- Hey, I'm Issa Rae, and I am playing April
in the movie Little.
- I am Regina Hall, and I play Big Jordan.
- And I am Marsai Martin, and I play Little Jordan
in the movie Little.
- Today we're going to be answering some questions,
giving a little advice to women
old and young alike. (laughs)
- Like me. (both laugh)
- I'm sorry.
- No, that was just the range, it was like, example.
Just for if you're super young,
or super old,
or in the middle. - Wait a minute, hold on,
I think we wanna hold on. - And that's the advice
that we're giving. - Could we cut that, I think?
- No, I was just telling them. - No, we're gonna start.
- Do you want to pull first, youngin'?
Yeah.
(group laughs)
- Here we go.
(upbeat techno music)
How do you stay true to who you are
when there's not much of your identity
represented on screen?
- For me, it's with surrounding myself
with people who look like me,
and then making that kind of work.
Making the representation I wanted to see on screen.
- You know, I just think that resonated with,
I've always been a little unique,
so, you know, I find maybe there are pieces of people
that remind me of myself in one character or another.
It may not be a full representation in one person,
but I have a tendency to notice and enjoy
that which is similar to me on whatever level.
Exactly, and I think that's why
I'm doing the thing that I'm doing right now,
is to inspire young girls that look like me
and to see their selves represented on the big screen.
- Amen. - Amen.
- How do you assert yourself, especially
if you're one of the only women in the room?
- Whew.
- Show them who you really are,
let your voice be heard, of course.
Tell them how you feel.
Be comfortable in who you are, of course,
and then people will listen.
- Yeah, I try to be really even-tempered,
because people will always be like,
"Women are so emotional," or "Calm down,"
or "Relax," or all these trigger words,
so I don't want you to have any,
I want you to clearly listen to what I'm saying.
And so, I practice having an even temper
when delivering what I have to say.
- Yeah, I try to end up being suggestive,
as opposed to demanding, so it feels like
it's a collaborative idea as opposed to just mine
so that no one feels like usurped in their authority
or their ego, so it's kinda like I'm like,
"Well, what do you think?" as opposed to what I think.
I kinda make it something that it feels like
we all come up with together.
- My turn!
- Oh wait, Issa can't read, should we stop,
and then let me read it to her?
Or do you wanna just, we'll just,
well let's read it. - Do you wanna read it?
- Yeah.
- You wanna read it? - No, no, no, no,
you try. - I'll try.
- No, it's okay, go ahead.
You got this.
- It's a long one, too.
- How...
- So, how do you balance being boss ladies,
especially in an industry that's still
predominantly run by men?
- As women, there are suggestions that only we can make.
There are perspectives that only we have.
And so, I think, even though it's predominantly run by men,
learning how to show how important our voices are,
how important our audience is,
it kind of, it's forcing the industry
to be a little bit more collaborative
and a little bit more cognizant of what we have to say.
- And I tend to tip the scales,
the industry is run by men. - Yeah.
- But I surround myself with a lot of women.
- A lot of women.
- And that really, really helps.
- How do you make sure your voice and opinions are heard
even when you might be nervous or intimidated to speak up?
- Well, of course, I have parents,
so, I usually talk to them first and tell them how I feel,
and then they will tell me how to say it
in the most comfortable way possible,
and just tell me there's nothing to be afraid of,
and at the end of it, there really isn't
nothing to be afraid of, and you just gotta
be confident in yourself.
- I think you just have to do it,
and you have to be okay with the outcome.
Because sometimes, you're afraid because
you don't wanna upset someone,
or you don't wanna make anyone else uncomfortable,
and you have to just move beyond the fear.
- Yeah, I mean, I've come across this all the time,
and I'm a, I tend to be nervous to speak up sometimes
in public places, or I like to just hear out opinions first.
I'ma definitely, I'ma pull-you-to-the-side person,
or I might be like, "Okay, after everyone's done talking,
"I'ma talk to the person I need to talk to on the side."
- What are your skin care routines?
- I tear up my skin.
- Yeah, exactly! (group laughs)
- It's a tear routine.
- My skin tears, not cares. - Yeah.
(group laughs)
- I'm just scratching my face.
- Yeah.
I buy tips especially so I can scratch harder.
(group laughs)
- Yeah, but mine is like, it's called Sudophil?
Is that, Sudophil?
- Cetaphil.
- Cetaphil! - Oh, Cetaphil!
- Cetaphil.
- Gentle.
- Yes.
- Gentle? - Yes, gentle.
And then I definitely try to drink a lot of water sometimes.
Yeah, water's good, and then I just do a nice scrub,
rinse it off, and then my face is nice and clear.
- When my dog died, I had a very terrible breakout,
which was stress, and that took about a year and a half
to literally clear up.
- I guess it triggered some (bleep) stuff.
(group laughs)
According to the doctor, I don't know what it's called.
- The doctor used that language.
- Yeah.
But in a normal day, I use a cleanser,
and then I like a little vitamin C cream
mixed with a little argan oil.
And then a little eye cream.
- I do none of those things.
I need to, I'm taking notes,
I tend to run really ashy. (Marsai snickers)
- But you have genetically have good skin.
- That's, I'm lucky, I have,
thank you to my parents. - Yeah.
And you weren't gonna thank them.
- I wasn't gonna thank them, you know,
you take them for granted, but they, thank you.
But I'm gonna take all those tips, thank you.
Thank you, I'ma use Ceta-Sudaphil.
- Yeah.
- And that argan oil. - Argan oil.
- And whatever the, - The eye cream.
- Eye cream.
- Any kinda eye cream, not too heavy.
- Okay, 'cause I am heavy-handed, so that's good to know.
- What has been the toughest challenge
you've had to overcome in the entertainment industry?
Well, of course, for me was being a kid
and doing "big" things, you know?
You're only 14, you can't do this, you can't do that,
'cause I actually was 10 when I pitched Little,
so a lot of people didn't believe me, but of course
when I worked with people who actually did
and they trusted in me and my family,
it all worked out really well,
look where we are now, so. - You showed them.
- Breaking into the industry is really, really hard,
and sometimes it's about tryna find a secret entrance
or a glitch in the system.
That was the biggest challenge,
and then even in breaking in,
that doesn't mean you get to stay in,
it's a constant journey to continue to be able to work,
and to continue to challenge yourself,
and so that's an ongoing challenge for me.
- I think, because I did comedy, I think when I started
with Scary Movie, it was because
it was the biggest thing people saw me in one way,
so for me it was always, and people think I'm a comic.
Like, comedian. - Oh, you don't do stand-up?
I thought I saw you on tour? - You knew that.
You knew that. - Oh, no, I could've sworn
I saw you on tour.
- No, that was Tiffany Haddish.
- Oh, that was Tiffany Haddish!
Yeah, she's the funny one, got it.
- I think, I,
without,
that wasn't, that--
- No, no, no, 'cause I was saying,
'cause she's the, you know, is a stand up.
No, I'm sorry, the rest of the question.
Go ahead. - 'Cause that,
that wasn't what the point I was making.
- Oh, sorry. - No, it's, I'm sorry.
(clears throat) This is, it's very difficult.
This might be my biggest challenge, actually.
(group laughs)
- The toughest challenge in the entertainment industry.
- But I think it was like continuing to diversify
so I never got at as just one thing
so that I could have a long career.
- What is the hardest part about dealing with Issa Rae?
- That's not what the question says.
(Marsai laughs)
- I can't read well, but I can read that.
- Okay, well, look, I thought that's what it said,
lemme hold it back.
Little centers around female friendships
and handling conflicts within them.
What's the best way to navigate conflict between friends
so that no one gets hurt and the friendship stays in tact?
- I'm still learning.
- This is a good question. - It's hard.
- Yeah.
- You're at that age where it's super hard.
- It's super hard for me, dog.
- Y'all are petty as something.
- There's so much girl drama. (Regina laughs)
I can't handle it.
- I try to keep it--
- And why do you think that is?
Are they in the business, or are they non-peers?
- Well, I have friends that are in the business,
and some that aren't, 'cause of course you need,
you definitely need that balance.
- I think too, you have to surround yourself
with people who don't want drama.
A lot of times, you have to be conscious to be like,
"Well, what kind of friendships are we creating?"
And you wanna make sure that there's a safe space
and that really has to come from
wanting the best for your friends.
And if you don't have that, you have to work on that
within yourself, which you can't want the best
for your friend and then not speak that and not live that.
- Yeah. - So, I think you have to
really work on being the kind of friend that you wanna have.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- This is advice for me, I'm like, "Mm-hmm, yeah."
- You know, there's a tendency when you have
a conflict with somebody to tell the friend in the middle.
And sometimes I'd be the friend in the middle,
and I always encourage them to talk to each other
because that he say she say thing
can just blow things out of proportion, so.
You have to talk to each other directly
and if you need to mediate that or facilitate that,
then I think that's the best practice,
but don't get into the business of being like,
"Regina said this, Marsai, so,
"I don't know how you wanna deal with it."
I would encourage Regina to talk to Marsai directly.
- Yeah, don't talk around it, but talk to it, yeah.
- Well then, I'm gonna tell you
what she just said about you. (Issa laughs)
- Okay. (group laughs)
Tea.
(upbeat techno music)