HAVING A BREAK FROM THE ENVIRONMENT YOU’RE USED TO CAN BE INCREDIBLY BENEFICIAL. FOR MAISY STELLA, STEPPING AWAY FROM THE INDUSTRY AT FIFTEEN, FOLLOWING HER ROLE ON A TV SERIES NASHVILLE, WAS JUST THAT. NOT ONLY WAS SHE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE PIVOTAL MOMENTS IN ONE’S ADOLESCENCE LIKE PROM, BUT SHE ALSO GOT TO MISS ACTING AND FELL IN LOVE WITH IT EVEN MORE. STELLA’S PASSION FOR THE CRAFT COULD NOT BE MORE PALPABLE IN HER FIRST ROLE SINCE THE HIATUS IN MY OLD ASS – A TENDER STORY ABOUT THE VALUE OF OPENING UP TO HUMAN CONNECTION. HER PERFORMANCE AS ELLIOTT, A QUEER TEEN SPENDING HER LAST SUMMER AT HOME BEFORE MOVING AWAY TO COLLEGE, THRIVES IN ITS AUTHENTICITY AND CHARM. FOLLOWING THIS RE-ENTRANCE, STELLA IS ONTO NEW, EXCITING THINGS, AND IN GREAT COMPANY – STARRING OPPOSITE ANNE HATHAWAY AND EWAN MCGREGOR IN FLOWERVALE STREET, THE NEXT FILM FROM DAVID ROBERT MITCHELL.

Left Full look **N°21**
Right Dress and shoes **Zadig&Voltaire**, jewellery **Misho**, socks **Falke**

Hi Maisy! I had the pleasure of watching My Old Ass yesterday and I found it very touching – something that especially resonated with me was the sentiment of feeling like you’re missing out on your family’s life once you leave for college. How did this role come your way and what spoke to you about the script?

I had auditioned for Megan Park’s first movie, The Fallout, and I established a relationship with her through that experience. Then I ended up reading the script for My Old Ass and by page five, I was anxious over the thought of not getting to do it. I was so in love with it so fast. I think that the entire concept of the movie is universally moving to anyone who allows themselves to actually feel it for a second. Everyone has nostalgia in them, and when this concept is done right, it’s very moving. Also, I moved from Canada when I was super young and my whole family was all there, so I struggled with literally all of the feelings that Elliott feels in the movie. It all felt really easy to access.

Blazer, shirt, tie and shoes **Sportmax**, skirt **Christian Dior**, socks **Falke**

What other facets of Elliott did you connect with immediately?

I loved the way that Elliott was written to be very bright and lively. I feel like I haven’t seen that in the lead character in a long time, usually, they’re always very brooding and mysterious. So I was very smitten with her from the start and I felt that I related to her naivety. At the start of the movie, she’s kind of oblivious and is accidentally not very nice to her mom – she gets so excited about things that she can be a little bit inconsiderate. And I feel like when I was growing up, I also definitely had moments like that, and I would always have feelings of guilt after, thinking, “My mom is just a person, this is her first go at life too.”

You have amazing chemistry with both Aubrey Plaza and Percy Hynes White in the movie. How did you guys build this bond off-screen?

Megan was very sure that she didn’t want me and Percy to hang out before or outside of filming – she wanted our scenes to feel awkward and real and she didn’t want us to feel like we knew each other very well coming into it. Aubrey was only filming for five days in total so we only met once or twice before the shoot, we had a proper hang and got to know each other a bit. I think it was all very natural, that’s the magic of good casting. [Laughs] We didn’t have to work hard to feel connected with each other, we all just had a really good flow.

Left Coat and dress **Zadig&Voltaire**, necklace **Misho**
Right Dress and shoes **Zadig&Voltaire**, jewellery **Misho**, socks **Falke**

Towards the end of the film, I loved the sentiment of the value of being “young and dumb”, and how that allows one to actually go for the things they want. Looking back, is there anything that you wish you pursued when you were a teen? Also, how would you say this idea influenced you after the filming?

Because I was already working as a kid, I felt that my education was a little bit rocky, as I was predominantly doing on-set school. And I always really wanted to do some type of music college because I dreamed of scoring films or doing something similar in that world.

The movie definitely woke me up and lit me up, it made me feel more tender and open to human connection and love, and less scared of the loss that you could experience. It genuinely made me feel a bit braver.

Left Dress and shoes **Christian Dio**r, ring **Misho**, socks **Falke**
Right Full look **Sportmax**

Ok, take me through the Justin Bieber mushroom-infused fantasy performance. What was it like to shoot that scene?

It changed my life forever. I was so excited, I didn’t have a sliver of nerves going into that day – I was born to do that and I knew my whole life that this was gonna happen to me. [Laughs] That scene wasn’t actually in the original script and Megan was like, “We’re missing something, we need a musical dance number.” She had asked me what was my generation’s main performance, one that everyone clung to. And I immediately thought of One Less Lonely Girl. I used to watch the videos of his performances to that song and seeing him bringing someone up from the crowd… You just melted at the idea that it could be you. So then it was Megan’s brilliant idea to turn it and have me be Bieber. It was such a magical day. I did not want to take that outfit and I genuinely couldn’t shake him off.

Blazer **Msgm**, leggings and socks **Falke**, shoes **Sergio Rossi**

You really embodied him, that’s for sure. I read that you took a break from the industry at fifteen to have the regular teenage experience — looking back, what do you think were the benefits of having this pivotal time in your life off acting?

The years between filming Nashville and My Old Ass were probably the most precious years of my life. They made my head get more screwed on than it was before. I was acting from the time I was eight to fifteen, and so that was all I knew. And when it ended, I truly missed it. I really felt like I fell in love with acting in the years that I wasn’t doing it. But at the same time, I went to art school for a year, I went to prom, I did all the things that I had really romanticized in my head. In those years, I was my most creative and my most inspired. I was just very excited for what was to come. And then it did come, and My Old Ass was quite literally the softest landing I could have imagined for my re-entrance.

Black top **Zadig&Voltaire**, white tank top **Calvin Klein**

Up next, you’re starring in a David Robert Mitchell film Flowervale Street alongside Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor — what can you tell me about working with these two incredible actors?

Annie is like the definition of warmth. She really was so mama to me, she was literally my mommy. She would always put electrolytes in my water and make sure that I was good. I could cry just thinking about her. And Ewan is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, he’s just so cool. I was so stoked, I could not believe that I was even considered to be their love child. It was such a big jump for me to come from My Old Ass to this movie, I felt really scared and nervous. And they have guided it a lot and held it down. I still haven’t processed that experience but I love them both and I’m so excited to see them again soon.