\n\tThe chat was timed to Eczema Awareness Month, but Tuesday\u2019s interview opportunity also nearly bumped up against a shocking small screen surprise: A decade after ending a run as one of the buzziest shows of the 2010s, Girls is returning to HBO<\/a> with a five-episode, limited-run revival <\/a>that will reunite creator and star Lena Dunham<\/a> with Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Andrew Rannells. <\/p>\n \n\tWe were already itching to ask her about Girls, but Williams, ever the professional, made sure to keep the big reveal under wraps during the eczema-centric conversation, only to see it break about an hour later. She did, however, note that she and Dunham just spent time together (perhaps to record the video announcement?<\/a>). \u201cI saw her on Saturday. We hung out together. We talk about it a lot, and I will show up anytime she asks me to,\u201d she said of a Girls reunion.<\/p>\n \n\tBeyond the aforementioned, THR quizzed Williams on the experimental indie film she just shot in Wales with Quentin Tarantino and Kylie Minogue, the status of her SXSW thriller with Charlie Day and how it felt to see Girls land on The New York Times list of the top 100 shows of the 21st century. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tWilliams for Dupixent.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Dupixent<\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019ll take any chance to bug you with some questions but I was surprised to see an interview opportunity come my way to talk \u2026 eczema?<\/p>\n \n\tWhen I get into something, I go hard. When I discover something that I want everyone to know about, I like to pick up the biggest megaphone I can. What felt like a very small thing in my life has had much bigger ramifications on my quality of life than I could have imagined. I immediately was very, very interested in partnering with Sanofi and Regeneron because I know a lot of people in my own life who have eczema and have always had it. They assume their options stop at prescription topical medication. If that doesn\u2019t work, they assume, \u201cOK, I guess I\u2019m stuck with this.\u201d That\u2019s where I was as well, until it started showing up on my scalp and in other places.<\/p>\n \n\tFor some reason, I was fine with it being on my calves for my entire life. Then suddenly it moved to my scalp and I was like, \u201cOh, hell no. This is not happening.\u201d I went to my dermatologist and asked, \u201cIs there something I have not tried yet in the pantheon of treatment options?\u201d I thought maybe she would give me a topical medication, but she mentioned Dupixent, or dupilumab. (More details on Dupixent here<\/a> and safety information here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \n\tWhat was that moment like?<\/p>\n \n\tI remember it clearly. As she described how it works, I realized she was describing an injection. I was super scared of shots. I always looked at people who gave themselves injections as if they were the bravest, strongest-willed people of all time. I marveled at the ability to put a needle into your own body. But my dermatologist walked me through how to do it and gave me ideas about forming a routine around it. The proof is in the pudding. I\u2019m sitting and talking to you now. I not only don\u2019t dread the injections, but I have a routine around them. It\u2019s a little ritual. There are a lot of people who fit into the category of six months and older, moderate-to-severe eczema, for whom prescription topicals have not treated the condition. Technically, all of those people may have the option, if they talk to their doctor, for this to be really helpful and make a huge difference in their lives. I just wanted people to know that if they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tWilliams for Dupixent.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Dupixent<\/p>\n \n\tAs someone who is public facing and has to be on red carpets or in wardrobe departments, how have you navigated that?<\/p>\n \n\tNow that I\u2019m experiencing fewer symptoms, fewer flare-ups and less itching, I can appreciate the extent to which it was a big part of my day-to-day life. It was something that just had to be worked around. When I was younger, we tried a bunch of different strategies. I\u2019d wear gloves or mittens to bed so I couldn\u2019t itch my legs, but then in my sleep I\u2019d take them off and itch anyway. As I got older, I started determining what I\u2019d wear based on how my calves were doing. If I was having a flare-up, I wouldn\u2019t wear shorts. If I wasn\u2019t, I would.<\/p>\n \n\tI remember one year when I flew into L.A. for the Golden Globes. It was the year Girls won for best comedy. I had already picked my gown, and it was long and floor-length, which was a good thing because the morning of the awards show, I was watching TV and absentmindedly using \u2014 this sounds crazy, but people with eczema will understand \u2014 the clippy part of a pen cap to itch my leg. Maybe I had a gel manicure and couldn\u2019t get that satisfying feeling with my own fingernails. I was watching TV and itching my legs, and I looked down. Not only was there the initial flare-up, but now there were huge red scratches and hives. It was a disaster.<\/p>\n \n\tYou can look at pictures of me up on that stage in my beautiful long black dress, celebrating this win. If you had X-ray vision, you would have seen the insanity happening on my legs. It\u2019s something that costume departments and makeup departments have to know about if it needs to be covered, and it\u2019s unpredictable. It was just a variable I had to operate around.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tGirls girls: Zosia Mamet, Lena Dunham and Williams with their Golden Globe on Jan. 13, 2013. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Kevin Winter\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n \n\tYou mentioned talking to friends about eczema. Is there a celebrity chain where people share tips and tricks?<\/p>\n \n\tI want there to be one. I love when people talk to me about it. I\u2019ll give you an example: A friend and I were talking about it the other day because she had been on it and went off it for some reason. Through the course of our conversation, she got so nostalgic for it and for how much better she felt that she said, \u201cOK, I think I\u2019m emailing my dermatologist. I\u2019m going back on.\u201d If it has brought you relief, and you have that reaction to it, that\u2019s positive. I hope I\u2019ll hear about all the people I know who are using this medication without realizing it. <\/p>\n \n\tWhat can you tell me about your new movie, Tangled Up in Blue, which has a cast that includes Quentin Tarantino, Kylie Minogue, you, Jason Isaacs, RZA\u2026<\/p>\n \n\tIt was one of the most wonderful creative experiences of my life. It\u2019s a movie by a Welsh filmmaker named Jamie Adams, who makes movies with a very specific formula: super-low-budget, six-day, improvised films. That\u2019s the formula, usually shot in Wales. We filmed this movie over the course of six days. There\u2019s an outline, but all the dialogue is improvised, and the movie shifts as you go. He shoots with one camera. It\u2019s a very unique style of filmmaking, and he\u2019s tried every number of days there is but six is the magic number.<\/p>\n \n\tIt was an incredible experience, not just because of the cast. I was pinching myself every day. It was absolutely surreal. But the creative process was so wonderful. It was playful, and every department got to improvise at the same time. If someone invokes a book they\u2019re reading, it has to show up as a prop the next day. Every department is on its toes and working together. It was a wonderful experience. I haven\u2019t seen a cut yet, but I think I\u2019m going to soon.<\/p>\n \n\tDo you have scenes with everyone?<\/p>\n \n\tI didn\u2019t have any scenes with RZA directly, which is a bummer, but I got to hang out with him.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat was it like working with Quentin Tarantino or Kylie Minogue?<\/p>\n \n\tBoth of them have done a lot of acting in their careers; they just became really well-known for other skills. In a way, it was fun to work with both of them at a skill that\u2019s deeply embedded in their whole systems. Quentin is such a performer. I\u2019ve heard that when he auditions people, he really performs with them. He loves to be embodied and demonstrative. Kylie is as well. They were both so open and present. It was a blast.<\/p>\n \n\tThat must pour more fuel on your creative fire when you do something that\u2019s improvised and stretches you in that way. <\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s really helpful. Honestly, it feels like part of a balanced diet as an actor. You should have a project like this in the mix with something you\u2019re also working on long-term. Simon Pegg has done two of these with Jamie and may do a third soon, and he\u2019s said that he\u2019d been shooting Mission: Impossible for something like four years so to shoot an entire feature in six days was [exciting]. Having those two things happening simultaneously in a career is incredible.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s a unique process. You have to let go of being precious about anything. When it\u2019s truly improvised, the camera is often focused on only one person for an entire pass of a conversation. Then they turn the camera around, and who knows if you\u2019re going to go to the same places. The funniest thing you say might not even have been on your face, and you have to be OK with letting it go. It was an interesting exercise, especially for someone who likes to be precise in my preparation, to shed all of that. I kept feeling like I was living in one of those anxiety dreams where I didn\u2019t learn my lines for the play and was being pressed onto the stage \u2014 except it was happening on purpose. I kept texting Jamie, \u201cIs there some prep I\u2019m supposed to be doing? Is there homework? I feel so weird showing up to this set without anything memorized.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tDave Franco, Williams and McKenna Grace in Regretting You from Paramount Pictures.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tParamount Pictures<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tWilliams at a Universal Pictures and Blumhouse premiere for M3GAN 2.0 in New York on June 24, 2025.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKevin Mazur\/Getty Images for Universal Pictures, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster<\/p>\n \n\tYou had a movie at SXSW that made a splash, Kill Me. What\u2019s the latest with that?<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s still looking for a home. I\u2019m so eager to get it out into the world. We\u2019re very proud of it. I got to work with Charlie Day, who is an absolute delight. He\u2019s one of the true gems of our business. Peter Warren, who wrote and directed it, was making his first feature. It was a small independent movie shot in Salt Lake City. We shot fast and for not a lot of money, and made something really special. I can\u2019t wait until we can get it out into the world with the right vehicle. I\u2019m hopeful. We\u2019re holding out for the right lifespan for it, but that might mean waiting a little longer. That\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat conversations are you having with acting friends, producers and filmmakers about the realities and challenges of the business right now? <\/p>\n \n\tEveryone feels like we\u2019re behind on something that no one is caught up on. It\u2019s an entity that\u2019s moving and shifting on its own, and we\u2019re all doing our best to keep up with it. Even the people driving that change aren\u2019t necessarily in charge of it or aware of the implications it will have for everyone. I was talking to a friend who\u2019s a visual effects supervisor, and he said, \u201cIt\u2019s been so slow. It\u2019s just crazy.\u201d That\u2019s obviously a field that may feel the impact of AI sooner than others. <\/p>\n \n\tBut for actors, it\u2019s not only that there isn\u2019t much work. It\u2019s also that, given the lack of work, the expectation is that you can turn around six pages of a self-tape in 24 hours. It\u2019s like, \u201cWell, dance for me. If you\u2019re so starved for work, pull a rabbit out of your hat. Make a miracle happen.\u201d That doesn\u2019t feel very good, either. I think it will settle. Eventually, we\u2019ll find our stasis in this new landscape. There\u2019s so much change right now, but in this moment it\u2019s really painful for a lot of actors \u2014 even just meeting their health care quotas. It\u2019s tough. It\u2019s really tough. I\u2019ve always considered myself so lucky to make my living doing this job. I don\u2019t take it for granted, and I didn\u2019t expect that to be the case for a long time. I feel that acutely right now, especially as the bar gets higher and higher for how to sustain a life this way.<\/p>\n \n\tI feel like it\u2019s required by law that I ask Allison Williams about Girls. The good news is that the show made The New York Times\u2019 list of the top TV shows of the 21st century, landing in the top 10. How did you find out, and did you look through the rest of the list?<\/p>\n \n\tI did. I looked through all the entries. I think I first saw it through a Times alert. Out of curiosity, I thought, \u201cI\u2019m just curious to see how this list is.\u201d Then it stopped me in my tracks. It\u2019s a very strange feeling to have the synergy of something you value so much in your personal life \u2014 something that was seminal and foundational for who you are as a human being \u2014 also be something that people you don\u2019t even know appreciate and that means something to them. That\u2019s an amazing overlap.<\/p>\n \n\tFor me, Girls looms really large. It\u2019s in the top experiences of my entire lifetime. The fact that it\u2019s also in [The New York Times] top 10 TV shows of the 2000s is astonishing.<\/p>\n \n\tDoes that give more fuel for a reunion? Lena Dunham recently told Andy Cohen while on her book tour that she has an idea for what a revival could be. Did you see that, and have you talked to her about it?<\/p>\n \n\tI saw her on Saturday. We hung out together. We talk about it a lot, and I will show up anytime she asks me to.<\/p>\n \n\tInterview edited for length and clarity. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tZosia Mamet (left), Jemima Kirke, Lena Dunham and Williams in season three of Girls.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMark Schafer\/HBO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They say timing is everything. But it\u2019s not always on your side. The Hollywood Reporter had the opportunity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[65051,13838,2592,17167,111,139,69,145],"class_list":["post-631901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-allison-williams","tag-girls","tag-hbo","tag-lena-dunham","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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