Odessa A’zion Didn’t Know She Was An Award-Nominated Actor

Odessa A’zion is no longer the bad-luck charm. When we speak over Zoom, the actor’s HBO series I Love LA had just been picked up for a second season two weeks prior, and, unbeknownst to her, nearly two hours before we hoped on the call, the 25-year-old was nominated for Breakthrough Performer and Best Supporting Actress for her role in the new film Marty Supreme by New York Film Critics Online.

“I’ve never been on a show before that’s been picked up for season two that I was a series regular on,” A’zion tells NYLON. Same goes for the show’s writer, creator, and star Rachel Sennott, so when the renewal came through, it was almost as if a curse had been lifted. “We were both the bad-luck charms... [Now,] we both are like, ‘Oh, sh*t, I guess now we have to start thinking about season two.’” But the brainstorm sessions will have to wait, because right now, it’s all about Marty Supreme.

Teeming with director Josh Safdie’s signature brand of chaos, the film follows Marty Mauser (played by Timothée Chalamet), a cunning table tennis player in pursuit of greatness. A’zion plays Rachel, Marty’s longtime best friend and affair partner, and stars alongside a knockout supporting cast that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Fran Drescher, Kevin O’Leary, and Tyler, the Creator. It’s the most anxiety-inducing time you’ll have at the movies this year (complimentary), and it’s already generating major Oscar buzz ahead of its Christmas Day theatrical release.

“I know I’m going to sound cheesy, but [Rachel] was really, really a dream role, a dream character for me,” A’zion says. “Exactly what I’ve always wanted to do and play. I was just so insanely excited to be able to play her and do that because this character is just crazy.”

Hours before shutting down the red carpet at the Marty Supreme Los Angeles premiere on Dec. 8, A’zion hopped on a call with NYLON, where we broke the news of her New York Film Critics Online nominations while discussing her chemistry with Chalamet and more.

Congratulations are in order, because you were just nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Breakthrough Performer by the New York Film Critics Online.

Wait, what?

Yes, yes.

I did not know that.

I’m glad to be breaking the news.

Wait, really? There’s people in the room I’m staring at, they’re like... crazy. I didn’t know that. That’s insane. What the hell?

How does it feel? What’s going through your mind?

Oh, I don't even know. You’re breaking the news to me right now. I’m sweating. That’s how it makes me feel. What the f*ck? That’s crazy. I’m so sorry. That made my brain go and spiral.

You play Rachel in the film; your character is young, pregnant, unhappily married, balancing an affair. As an actor, how do you approach a role like this?

Preparing for it emotionally, I couldn’t shake the excitement feeling. I feel like that maybe helped with some anxiety [because] she is so anxious and a little bit on edge a lot of the time. But physically, it was more so just being there on set and [with] the belly. There was a corset, and then another corset on top of it, weights. Then the belly was weighted as well. Then you put the belly on, and then you put the bra on, and then you strap the thing over, and then you put the dress over. I wanted to be able to be a little constricted and not be able to breathe like pregnant women. Eight months pregnant, you can’t breathe... That thing you said in the beginning just threw me and my brain is, like... I don’t even know if I’m answering the question right. I’m like, “What? Damn. I didn’t know that.”

No, you’re doing great. When I first heard about the film, I was kind of like, “OK, it’s about a table tennis player. We’ll see what that means.” How did you react when you first heard about this film?

I credit Jennifer Venditti, the casting director, for me being a part of this, and that’s why I think it’s so important to go to every audition. She remembered me from my audition for Euphoria years ago. I didn’t know, but she was trying to find the right project for me. When Josh [Safdie] described her the character, she told him that she thought that I was right for it.

So I met with her. Then after meeting with her, I had a Zoom with Josh, and I went into it completely blind. I had no idea what it was about. I didn’t know that it was about table tennis or anything. So I only learned what it was about in the meeting with Josh and still didn’t have the script or anything until later on when it came back and I was able to audition for it.

We can’t talk about the film without talking about Timothée Chalamet. What was it like having him as your scene partner?

He’s such an incredible actor and an incredible scene partner; [he] is so fun to work with and challenges you. He’s so good with improv. I feel like he’s one of the best actors of our generation, genuinely. I’ve felt like that for so long. He was on my list of people that I wanted to work with for so long. So it was so amazing to be able to do this together. He’s just as good on screen as he is in real life. Yeah, it was really fun, especially moments like cornfield [scenes], for example. Both of the scenes that we had at the farm were so fun and so cool. That was actually me driving through the field, which was amazing. It was one of the best experiences of my life.

Do you remember meeting him for the first time?

Josh wanted us to meet up beforehand. So we went to the Malibu Diner in New York, me, Josh, and him. I was still filming in Budapest. I came back to do a fitting in New York and then had to fly back the next day. I brought them these little kind of bells shaped as a strawberry and an eggplant from the airport from Budapest, and we sat and hung for a second.

What was the chemistry like between you two?

We were just both really excited to do it. He had a script with him, and I think he’d just come from getting his haircut. He just chopped off all of his hair for [the role]. I didn't know that he was chopping his hair, but of course it makes sense that he would. We’re going back in time. You got to cut the locks. But yeah, him and Josh were both in heavy work mode. Timothée had been training and doing pingpong for, I think, four years already. So just [talking] about that and past work we’ve done. It was a little kiki at the diner.

Speaking of, what was it like being directed by Josh Safdie?

It was the worst experience. I’m just kidding. It was a dream. It was more than what I thought it was going to be. He’s exactly the type of director that I love working with, where I feel like he doesn’t work on you. He works with you. He’s collaborative. If you have an idea that might work better, he’s not going to have ego in the way or something and say, “No, we’re doing it my way.” It’s like, “OK, let’s try it that way. Actually, that might work better.” He also always brings great ideas. If you’re stuck on something and you feel lost or confused, and you can’t navigate that scene or the emotion behind it, he will give you the whole different backstory that you need to know for that moment for something that happened to your character when you were 5 years old.

He’s so prepared, and loves what he does so much. [He] knows the script and the characters like the back of his hand. I pray to keep working with him because it was truly, genuinely the best experience of my life. I was on cloud nine.

I want to quickly switch gears to I Love LA for a second. You guys just got picked up for a second season. How did you celebrate when you got the news?

There’s been so much going on with the show coming out and Marty coming out at the same time, there hasn’t been much time. Rachel texted us in a group chat, and it was a “Hey, can you guys hop on a Zoom?” Usually when you hear that, it’s either really good or really bad. It’s only ever those two things.

[I] got on the Zoom and everybody else was already on because I was sleeping. The room was dark, and I saw them and knew immediately. I was like, “Did we get a season two?” Everyone started freaking out. I’m so excited to go back and do it again with them. It’s just the best cast, and everyone is so great, and we have so much fun. No one was in town, so we couldn’t really see each other. But we’ve seen each other since at the GQ [Men of the Year] party. That was our celebration.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.