Mia Goth

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0:33Hey, it's Bill Simmons from the Bill Simmons Podcast. Have you guys heard about ChatGPT work? It's the new way to use ChatGPT for bigger multi-step projects. And when you need more than just answers, give ChatGPT work access to your apps and files, and it can create real work documents like spreadsheets, slides, and structured reports. Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting work mode available on Plus and Pro plans. You know, when I was auditioning a lot earlier on, I'd always listen to Eminem and My Headbands. You know, the song One Shot. Yeah. I would listen to that on repeat. And I would, I really would.

1:14I really would. And I would sit in the audition room in the office and I would be there and I would always be early. You know what I mean? And I would write my name in the call sheet, like really large, like Mia Golf. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Hey guys, welcome to another edition of Happy Sag Confused. We have a new guest on the pod, someone we've been chasing a while. Mia Goth is on the podcast today. So much to talk about, including Frankenstein. Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein. Mia Goth playing not one, but two roles in this film that is setting the charts ablaze on Netflix.

1:52Whether you've seen it in theaters or watching it at home, you know this is a special one. so thrilled Mia took the time out from her busy schedule to chat on the pod for the very first time. Thank you guys, by the way, for checking out Happy, Sick, and Fused. As always, if you're new to the podcast, wherever you've been, give us a like, a subscribe, however you're watching this, on Spotify, YouTube, listening on your favorite podcast platform. We appreciate you guys. We've had a huge huge 2025. We're ending it in style with some banger episodes I'm so proud of. and Mia is a great one to kind of we're not quite going out on 2025 yet but we're coming close she is someone that I've had a lot of respect and admiration for for the wild kind of swings she's been taking as an actor she kind of reminds me we had Margaret Qualley on earlier in the year of a young actor who's not afraid to take big swings and work with the coolest filmmakers around.

2:50She got her start with Lars von Trier and ever since has been working with really interesting filmmakers, whether it's working with Ty West or Claire Denis, Gore Verbinski in A Cure for Wellness. She is someone to keep your eye on. And she's a busy lady, by the way, because we talked a little context here. We were supposed to actually talk in person in New York around the time Frankenstein was screening here and got pulled back into production because she is in the middle of Star Wars, the new Star Wars film directed by Sean Levy starring Ryan Gosling. We referenced that. We talk a little bit as much as we can in this conversation.

3:29She's also in The Odyssey. She's still potentially attached to Blade. We talk about all these things, guys. We cover it all. And of course, a lot about Frankenstein, this a gorgeous piece of work from Guillermo, which of course, if you haven't checked out our Jacob Elordi episode, check it out. Another cool first timer on the pod. As always, a reminder, check us out on Patreon, patreon.com slash happy, say I'm confused. Early access to our live events. We have a cool one coming up with Walker Scobell that is probably going to sell out in New York City. More very cool ones to come. Bonus materials, merch, all the cool stuff.

4:07Patreon.com slash happy, say I'm confused. I think that's all I'm going to say. I'm going to let Mia Goth take over, and hopefully I'll guide her through her career to the best of my ability. I hope you'll enjoy this. Like I said, she's a singular talent, and I'm so thrilled we can add her name to the roster of amazing young actors that have been unhappy, sad, confused. So without any further ado, here is me and Mia Goth through the magic of Zoom. Enjoy. Mia Goth, you're on the podcast. Welcome. How's it going? I'm good. How are you? I'm doing very well. You can't avoid me. We almost made this happen in New York.

4:49We almost did it in person, but Sean Levy and a galaxy far, far away beckoned. But we'll make dispensation for that. For that, I can excuse you. Thank you. Thank you. I do wonder who's actually left making that Star Wars film now, because I was just hosting the Stranger Things carpet in L.A. and Sean was there. You're in L.A. Is Ryan Gosling just directing the movie himself back in London? What's happening? Oh, well, well, we've been shooting. I don't even know if I can say. It's OK. But Sean's been working with his the same crew for years, you know. So he trusts them. And so it was he has people in place that, you know, are kind that were able to take over for those couple of days.

5:42And it was it was totally seamless. Excellent. Excellent. How is it for you kind of like switching back and forth? Obviously, you're in the middle of this ginormous production. And then you also have this this amazing, beautiful thing that is clearly now it's resonating with audiences, with critics. It's now on Netflix, like a gajillion people are watching this. Are you able to kind of enjoy this moment or is your head in the work? Is it hard to kind of go back and forth?

6:08It's, you know, it is. Gosh, it's a lot. It's a lot to juggle. to juggle, but I feel so fortunate and so grateful to be in this position. And, you know, it's all just such a joy to be able to do this, to be working on projects that I'm really excited about and to help promote a movie that I'm also immensely proud of. It's a lot, but none of it feels like work. It just feels like I'm living my dream, the thing that I've always wanted to do. I can't believe it. It's wild. No, I mean, look, I've been wanting to have you on the pod for a while because I've really admired what you've been doing with your career, the choices you're making, the big swings you're taking, the filmmakers you're currently attracted to.

7:15So I'm glad it's happening now because there's a lot to talk about, both in the past and the future. I mean, at this specific moment, you're in L.A. I know you're on this little break. And I saw that you were at the Governor's Awards last night, which speaking of like surreal, you know, pinch me, let's take a moment to let it seep in moments. That must be quite a room to be in. You've been in some big rooms, but was that overwhelming to be there? Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's always surreal. And, you know, it was actually my second time going to the governors. I went a few years back with Pearl and that was my first time.

7:51but it's interesting because I it feels you know it does feel a little different this time around I you know having had the opportunity to to to work with Guillermo del Toro and have that experience I do feel um a little more rooted in this industry you know it's given me uh a lot of confidence and I guess it's given me

8:25it's just given I think it's given me a lot of validation I've always felt like an outsider I've always felt as though I wasn't meant to be in those rooms and working with Guillermo it's just given me a lot of much needed confidence in myself and the rooms are still surreal And, you know, I was talking to Tom Cruise at one point and I was like, it's totally bizarre, but it's different. It's a little different now. And I do credit working with Guillermo for a lot of that. Well, I get it because I've known him for years too, and he's the sweetest, most human embodiment of the love of film for the right reasons.

9:11And he puts everybody at ease because he's just like this geek who made good. And in that room, everyone obsesses over Guillermo because it seeps out of him. He's like Tarantino that way. in getting to know him and being on that set. I mean, it's got to be overwhelming in some ways. The sets are gigantic. Everything about it is as big and bold as you get. But does it kind of compensate because Guillermo is such a warm presence? Does he put you at ease? Give me a sense of sort of how that worked for you. Yeah, yeah, it does. I mean, I was totally overwhelmed the entire time. I mean, we were shooting that from February to October of last year and that never, I was never able to get over the fact that he was Guillermo del Toro and I wish I had been able to, but I couldn't.

10:01I always, I was very aware of the fact that I was working with Guillermo on the movie that you've always wanted Guillermo del Toro to make. And I was in my head a lot and I remember just feeling very scared and overwhelmed and I remember landing in Toronto and just, it was a very pressurized environment, and, you know, everyone knew what time it was. It's Guillermo making the movie that you've always wanted him to make and, you know, maybe other people was, I'm sure everyone was aware of that, but I don't know. I was just constantly in my head and looking back at that time, I wish I could have kind of gotten out of my way a little more, but I do believe that there's something mystical that takes place and movies and roles they find you when they're meant to find they come to you at the point that they're meant to come to you and there was a certain point where I realized you know well it's not going away I just feel totally overwhelmed and scared and as though I'm just going to completely fail at this and maybe I just work with that as opposed to you know trying to impose my will on how I think how I think I should be feeling and what I want the seem to go like and I just release myself to to the process because if I start trying to micromanage how I feel I'm actually just closing up parts of me and that's not good for the work you just gotta work with whatever's coming to you and and that helped but you know you said that Guillermo del Toro was just one of the joy just so joyful one of the kindest people I've ever met You know, sometimes he would just send me a basket of ice cream to my home because he's just so kind and thoughtful like that.

11:52You know, my daughter's birthday, she was obsessed with dinosaurs at that time. So he sent her this huge package with everything dinosaur related. And I mean, he just goes above and beyond and really such a dream to work with. I mean, the stuff you were talking about at the beginning of that answer really resonates. It's the thing that comes up throughout the 700 plus conversations I've had on this podcast, which is imposter syndrome, which is like, you know, whether you're starting out or Gary Oldman doing it for 50 years, fear, inadequacy, it kind of never goes away. I guess it's about kind of just keeping it at bay so it's not debilitating.

12:30And as you say, it's also like, you know, finding that comfort level. You can be, you know, I guess, nervous in your trailer, nervous at the hotel the night before. As long as once the cameras are up, you can shut out the noise and do what you can do. It's all going to come out okay. Yeah. You know, I've just started telling everyone that I'm scared. You know, there's been moments when we're about to shoot a scene and then the cameras are rolling. And then I'll just look at my actor and I'll just say, I actually kind of think, I'll just say, I'm really scared. And then I'll start the scene. And then just being able to say that out loud and being able to be vulnerable like that actually really helps to get into the moment as opposed to trying to hide things.

13:13I just reveal everything. And I find that that's been helpful lately. That makes sense.

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16:50Jacob did the pod a couple of weeks ago and we had a lovely chat and he, you know, he's, he's sublime in this film as, as are you. And it's, it's the stuff between the two of you is really beautiful. And I'm just curious, you know, we talked, you know, he obviously kind of dropped in, not quite at the last minute, but late in the process, Andrew Garfield, it's well known was supposed to play this role i'm curious like did you ever like even like start to rehearse or talk to andrew like were you like going down that road with him before jacob came in no no no i i i bumped into andrew um at some events shortly before we were meant to start filming together but that that's it okay um and and uh and then no we uh what happened it was me guillermo and jacob went for a dinner here in la and then you know a few weeks later we were all in toronto and and and the process began uh you know but i i do i do remember thinking to myself oh, of course this is how the creature comes about.

17:58You know, he's been living on the outskirts of society for centuries. He's not going to be attached to the project for 18 months before we start shooting. He's going to come, you know, at the 11th hour and he's going to reveal himself. And there he is. And it felt perfect. And he's done such an incredible job with the creature. So playing those scenes between the two of you, I mean, you talk to you, obviously you're a mom and it strikes me. I've watched the film three times now, actually. And seeing those films, those scenes, especially between the two of you, there is this obviously childlike play that, you know, he's a baby as it were in some ways.

18:39Did that enter your mind? Like, did you flash to your own moments being a mom when you're doing some of the scenes with Jacob? yeah I definitely you know I do see Elizabeth as I came to see her as this montage of femininity where she isn't just one thing and one side of her is this incredibly maternal nurturing aspect to her when I actually saw the saw the creature Jacob in the prosthetics for the first time I was actually with my daughter and he just so happened to be walking past a corridor and I was with my daughter and she saw him for the first time. And it wasn't planned. It was just happened to be.

19:24But she immediately ran up to him and she wasn't scared at all. There was no fear, just nothing but curiosity and a playfulness to her and the interaction that she had. with him. And that really struck me. And I took note of that. And I think that, you know, if you're going to be presented with someone like the creature for the first time, that you do need to have this purity and this own childlike quality and curiosity to the world. And so I kind of stole a little bit of her from that interaction and incorporated it into Elizabeth. It's also interesting. I was thinking about this as I was starting to think about the kind of roles you've done and the stuff I've really enjoyed you in.

20:07In a weird way, this is like, you know, against type for you. You are playing the character characters that are kind of the least scary, the least extreme in a Frankenstein movie. One might think, oh, like going in, Mia Gough, she's going to be crazy in Frankenstein. You're not. You're actually, you're sanity in a world filled with insanity in this film. Was that kind of refreshing? Did that strike you that it was kind of a little bit against type for you? Yeah, yeah. And that's, you know, one of the reasons why I wanted to do this because I don't just want to do one thing. And, you know, I do remember there were a lot of times where, you know, I've been, I guess I've been working in a specific framework, you know, with the characters and the places that those characters need to go that there were times during filming where Guillermo would have to pull me back and he would say, no, less, less, less.

21:11Okay. And, and, and there was one scene where - We know you're capable of giving more. You've got, you've got a lot at your disposal. Yeah. Yeah. And I think, you know, I think that that part of that is like an insecurity of mine as, as, as a, as a human, as a performer, needing to go really big so you know that I can get there. And then if you need to pull me back, then that's one thing. But I would rather a director tell me, can you do less as opposed to, we need more, you know? And so there was one scene where I was shooting with Oscar and I thought it was really good. And I think Oscar did too.

21:51And then Guillermo comes up and he's like, no, it's too vulgar. And I was like, oh, okay, interesting. And he's like, yeah, yeah. If it was a, what did he say? He's like, if it was a Cassavetes movie, yeah, then like do that. But that's not what we're making. I'm like, okay. And then he was like really like redirected it. And the scene turned out beautifully. And it was, yeah, it was an interesting process. So what kind of direction at this point do you generally like? I mean, have you kind of figured out, you've worked with all manners of directors already in the career, but like, what do you respond to?

22:28what do you not respond to i don't know do you have like predilections for the kind of directors that that you seem to get the most out of i don't i don't respond to i don't respond to line readings you know when a director comes up to you and he's like i was just thinking it should be i don't know that that that that that drives you off yeah yeah yeah or you know when you walk into a set and they've already blocked it out that drives me nuts because if they say so I was thinking that you come and sit here and then then he'll come and then you stand up at that like that could be the right blocking but the fact that you've now told me it's just put a mental block in my head at least let me find out it it that really frustrates me uh um but you know I did just work with Christopher Nolan on the Odyssey, and I was really taken by his direct.

23:31I mean, I was taken by the entire process and everything about him and his direction in particular, I found to be astonishing, actually, the way that he talks to his actors, everything is so applicable. And actually, the way that he talks about direction and character, it's almost like music that everything he the way he sees a scene the way he breaks it down and and and i found yeah i found working with him to be it's it's not surprising i mean i of course i spoke to like all those folks working on oppenheimer and throughout and like they just the way he you know you would have these preconceived notions i mean he makes the biggest films imaginable you feel like it's probably a giant crew but at the end it sounds like you really can dial it in he can really like make it feel like it's you and him and that small team.

24:26And it, he, he somehow shuts out the noise, which is a hell of an accomplishment for the kind of movies that he makes. So I'm excited to hear that you say that. Yeah. Um, all right. Can we, can we go backwards a little bit? Just discuss a little bit. This is your life. Mia got since we have some time. Um, do I have, do I have the full name, right? Mia gypsy, mellowed the Silva goth. That's quite a handful. Yeah. That's the name. That's a good one. Yeah. Yeah. Me a Gypsy. Parts it out for me. Okay. So it's not as interesting once you break it down. I'll be the judge of that. So Mia Gypsy is my first name.

25:06Okay. So there's Mary Kay. Mine is Mia Gypsy. Okay. And then Melo da Silva. My mom is Brazilian. And that's my mom's last name. and it's a beautiful name but it's it's it's also quite common in brazil it's actually like a smith or or jones one of those uh so she put that in that and goth is my dad's last name okay yeah it's still interesting is now was was there ever a consideration of a different professional name was it ever mia gypsy goth that's also compelling it never even occurred to me i mean it worked out Don't get me wrong. I'm not criticizing. I'm just saying it's a good name. I've only recently started to embrace it for the longest time.

25:52You know, when I was a kid, I would always say to my mom, why can I be Caitlin? You know, but now that I'm older, I actually, you know, I love it. But no, I think Mia Gough, it never even occurred. My name didn't even occur. It was, it's just. It works. It worked out. So as a kid, introvert, extrovert, if I talked to your mom, friends, Mia at 10, at 12, what would they describe you as? A real introvert. Yeah. Yeah, a real introvert. I traveled a lot as a kid from place to place. So nothing ever really felt very stable. You know, when I was in grade five, I went to seven schools in one year. so I was constantly in these new rooms with new kids and it really kind of set the tone for for my makeup I guess and how I am you know I walk into a room and I definitely have to read the temperature of the room and make sure that it I'm safe before I you know reveal myself but but then once I do I'm you know a full weirdo but but it takes time to get to that by the end of the podcast we'll get to the full weirdo um so in terms of i know there is some acting history in the family i believe your grandmother correct yeah so how much time was spent like do you have vivid memories of being on on set as a kid and did that make an impression yeah yeah i i moved to brazil when i was two weeks old and i lived with my grandma um until i was five and she would take me to so my earliest memories are of of that of being on set and being behind the camera and and watching her um whether that be on telenovelas or seeing her in the theater uh and and thinking to myself you know I want to do that and and it's kind of what I've always wanted to do and always kind of what I knew I would do in a way um and yeah I have incredibly fond memories of her of that time.

28:00Yeah. And what were you, what were you into as a kid? Like, what do you remember the first films, filmmakers, actors that you kind of got obsessed with?

28:14Well, when I was really young, you know, I would watch, I would watch Free Willy. Sure. That's exactly what I was expecting you to say. I was waiting for you to say, it's probably going to be Free Willy if I had to. But then I also, so there were movies like that, that I would watch on repeat and Lion King and Mulan. Those are like the movies that I would return to again and again and again. But there were also other movies, you know, movies that I shouldn't have been watching with my grandma when I was very young. And I remember my grandma was always such a huge Sean Penn fan. and uh we would watch um 21 grams together and i remember being really struck by that movie and she's a brazilian and so she speaks with the porch you know she speaks portuguese and when she would say um oh champagne champagne like incredible um i always thought his name was champagne because so i thought he was actually champagne for the longest touch champagne but no I remember that being that movie really sticking with me and the performances and how raw and it's just it's an incredible film was it was Ina Ritu or Sean in that room last night yeah yeah Ina Ritu was yeah he he actually presented Tom Cruise with But he won't.

29:48Right, because he just directed him. Yeah, which I'm really looking forward to seeing. Same, same. So yeah, no, I mean, yeah, it is always those films or filmmakers, right, that we see a touch too young. It's like for so many of us, it's like the David Lynch movie that we shouldn't have watched when we were 12. I probably saw Blue Velvet way too young. But it kind of just fires something in your brain of like, what is this? Should I be watching this? and it just draws you in deeper and deeper, doesn't it? Yeah. I remember Pulp Fiction being one of those. Yeah. Yeah, I remember watching that. I knew my sermon doing the dance and recreating it.

30:25Totally.