dream was always baked in, did you always know that you had that kind of extra special skill and that you deserve to be in this career path? I actually don't. I don't feel like I felt like I had that extra special skill at all. I actually felt like I was always really scared that I was not really good at it, but I always knew that I was going to do it. I don't know why. I was just like, no, it was just never a question. It was just never a question. It wasn't that I felt that I had that thing. It was that I felt internally with myself that I could feel something that was really next level whenever I would do it. I don't know if it was as much the reception as it was internally. It's a beautiful thing to be able to have that, especially when you're super passionate about a craft like this. So you isolate the dream to become a singer. When you start pursuing it as a profession, what did you think was step one to actually making that happen? And now having done it and done it so well, would you recommend that first step to another aspiring singer out there? I mean, I don't know. I always feel like recommending or like giving advice or things like that. I'm also like seldom, I feel like I would be remiss to do it because everybody's thing is so different. And I think if you would have told me that this is what I would have ended up doing, I would have ran for the hill. I'd be like, no, there's no way. I couldn't imagine myself acting like that. I don't feel like that's a skill set that I have. So I don't know, but I will say, I think the best thing to maybe remember is that it probably won't look exactly like you think it's going to for a five-year plan. Do you know what I mean? I never had doing Broadway on my five-year plan. However, that became such an important part of my career. I never had doing TV in that five-year plan, nor did I have a film. Those were things that just seemed out of reach to me. And now those are all things that have served my career and have served my music career so much, so to the point where I'm lucky enough and able to be a part of a massive franchise, but still be in control of my individuality. So it's quite nice. Correct me if I'm wrong on any of this. Grew up in North Carolina. Yeah, I grew up in North Carolina. Eventually moved to New York City. Correct. What was it like figuring out the right time to move to New York City, and why New York City? Well, it really was like I knew, like Eva Noblezada, who's an amazing actor, grew up in Charlotte, where I'm from, in North Carolina, and she went to a performing arts high school and won the regional competition for theater, and then won the national competition for theater, and then got a job working on the West End and didn't have to go to college. And my goal was to not have to go to college because I was trying to convince my parents to let me be a musician. And they were like, well, we're very interested in you pursuing your dreams, absolutely. However, you can't do that without going to school, and especially if you don't have a job that's paying you. And I was like, all right, cool. So I went through, I did all the college auditions, and then I switched to that art school that she had gone to and just tried to do exactly what she did, and ended up doing that. And so once I had agents and I was auditioning, my parents were like, okay, you can take a semester off of school, and if you get a job before your second semester, then you can move to New York and you can do that with your own money on your own time. And I started auditioning for Mean Girls in December of 2018, and I had different jobs at the time that actually ended up allowing me to move to New York of different musicals and workshops that there was then an actor's equity strike for like two months, and then after that, or during that, I was auditioning for Mean Girls. So I moved to New York officially January 11th, 2019, and was in callbacks for Mean Girls like a month later. I love how specific you remember that date too, because it's a big deal date right there. If many follow-up questions, you brought up your agent or who you had at the time. Once you got an agent and you were able to start auditioning for things, what is it like getting an agent and then also knowing that that agent is the right type of advocate for you? I mean, I don't think, I think it's hard to know. I think it's hard to know. I mean, I've been in now so many situations, like my current team knows this better than anybody, because now I'm in such a familial group and I'm with people that really support me and actually give a fuck about me. I was in so many situations where that was not the case beforehand, and it made my life a living hell. And some of those people, one person particularly, wishes I was dead, and that's amazing, and I think it's very cute of her, and that's probably gonna make her age rapidly. So I would like, I would pick it up, girl. But yeah, I mean, like I don't think, I think it's hard to know. I think that when you're young and you're eager, or when you're eager in general, or you're excited to work, you're gonna go in the position that you think is going to best suit you, and I don't regret any of those decisions that I've made, but I am very glad that I trusted my instincts and the people around me, and I'm with the team that I'm with now, and that girl's aging rapidly. It's not my fault. Just because I think it's really important to highlight when you find the right people, can you maybe, and this is a little bit of an unfair question, I'll admit, but can you pinpoint an unsung hero on your team? Someone that you just wish more people out there knew their name and how they contributed to how they make you feel in support of your craft. Oh my God, my little unsung hero? Oh my God, shit, who's my, well, I have two unsung heroes. I'll take two, happily. I have two unsung heroes. Priscilla and Bella, who work on my team with me and Adam. Adam is my manager. They're like, they are my homies. They're two of the closest people in my life, and they both went on tour with me, and they're over in the room to my left. We're always together. I actually don't even really know how to describe it. I don't love people. I love them. They're so special, and yes, we work together, and obviously, there's gonna be power dynamics and things that, of course, I know that just as I would never wanna overstep or do anything to them, they would never wanna say anything or overstep and do that to me. However, we've surpassed that in our closeness to the point where I trust them with my life, and I know they're always looking out for me, and so to have that kind of stability makes a big difference, and it also makes a big difference for everyone around me. Any person I work with is always, always, always, always gonna come up to Adam or myself and be like, oh my God, I love P and Bella. All my friends are like, oh my God, I love P and Bella. That's always the case, and my mom works with me, and she could not, she loves Priscilla especially because they work so closely together, definitely 10 times more than me. That makes me so happy to hear that. I wish everybody in the entertainment industry was surrounded by people like that. Oh, it's so nice. And it's hard to find. Definitely. So when you find it, you hold tight to it. Absolutely, yeah. Those are my bitches. I wanna go back to, you said you were auditioning for Mean Girls in 2018, I believe. That was the national tour at that point? It was actually, it was Mean Girls in general, and I didn't know it was for the tour. I think it was just in a general Regina sort of call, and they were like, the tour. Questions about the tour, because I think a big thing in this industry, I'm sure you've gotten asked about this a bit, but getting an opportunity and having the courage to say no, because from an outsider's perspective, it could be like, that's a great, how can you pass up on that? But even the greatest opportunity isn't a great opportunity anymore if it's not the right time for you. Of course. So what was it like processing whether to say yes or no to that? And then what did you gain by saying no at the time? Well, I think a couple things. I think first and foremost, I grew up in a house where I was financially stable and financially comfortable. So I think a lot of my confidence comes from how I've grown up. I think that would be silly to not acknowledge that I had the resources to say no, which is a huge privilege, very big blessing, and definitely has helped facilitate how I walk through life. So there's that. There's also just the fact that I really value myself, and I value my time, and I value the things that I want in life. And I also value other people's time. When I said no to the tour, in my brain, I'm like, well, that's not what I wanna do. And I don't think that's what's gonna serve me long-term, though it would serve me financially and in so many other ways. But I also don't think it would be of service to the tour if I were to have accepted that knowing that I didn't wanna do it. That's not right. But getting a Broadway offer definitely excited me. What a good way to think about it. That's another thing. I wish everyone would think about how does this serve me, and also everybody around me, too. Yeah, of course, of course. That's the team that I have around me now. I was always very upfront with any agent or manager or anybody that I ever worked with. I was like, look, yeah, I understand you wanna sign me for acting. However, you need to know that this is not my main goal. If that's not in our mutual interest, then I'm not good for you, you're not good for me. Tina and Lauren, exact same way. And they were so helpful and sympathetic and were so honest with me. And I was incredibly honest with them. And I think that's why we have such a great relationship and why we've all stuck around in each other's lives so long. Yeah, I was reading about that, too. When you took the Broadway gig, you said, I'm gonna do this, but I need your help with this as well. Of course. That's another thing, that in this industry, being able to speak up and ask for what you want and what you think you deserve is not an easy thing to be able to do, especially at the beginning of a career. Totally. I also think I've been in other jobs and other case scenarios and other just life scenarios where I've spoken up for myself and been like, this is what I want and this is what I'm comfortable with. And it hasn't been received in the same way. I think not only does that say things about me, sure. It also says a lot of things about how receptive Tina and Lauren were to it. They didn't take that as there's this entitled bitch. They took that as, wow, this is really awesome that she feels confident enough to tell us what she wants and where she's gonna go in life with this. But I think a lot of other people in my experience have just brushed it off, called me a bitch, called me self-centered, said different things to different people that have gotten out somewhere and whatever. And that's fine, that's completely fine. If you need to call me a bitch for standing up for myself, you go right ahead. It's a good way to get what you want and what you deserve in your career, but also a good way to eliminate the people you shouldn't be working with anyway. Absolutely, oh, praise God. So to teeter into Mean Girls on Broadway, actually, you could change this if you want. I always love asking people about the experience of breaking out in entertainment. And it feels like that happened with that, but if you wanna sub in something else, go for it. What would you say is a big misconception about the reality of breaking out in entertainment? But then I also wanna know something that changed for the better when that happened. Ooh, I mean, shit. I lost a lot of friends when I started working in Mean Girls on Broadway. I lost a lot of friends. And I get it, though, it's just like a life change, but I was very lonely, because a lot of my friends were going to college, and that seemed really cool to me. It just seemed like something I wasn't capable of and something I didn't want to do. Though I felt like I should do it. So I think that there might be a misconception that when you have your little breakout moment or whatever, that you're then surrounded by all of these people, and you get in different spaces and you meet new friends. And I'm not saying that I didn't. However, I will say that living in the city by yourself at 19, not knowing anyone in New York, being in a cast of people who are really lovely, for the most part, but much older than me, and we lead very different lives, and I don't even understand what they do, let alone what I'm about to do, is really, really lonely. And so then also you have people who you went to high school with who are also in New York, who you think are gonna be your friends, and then you're here just chatting shit behind your back and da-da-da-da-da. So I lost a lot of friends. But for better or for worse, I guess. So what's the opposite of that now? Something that did change for the better based on that experience, and also how your performance was received, too. Because I just Google your name, and in an instant I see a bajillion clips with millions of views, and that performance is really something special. Thanks. I don't know. I feel like the good things that have come from it or came from it are really ever-evolving. But I don't know. In losing a lot of my friends, early people who were in my life at the time, I also made space for myself, and I stopped being so overly apologetic and trying to be as much of a people-pleaser in certain areas of my life. I also, I don't know, I feel like you get burned a couple times, and then you're like, all right, I'm actually gonna try to not let that happen again in the same way. So I definitely, I also got a really good skill of being like, yeah, I'm cutting somebody off, and I'm cutting them off, and I actually don't need to be around them. And they don't need to be around me either, and that's fine. Not an easy skill to acquire. No, but I'm so good at it. You could probably do better in that department. Oh, I'm so good at it. The second you're dead, you're dead. Teach me your ways. Just be vile. I'll also add something, too. After the breakout, your platform gets bigger, and you use the platform you have exceptionally well. Thank you. Exceptionally well. Watching the people you inspire is really one of the greatest things. You should be very proud of that as well. Thank you. Because not many people do that. Thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah, I try. I try. I could tell. And it makes a big impression on a lot of people. So going into this new Mean Girls movie now, first, what was your initial reaction when the offer came your way? Because this, it's an ambitious project. Definitely. And it would also mark your first feature film. So did you have the confidence? Like, I am ready. I can do this. Well, I think, I mean, I was so down. Like, I think I remember like having conversations where I was like, oh, I'm doing this. Definitely. However, like we need to like get like information. Because like anything Tina's gonna do, I trust. Because she's always trusted me. And so therefore, like not only does she like deserve that for being like so smart and such an amazing writer and producer and actor and friend, but she also just deserves that by being like, she trusted me when I was younger. So of course I trust her now. Like she absolutely deserves that same creative respect. I would like follow her into a fire. I would follow her into like war. I don't care. Do not blame you. Yeah, but you know, like this is, this is, it's gonna be something that because it's so loved, it's gonna be highly criticized, right? So like, and I totally get it. Like, I don't think that's not warranted. I think like, fine. Like, that's great. Like absolutely have those conversations. I hope we like did a good enough job in somebody's eyes to like warrant that conversation going beyond criticisms. And if we didn't, for some people, that's cool too. But I don't know, it was a big conversation cause I just, I wanted to make sure that like we were doing it right. And I believe that like we did, I think. From my perspective, you did very much. Thanks. I wrote this in my reaction. I was like buzzing with energy and positivity after and I love the fact that it offered me that like charming comfort of the 2004 film with how much you keep intact, but it also feels alive and fresh and fun in a different way for me. So, I love that all of the versions can exist and like feel worthwhile too. That's a really special thing to achieve. I love asking this question, especially when it's with a movie with such an exceptional ensemble. So in terms of people's approaches to the craft of acting, can you name someone in this ensemble who has a similar approach to your own? Where the second you met, you were immediately in sync, but then I also want the opposite. Someone who challenged you to adapt and maybe even try something new and for the better. Ooh, I think, I feel like, I don't know. I wonder if she would agree with this. I feel like Tina's approach is kind of similar to my own. And so is Busy's actually. They kind of just like do their thing. Like it's not, they just are like instinctually gonna do what they're gonna do. And I think that like really serves them. So I think that I probably have a similar approach to the two of them, or at least I'm perceiving it that way. Who knows, maybe they're doing like a ton of like character work behind the scenes, but I think they're just like off the cuff, like that's how they do. Like that's like a, those are like true, real amazing comedians. Someone who like doesn't do it like me? Well, I think like N'Gallery is a really thoughtful actor and that's something I really respect. And she's talked so much about like the way she like annotates her scripts and the way she picks these like points of her character that like support the next thought and like validate this reaction and things like that. And like, I couldn't tell you where my script is. Like I believe, I actually, I lost it day one before we started filming. Like granted, I know the scripts fairly well, but still like, you know, I don't know where that shit is. Like I'm not, I'll figure it out. Like I'm not into, I don't love to like run lines. I don't love to like have something like thoroughly memorized. I think it should like come naturally from me. And as long as I'm like doing like my best work in that way, then that's good. And I've been criticized for that before. But I think like people are just kind of like haters. Like if you don't do something the way that like they want you to, then they like get big mad. Oh, absolutely not. I know and I'm like, that's so funny. Especially with any art form too. That's literally not how it works. And if it was how it works, I feel like art would be really boring and that would be the point. I'm like, bitch, go annotate. I don't wanna do that. And I love that Anne Gowrie does that. And it's inspiring that Anne Gowrie does that. I think like that's one of the coolest things about her. She's so thoughtful and she's so like precise and that's so amazing. And like, she's not someone who would ever shame me for not doing that. That's what it's about. And I would never shame her for annotating, but other people would. And I'm like, go write in a room somewhere, bitch. Like you're tired. No time for that. No time for that on any set. I don't understand anyone who behaves like that. Me neither. I have to ask you about working with Arturo and Samantha here. So what is something that the two of them did as actors, directors for you that either helped you maybe find something new in Regina or maybe even something new in yourself as a screen actor? Oh, they're silly. Oh, they're fucking silly. Oh my God, they are so silly. It's like impossible for me and my personality and my like human type to be like, yes, absolutely. Cause they're like, they're like, like when they're like talking to you, they're like talking to you. Like, and I'm just not an actor in that way. And I think a lot of actors are like that, which I also find really interesting, but like that to me makes me giggle. I can't like, it's not that I don't take it seriously, but it's hard for me to on the outside take it seriously, which was actually quite helpful because I would just be like, you know what? I don't even care about this scene. Like I care, but I'm just gonna kind of fuck around. And usually that's when like good stuff happens when I'm out of my head. So that's definitely something I took. Those motherfuckers are so silly. So I don't even know what they mean to be, but I'm like, they are cracking me up, like cracking me up. Like I'll be like, we'd be on set and like somebody is making animal noises. And I'd be like, it's 6 a.m. Like, what are we doing? It's 6 a.m. Like, how are you doing that right now? That's phenomenal. It just makes me laugh. I'm like, I don't know how to function. I don't blame you. It's really cool. So I was reading a little bit of another interview you had done, surprise, surprise. I have quotes here. I won't read them though, but you were talking about how acting for the camera has made you anxious. You wanna know what is a tool or technique you've used to combat that, whether it's successful or not, it could be something evolving. And then also is that anxiety going to deter you from doing more on-screen work or are you gonna keep pursuing this path? I feel like you could probably tell where I hope you're gonna go. Totally, totally. No, I appreciate it. I think that it's definitely something that's always there, but I also think it's just your environment. Like I now have been fortunate enough to be on like a couple of sets and then like sets of my own for music videos and things like that. And so I think it just depends on the environment. Like if you're comfortable and you feel supported and you feel safe and not judged, the odds of you doing good work are much higher, which sounds silly and like obvious, but like, damn, it isn't. And then if you're on sets where you don't feel that, then I'm an anxious mess. I can't function. Like if I'm trying to do something like whether my process be thoughtful or thoughtless on that day, like if I'm trying to do something that's like vulnerable, I can't deal with someone who's coming for me on the other side. I can't do that. I'm too much of a wear everything on my sleeve and like I take issues very seriously and that's not something that I can handle personally. And kudos if somebody can handle that. I'm not that. It may sound like a silly thing, but I feel like saying that more is what we need because every set should really function that way. Yeah, I think so too. Safe and giving people the opportunity to try things and explore. For sure. I'm gonna end with my favorite question. Nobody likes this question. But I am a big believer that nobody in this industry says good job to themselves nearly enough. We give each other awards and that's great. So I'm going to ask you for something you accomplish in the Mean Girls movie that you think you'll be able to look back on and say, damn, I'm proud of what I did there. Oh, I love that. No, I used to cry if somebody asked me to compliment myself and I've gotten so much better at being like, oh, this is a good thing that I did. Yeah, huge skill, huge skill. It used to be so difficult for me. I'm bad at it. That's why I started asking the question. Now I'm better at it. Yeah, it takes some time to like say out loud. I've been seeing clips of the movie in trailers and like online and things like that and on TikTok chronically. And I was like seeing lines that like I actually don't remember delivering so much so to the point where I was like, is this something I just like was saying in a conversation and we were rolling at the time. And I was like, oh, maybe they use this in like a blooper trailer or something. And then I was like, wait, no, that like doesn't happen. And I was actually really proud of myself. So I was like, holy shit. I was like, that just looked like so natural and bitchy that I thought I just said it in real life. I was like, go off. I was like, come on now, that was hot. So yeah, I'm very, I really enjoyed that. That happened maybe yesterday or a couple of days ago. I was, I literally was like, oh my God, we must've just been rolling on something. And that was genuinely my first instinct. So I was like, come on, I was like, nice. Oh, I love hearing it. I love hearing that answer to that question so, so much. Cause I feel like everybody should be able to pinpoint something and say that I'm proud of that. Cause this is an image. It isn't an easy industry to be in. And you have to give a lot of yourself to these roles. So making a movie is a feat all on its own. This movie is exceptional. You are pitch perfect in it. Thank you. Congratulations. Make more movies. Thanks dude. I shall.