Category: Interviews

Nov 2, 2023

People Magazine

by HLRichardsonNet Staff

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Haley Lu Richardson Opens Up Like Never Before on Therapy, Heartbreak and Learning to ‘Be Capable on My Own’
The ‘White Lotus’ star shares how she overcame difficult times through dance and her unexpected journey of self-discovery

Haley Lu Richardson exudes an effortless, self-deprecating charm. Between bites of pineapple and dragon fruit during a PEOPLE photo shoot in Malibu, the actress radiates good humor in the sweltering September heat. “Organic deodorant doesn’t work—it makes you sweat more,” she declares with a laugh, taking off her Akila sunglasses. “My shirt smells like feet.”

Moments later Richardson, 28, struts in with a new look, tossing back her golden-brown locks and tilting her head this way and that, considering her image in an oversize wooden mirror. “My hair is less in front. Do you think I’m balding?” she jokes with her team. As a photographer approaches, her vintage dress falls. “Free the nipple, baby!” she exclaims, quickly pulling her gown back up.

Richardson’s personality often gets compared to that of her breakout White Lotus season 2 character Portia, the quasi-nihilistic Gen Z assistant forced to vacation with her codependent boss Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge). Wearing wacky, mismatched outfits that launched 1,000 memes, Portia gallivants around an Italian resort, trying to find purpose in the world. But lately Richardson is experiencing a different kind of transformation.

In July she got vulnerable on Instagram, telling her 2.2 million followers that she was going through a difficult time. “I was experiencing deep heartbreak and fully letting myself feel how scary that was, how unknown,” she says. Richardson declines to give more specifics but has no regrets about posting.

“I don’t know if I’d ever just let myself actually feel those things without trying to fight it so much. It was a lot. I let myself feel sadness. And I just felt compelled to share that I wasn’t actually doing that great. It was so overwhelming, the effect that had, because I immediately felt less alone. Maybe because I hadn’t let myself feel that at other times in the past, where I’d felt lonely, down or lost—I just felt what I was feeling in that moment.”

Richardson garnered nearly 200,000 likes on the post, connecting deeply with her followers and feeling comforted by them. “It sounds so dumb that an Instagram post could affect me so much, but I just felt like people were being so honest and experiencing a shared feeling. We all go through these painful times, and to come together in that—that’s where compassion comes from. I felt like I was getting hugs from everyone.”

She takes a deep breath. There’s another side to the actress that many don’t know from her quirky onscreen persona. Her humor is a shield, but in the last few years—through life changes and therapy—she’s started to lean into her emotions.

May 17, 2023

Haley Lu Richardson x LoveSac

by HLRichardsonNet Staff

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Campaigns Interviews Photoshoots Press Screencaptures Videos

Haley Lu Richardson Has a Special Trick for Getting *That* Stain off Your Couch
Turns out, we all need to invest in a sectional with machine-washable covers.

I’ve spent hours on the couch flipping through Netflix, working from home, and using it as a place for my friends to crash after impromptu visits. Here’s the thing: Couches—just like most home decor—can be quite expensive. Although the instinct for many might be to buy the easiest, cheapest thing you find online; having an investment piece that will grow with you through the years is definitely worth it, and it’s an idea Haley Lu Richardson backs up 100 percent.

In honor of Lovesac’s 25th anniversary, the White Lotus star joined a roster of celebs (including Travis Barker, Shaun White, and Brandy) to celebrate the furniture store’s milestone with a campaign centered around rewriting the rules of comfort. Known for their removable and machine-washable fabric (with over 250 fabric cover choices), the partnership was a no-brainer for Richardson, who shared that it was her parent’s affinity for the brand that first introduced her to Lovesac.

Haley Lu Richardson for #lovesac pic.twitter.com/Mvp1LXvYvt

— 🌼 haley lu richardson updates (@HLRichardsonNET) May 20, 2023

Below, Cosmo speaks to Haley about her intimate relationship with her couch—which she admits has seen some “rated-R” moments, how she feels the most comfortable at home, and whether her White Lotus character, Portia, would have one.

I heard you and Lovesac go way back. How did this partnership come to be?
Well, I knew of Lovesac because I grew up with this Lovesac couch that my parents have always been obsessed with. Literally, it’s been years and years, and they will not shut up about it. Whenever a guest comes over they have to rearrange their couch in front of their guests to show them how much they love this gosh darn couch. I knew of Lovesac because of that, but then I saw that mixture of other people included in this campaign, which was like Travis Barker and Brandy, and it was such an eclectic, fun mix. It was genuinely so fun, and I can’t wait for this commercial that we shot to come out, because, to be honest, I’m honestly more proud of this commercial than I’ve been about some movies I’ve done in the past.

I’m curious…do you remember what it was like furnishing your first apartment after moving out of your parents’ house and leaving your Lovesac couch behind?
Oh my god, it was so… It’s such a mark of freedom and adulthood. And it’s this continuation of not just getting to know yourself but also then getting to express yourself in your own personal space and surrounding yourself with the things that you picked out, you bought, you worked hard for, and that really represent you. I’ve honestly just been doing that recently in the last couple years. When I lived with my ex partner, we read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, and I got so into it, and he did too. Together we just purged all of our hand-me-down furniture, and we actually picked out things intentionally that felt like us. And you know, you feel really accomplished when you make your space and have the money and time and connection to your own tastes to be able to do that. It takes time to get there. So we did that together, and that was kind of my first stage of ever doing anything like that. Now since I’ve been alone, it’s been like a whole new stage of doing that. I have a lot of pink in my house now. I’ve got a lot of pink. I’m all about comfort and cozy, but also like, cool.

Apr 27, 2023

Haley Lu Richardson Just Wants to Dance

by HLRichardsonNet Staff

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Interviews Press White Lotus

Haley Lu Richardson, best known for playing Gen-Z poster child Portia on “The White Lotus” Season 2, has been angling to dance in a musical for at least 12 years. “I’ve been putting this out into the universe since I was 16. That’s my biggest dream, for sure,” Richardson tells us. (She’s currently “talking to people about it.” There are “ideas circulating.”)

That desire isn’t just a throwback to Richardson’s days as a dancer before she transitioned to acting—it’s an extension of how she still approaches performing. “The thing I love about acting the most is the thing I love about dancing the most. It’s this thing that comes from your soul; it’s just such a vulnerable, abandoned thing,” she says. “The first time I really felt like I was acting was actually through dance. Now when I think about: What is my [acting] process? It is such an internal thing. It’s in my body; it’s listening to music.”

On this episode of In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast, Richardson discusses what she’s discovered about her acting process, gets candid about viewer reactions to her “White Lotus” character, and reveals which iconic script she passed on.

Even after her many successes, Richardson still struggles with insecurity.

“When people say, ‘Don’t take [rejection] personally,’ that only goes so far. Because, truly, acting is [personal]. It’s your body, it’s your emotions, it’s your voice, it’s your ability, it’s your energy. It’s all of these things. This is something that I’ve gotten over or found peace a little bit more with auditioning. Or even if I just don’t get a job or if it goes to someone else, this is something I found more peace with at this point in my life. So it does get better!

But I feel like the energy of taking it [personally]…has shifted into the work that I do, and the struggles that I experience on set, whether it’s with people I’m trying to collaborate with or just being hard on myself. It’s this thing of: How do I show up to the work that I do when the whole point of the work that I do is being vulnerable, and being ready to give and play with my emotions disguised as this other person’s emotions? How do I show up to that work without—if there’s another external problem on set—letting it just destroy me, because I’m in this extremely vulnerable, exposed emotional space? So that taking it [personally] idea has shape-shifted throughout my career. But it is something that I’m still trying to figure out—how to protect myself while also doing the thing that is needed for me to act.”

Mar 18, 2023

In Conversation with Haley Lu Richardson

by HLRichardsonNet Staff

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Interviews Photoshoots Press

Haley Lu Richardson has quickly emerged as one of the leading young actors of her generation, with her starring role in the second season of HBO’S highly popular series ‘The White Lotus’. Next, we’ll be able to see Haley in Netflix’s ‘Love at First Sight’, which is premiering later this year.

Haley, we’ve been able to watch you in HBO’s highy succesful series ‘The White Lotus’, where you portrayed Portia. How was it working on such a popular series and with this phenomenal cast?

It was pretty cool, as you would imagine. I had really wanted to work with Mike White for years, so that was kind of like a dream come true in a way. There’s all these things that in life and in this acting career are like aspirations and dreams. I’m like “Oh, that would be so cool if this happened or if I could work with this person”. When one of them actually comes true, it’s just really exciting and cool.

This show is such a special thing to him. It’s all Mike, he created this show and he wrote every episode, directed every episode. It’s his baby. So to be picked by him and be able to meet him and be a part of that was cool. Being a part of a big ensemble, finding my place in the tone and within the bigger picture was challenging in some ways, but I’m really thankful for it.

Dec 13, 2022

Power Women Summit 2022

by HLRichardsonNet Staff

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Interviews Press Videos

Hollywood’s rising stars come together to discuss their latest projects and how their using their platforms to pave the way for the future of the industry.