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“Life is one big high school. You
also get bullied in your adult
life and you have to continue
trying to be yourself”
that we’re not necessarily the
norm for people our age. I
always say we’re like two older
lesbians. We just want to be
in our house with our dog
and not go out to parties. I
wouldn’t say our relationship
is representative of maybe the
average twenty-something
relationship but I’m enjoying it.
Do you ever tell your
parents not to watch a
scene or an episode?
My parents are pretty resilient,
I have to say. They’ve never
missed an episode. I’ve
watched some of the most
awkward episodes right along
with my dad who seems
totally fine with it. As my dad
once said, “It’s not natural for
a father to see his daughter
having sex on TV. That goes
against the order of the natural
world.” That said, my dad is
proud of the show for what
he thinks it says about human
sexuality.
What are the major
obstacles that you’ve faced
and how did you overcome
them?
I’m incredibly lucky to be
working at such a young
age but as we all know, with
attention comes negative
attention. I had to figure out
how to process that, put it in
its place and continue to do
my work.
My hope is always that my
show and the message of
Girls
would be a positive one for
women. That’s my ultimate
goal. So I hope the way
that I handled criticism and
continued working can also be
a positive example for women.
Life is one big high school.
I try to think of it like it’s the
same way you get bullied
in 10th grade. You also get
bullied in your adult life and
you have to continue trying to
be yourself.
What inspired you in the
first place to create this
show?
I wanted to see women
who remind me of women I
know. Women with the same
concerns of a lot of my friends
reflected back on screen.
I wanted to see an honest
depiction of female sexuality
and ambition. I’m lucky that
HBO really let me do that in
an unfiltered way. I came to
them with the idea that I want
to see my friends who I’ve not
seen on TV before.
Is it harder for you to
write for your character or
for the other characters?
It’s harder to write for myself.
The other actors on the
show are very gifted. I know
they can handle whatever
comes their way. I love
performing but I have a very
specific range. I realize that
I’m not Julianne Moore or a
master of transformation. It’s
something very specific that
I do. I have to make sure that
what I write, I feel that I can
genuinely deliver. Whereas
with the other actors, I
know that whatever I hand
them, they’re going to do an
amazing job. I’m not worried
about them.
There have been times
when I’ve gotten to the
set, read the script and
felt, “What part of me
thought I could say this in
a convincing way?” Then I
have to rework it a little bit
because I know there are very
specific rhythms to Hannah’s
dialogue. And there are
very specific ways that I’m
comfortable working.
How comfortable are
you with writing self-
deprecating stuff?
I do write these incredibly
embarrassing, anxiety-
producing moments for
Hannah but that’s really
catharsis for me. It helps
me deal with things that
I’ve been through and love
myself more. My goal is to
have it do the same thing
for other women.
So it’s two things: acting
out this character who
makes a lot of mistakes and
is always depicted in the
most flattering light and
loving myself and staying
connected to who I am.
Those two things go hand
in hand because for me,
making the show is therapy.
That’s such an amazing
thing.
I grew up in a family of
artists. I knew that when
my parents went into
their studios, they were
expressing themselves and
wrestling with their demons.
I never imagined you could
do that by having a TV
show. It’s been an amazing
thing to have something
that’s such a personal outlet
that’s shared with so many
people.
FINDOUT MORE ABOUT LENA
IN
HER BOOK
NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL.
AVAILABLE AT MAJOR BOOKSTORES
EVERYWHERE.
i
MAIN PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES; INSET PHOTO BY CORBIS
Lena with the other Girls:
Zosia Mamet, Jemima
Kirke and Allison Williams
