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Like many of The White Lotus Season 2 cast members, you’ve likely seen Haley Lu Richardson in a lot of stuff. The actor, who plays Jennifer Coolidge’s assistant Portia, has a history of working with A-list actors in some pretty notable projects. This includes playing Hailee Steinfeld’s ex-best friend in The Edge of Seventeen. But there’s no doubt that the HBO semi-anthology series is her most high-profile role yet. This means many are starting to clue into the Arizona-born star.
Aside from her incredible ability to steal every scene with her undeniable charm, Haley Lu Richardson is also captivating because of her unique looks. And this is something the actor herself understands. During an interview with Glamour, Richardson addressed her appearance, as well as how being called “cute” has limited her in unexpected ways.
Haley Lu Richardson’s Looks Have Affected Her Relationships
During her interview with Glamour, White Lotus season 2 cast member Haley Lu Richardson admitted that being “cute” has negatively affected her. She even claimed that being seen as “cute” has been a hurdle in her past romantic relationships, which includes a broken engagement to Jane The Virgin star Brett Dier.
“When you’re a little girl, you’re cute. When you’re like a toddler or whatever, you’re cute. And I feel like I’ve never really been able to break free of that. Even in my relationships, up until recently, I was seen as cute. Even when I was 20 years old,” Haley Lu Richardson explained to Glamour.
She went on to say that the “cutesy” label she often gets marked with has caused her to feel limited.
“I know that I’m a cutie, but it can be stifling—everything that cute entails and the limits to it,” The White Lotus star admitted. “What about hot or sexy? What about smart? What about the ideas that I have? What about all of that?”
How Haley Lu Richardson’s Looks Have Affected Her Career
In her interview with Glamour, Haley Lu Richardson went on to explain that being seen as “cute” has impacted the way she’s perceived by her work superiors.
“I feel like I’m an adult now, you know? I’m in my late 20s. That is an official adult. That’s another thing that I think is so unfair about life sometimes: For the past 11 years, I have been working as an adult and have very adult responsibilities, as we all do. On set I’ve been expected to deliver everything—the hours I work, the emotional depths I go to, the professionalism, all of it—as an adult, yet people don’t see me or respect me, Haley, as an adult woman that has all of the brain power and opinions and thoughts and care and passion as an adult,” the actor said to Glamour.
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Richardson went on to explain that she has found herself in situations where a producer will be irritated when she speaks up for herself or shares opinions as it’s not what’s expected from the cute girl in that movie they liked.
“They’ll offer me a movie. When I show up, they’re suddenly so shocked that I have ideas and want to be a part of all those conversations. It’s like an inconvenience to them,” Richardson said to Glamour. “It’s like, what did you expect? If I just came here and said the lines and wore whatever you wanted me to wear and had absolutely no brain, I wouldn’t be doing my job.”
While Richardson admitted that this doesn’t happen all of the time, it is something that has “frustrated” her.
“I want people to know that when they hire me for a movie, I’m not just going to come in and be bubbly and cute and easygoing—which are things that I am. I am an optimist. I am hopeful. I am positive. I am sweet. I like to be kind to people. I like to be all of those things, but I also want people to know and expect that I’m going to care and have opinions and be smart and want to collaborate.”
How Haley Lu Richardson Became More Confident
In her interview with Glamour, Haley Lu Richardson explained that she’s gotten “really good at direct, honest communication”. Of course, this is something that had to be worked on over time. But given the situations that she’s been in, it’s become necessary.
“I’m speaking my truth and standing up for things that I really care about, whether they’re personal things or creative things,” Haley Lu Richardson said to Glamour. “Like conversations about the character before I’m just thrown into a scene or asking for a private place to go and be able to take a breath and get into the zone if it’s an emotional thing. Things that before I would have been really scared to even think about asking for.”
She went on to say, “If I’m really passionate about the look of the character, I want to feel like I can be a part of that conversation with hair and makeup and costume. It’s my body, and I don’t have to wear whatever someone else’s idea is of me and this character. But I also don’t have to be like, ‘This is what I want to wear, take it or leave it.’ I like finding that collaboration.”
