Hi (laughing) (audience clapping)
Hi (laughing)
In my head I'm like- I'm so pleased
to be- Oh, good.
Talking to you.
Oh me too, in my head I'm like,
play it cool, play it cool,
but I can't, I love you so much.
Thank you.
I had the amazing pleasure of meeting you in person.
What was it, Hailee, like almost a decade ago?
It had to have been, it had to have been,
but I have to say I remember it like it was yesterday.
(laughing) Me too.
And it was interesting because putting this piece together
for the show, I've come to an interesting realization.
So when you came in you saw like
the picture frames on the wall.
Will you tell me about that? Yes.
Yeah, so I, where I was sitting,
I was sitting across from you,
you were sitting behind your desk,
and I believe that wall was,
I wanna say behind where I was sitting,
regardless of where it was,
I didn't know whether to stare at you, or the wall,
because I was equally as fascinated by both.
And my mom, I remember my mom was with me at the meeting
and it was, I had a moment of like,
"Mom, you gotta see this wall, this is incredible."
And you were so kind as to invite her into
your office there.
And my mom got inspired by that wall
because a couple of years later,
when I had a couple covers of my own,
she framed them and put them up on my wall,
and it was a weird thing for me at first,
but I realized like what an incredible thing
to actually be able to look at that
and see what you've accomplished in such a way,
so thank you for that.
My mom, thanks you too (chuckling).
Do we, did we show a picture of the wall?
I was staring at you, okay, perfect.
Take a look at this.
So actually that office was Chris Miller,
who's producing the show, we've been partners
for over 20 years and that was his office.
And when he first put those framed like covers up,
I was mortified because I felt really shy and embarrassed.
And what I realized- Sure.
Through what your mom did
is that we need someone to shout out our accomplishments
'cause we won't do it for ourselves usually.
Totally, totally, and I will say
I was absolutely mortified myself.
And it was like a little,
I was like what do I do when people come into my room,
or like my little closet
even there's like pictures of my,
it was just very bizarre,
but it took me a minute to realize
that it actually is a really wonderful thing
and something I would never do myself,
so you're right.
It's true, you need some,
like that's what family does, found or blood, you know,
they celebrate you in a way
that we can't celebrate ourselves
'cause we wanna be like humble,
and about the work,
and you know. Right.
It just, you helped me realize how important that is
to enjoy someone else's celebration of you.
So thank you for that realization.
Of course.
You and your mom
are really close and she- Yes.
Supported your decision to like become an actor
when you were young, and I got to do that without question
and I'm so relieved 'cause I love the life
I've gotten to live and I wouldn't have it any other way.
What was that like that,
that journey with your mom growing up, her supporting you?
Oh my gosh.
I mean, it's very safe to say
I would not be where I am without my mom
and the countless hours she spent researching
how to get me into the right place at the right time
and making sure that I was prepared.
But I mean, it felt like my mom and I
lived out of her car for my whole childhood
just driving to auditions,
and one after the other, sometimes multiple in a day.
And it was just, you know, a rocky road, I mean at times.
It just was like sometimes it was, obviously as you know,
great and wonderful and you receive good news,
and other times you don't, and more times you don't,
at least for awhile though,
for me anyway that was the case.
But she never gave up on me
and she knew that it was something I wanted
and that's what kept her going.
And through that she just was unbelievably encouraging,
and loving, and supportive, and again,
wouldn't be where I was without her.
It's so rare that like a parent encourages
and realizes someone young's dreams.
It's like, you know, it's not always the case,
and it's pretty wonderful when it is.
And it's true, you do,
you learn young to deal with rejection which is like
kind of becomes a strength,
but my mom would always take me for a Filet-O-Fish
at McDonald's and I do still associate
like comfort with creamy carbs, and I love that.
Did you and your mom ever have a ritual
when it didn't go the way you wanted it to?
You know, food was definitely involved, I mean,
so we, my parents are still in the house that I grew up in
and it's quite, you know, I mean it's a bit of a ways
from town where all auditions were held
and so there were so many restaurants out in town
that we would never eat at and we
definitely would stop at like,
a diner was like the go-to, you know,
pancakes were definitely a go-to no matter what time it was.
But yeah, I mean sometimes,
sometimes there's just getting in the car
and going home, you know.
I wonder, do you have any advice,
because rejection really is something
that you're gonna have to deal with throughout your life.
Every human is gonna go on a journey
where every single thing is not going to go their way,
or work out, or that dream doesn't see realized,
do you have any advice?
You have such a megaphone to so many people,
do you have any wisdom?
I would say, I'm a huge believer
in everything happens for a reason.
And sometimes, I mean I tell myself that
too many times a day.
And so it's easier said than, you know, felt or understood,
because oftentimes we're looking for that reason why.
But I believe that there is a place
for everyone in this world and timing is everything,
that's something I had to learn.
I think it's very easy to feel like you did,
I did something wrong or I wasn't, you know,
I wasn't as prepared as I should've been,
but I have to know that in that moment
I trust that I did everything I could
and maybe the timing just wasn't right.
Hailey, I built a hand-drawn neon sign in my entryway
that says, timing is everything.
I have chills- Amazing, wow.
Everywhere, it's so true
and it takes a long time to believe and trust in that,
but it is true and all these things are building blocks.
They are not going by the wayside.
They are building blocks for something else at another time
and it is all worthwhile.
I have chills head to toe.
I'm so glad
that you said that. Thank you.
That feels like it takes a lifetime to understand,
or get to know, you are so wise (chuckling).