Like Magic

It’s the kind of mid-day New York humidity that tries to slowly suffocate you, but Chase Sui Wonders still looks just barely dewy when she meets me in the West Village rocking a vintage Dior button-down, breezy pajama shorts, and a tennis bag that’s locked and loaded for a game over at Hudson Courts later. Perhaps unwisely, we wind up sitting in the encased dining space outside Tea & Sympathy and order a piping hot pot of lapsang souchong, just in case we might want to schvitz a bit more. Still, there’s nothing better than this kind of afternoon hang, right in the belly of off-hours New York, where time is measured by the erosion of the cloud-like scones on our plates and unhurried digressions for mapping out mutuals. It’s my first few weeks off the nine-to-five grind, and Wonders gets that it’s a weird adjustment. “You have time to spiral, but also time to be free,” she says sagely. “That’s the life of an actor.”

‍

But the Bodies Bodies Bodies and Generations star herself, I suspect, has had very little time for either. The 28-year-old actor has made a name for herself as an A24 darling, muse to both Sofia Coppola herself and the New York fashion scene. She was mostly recently in Las Vegas wrapping on Seth Rogen’s upcoming Apple TV+ series The Studio, but she’s also been writing a feature of her own. So we talk about the elusive writers’ flow state, plus the usual movie recs, shared Midwestern transplant quibbles, and her favorite Vegas attractions. In conversation, it’s apparent that Wonders is the kind of young multihyphenate who already so clearly understands both craft and creativity; catching her in between projects feels like a front-row preview of raw ambition in motion.

‍

Delia Cai: What have you been up to?

‍

Chase Sui Wonders: I just wrapped Studio, and it was so fun. We filmed our last two weeks in Vegas. It was very much a sensory overload. We didn't leave the hotel. We didn't breathe outside air, but it was really surreal and cool, and a weird, sentimental way to go out on an awesome show. I had a blast.

‍

DC: Did you get time to see any shows?

‍

CSW: Yes. My mom came, and I’m recently obsessed with magic so we went to a show called Shin Lim: Limitless. I highly recommend it if you're ever in Vegas. It's amazing. We also saw “Dead & Company” at the Sphere, which was life changing. The visuals were mind blowing. I had never heard a single Grateful Dead song before, but afterwards I'm a full Deadhead. As far as a cult-like community goes, they are serious pacifists. The ethos is “we're all gonna die, let's just enjoy life, peace, love.” It's pretty simple, but potent. 

‍

‍DC: Before we get any further, can I ask you what you're wearing?

‍

CSW: I'm wearing a vintage, blue-striped button down, Dior vintage, and, underneath that, I’m wearing pajamas because that’s the only thing that’s going to keep me from being drenched in sweat all day long. I'm wearing tennis shoes because I'm going to play tennis after this. 

DC: Who do you play tennis with?

‍

CSW: I’ve collected a bunch of different friends. I mean, my brothers and sisters all play and live here, so we play a bunch. I go to the Hudson River Park courts, and I've met people playing over there, and sometimes I'll run into them. I also play with college friends, people I’ve met on set. If I become friends with someone I always ask “so do you play tennis?” It's one of my favorite ways to get exercise. 

‍

DC: A tennis friend is such a funny category; it’s like a different level.

‍

CSW: I took some tennis classes when I was out in LA working on this show, and I became friends with my tennis instructor. It's funny because there's a rhythm to the conversation because you're exercising and you're sweating. You don't get super deep all the time, but sometimes you do. 

‍

DC: Yeah, I love that. So are you back for some time to chill out? 

‍

CSW: So I'm actually writing a feature, which is really exciting. This is the first time I'm working with a deadline. 

‍

DC: Oh my god, how is it?

‍

CSW: It's both terrifying and motivating. It took me a while to start because I thought it was so much pressure as opposed to just writing into the void. But it's really nice, honestly, and it's flowing. I'm sure you know what it's like when you get into the flow state with writing. It's the best feeling ever. 

‍

DC: Between writing and acting, which flow state do you prefer? Does it feel different? 

‍

CSW: It feels very different. Acting is very corporeal. It's very much about being in your body and out of your head. But writing is all in your head. So it's just working a different muscle, and I think the two inform each other so well. Like on the show I just did, Seth [Rogen] and Evan Goldberg are obviously amazing writers as well, and they would be open to actors pitching their own lines. So, I think writing is a really useful skill for an actor. It's so different: with writing, you have full control over what you’re putting out there. With acting, it's a team sport. It's nice to be able to switch from the driver's seat to the passenger seat. 

‍

DC: Is there anything you can tell us? What’s it about?

‍

CSW: It's about a movie studio, and it's basically a lampoon of the entertainment industry right now, of the attention economy, and it’s really fun…

‍

DC: Cathartic, I imagine? 

‍

CSW: It's very self-aware in a really cool way. I haven't really done a proper comedy with as much of a character arc as I have in this one, so it's fun to just be a freak on camera and let it fly.

‍

DC: Yeah, that's awesome. I'm excited. 

CSW: Do you watch comedy? What T.V. are you watching these days?

‍

DC: I’ve been watching a lot of movies. I got a Metrograph subscription and all of that. 

‍

CSW: What have you seen recently?

‍

DC: This wasn’t on Metrograph, but I watched La Piscine [1969]. I had never seen it before, and it was the horniest movie ever. I was home with a summer cold, and it was kind of perfect. 

‍

CSW: How beautiful is Alain Delon. 

‍

DC: Oh my God. Just incredible. I was trying to think of who could do that role now, and I thought maybe like a Jacob Elordi-type. But it’s hard to compare.

‍

CSW: He has the luxury of doing nothing with his face, and it's still so fascinating.

‍

DC: It just smolders on its own. 

‍

CSW: But he has a depth that is just transcendent. 

‍

DC: I know. I had also never seen young Jane Birkin before and that was crazy. 

‍

CSW: Right? It's the most jarring performance ever. She doesn't really quite fit in the movie, but it's so entertaining with her American accent. I love that movie. Nothing makes you want to go on vacation more than that movie. 

‍

DC: Did you go on any vacation this summer?

‍

CSW: I went to Tennessee with my family. I did a road trip on the Fourth of July. Which was very fun and so random. I had been out in LA for this job since March, and it was such a fun experience that it didn't really feel like work. 

‍

DC: When you’re in LA or New York, do you ever miss Midwestern food? 

‍

CSW: I miss my mom's cooking. In the Midwest specifically, like the Detroit area, all we have are Coney dogs. Do you know what those are?

‍

DC: No, what’s a Coney dog?

‍

CSW: Okay, Detroit-style pizza is a myth. The real thing is a Coney dog, which I don't know the origin of. Detroit has all these Coney Islands, which is like our word for diner. It is so weird. 

DC: Wait, is there a chain called Coney Island?

‍

CSW: It's not a chain. That’s just what diners are called. I really should unpack what's going on there. But anyway, Coney dogs are hot dogs slathered in chili and cheese on top. It's like dynamite straight to your stomach, but it's very good. I guess now they’ve become more gentrified, but when I was growing up it was just my mom's recipe. Do you miss Midwestern food?

‍

DC: Do you know what toasted ravioli is? It's very popular in Missouri, and I ended up going to school there. It’s breaded ravioli that is fried and frozen, and then baked. It’s sort of like bar food; you dip it in marinara. I didn't realize until I left that it was very specific, and strangely it's great hangover food. Sometimes I miss it. 

‍

CSW: Midwest food is hangover food. It's super cheesy and caloric. 

‍

DC: Before I let you go, I’m curious overall about your relationship with your creative work. How do you personally handle the intensity of it?

‍

CSW: I'm pretty intense as a person, in my relationships, in my friendships, in my work. I'm intense and very passionate and can be impatient sometimes. In this past year, I have tried to stop being that way. I think it creates a lot of unnecessary stress, but I also think it's a quality that I like about myself. 

‍

DC: What are you most impatient about?

‍

‍CSW: I can get excited about things really easily. People, projects, books, movies. I want things to happen right away. If I meet someone, I'm like, “let's hang out all the time.” Or if I read a project, I think, let's make this happen cold…let’s try it out! I like to give off a lot of energy to things I'm excited about but sometimes you need that energy for yourself, and I'm trying to get better at keeping that energy for me. I guess being extreme in doses is good. But there have to be times for calmness. It's a really weird life. In the next week, you can be upending your life, packing up your stuff and moving to this different place for six months with a whole different friend group and location. It's really important to stay grounded throughout doing that. I've got enough extremes in my life that I don't need to fuel that fire with my own racing mind. That being said, yes, I think I am extreme, but I'm working on it.

‍

DC: I think it’s a good thing. It must be both a boon and a curse in Hollywood because everything's a group project. But also you need to be your biggest cheerleader. You need to be pushing things.

‍

CSW: It's a mixture between self-confidence and self-doubt. I think it’s a healthy combination of being humble enough to be able to check yourself and then being almost delusionally self-confident and thinking you can do something. Because it's about telling imaginary stories and playing pretend. It's kind of delusional to think you can get tens of millions of dollars to play pretend. It's really a weird thing. 

‍

DC: It’s kind of like being a magician.

‍

CSW: It’s totally like being a magician! That is why I can't get enough magic in my life.