In Laid, Stephanie Hsu Taps Into Her “Messy” Side

Peacock’s Laid playfully skewers modern dating, taking real-life frustrations to the extreme. The new series, which premiered Dec. 19, follows a romance-starved event planner whose love life hits a major roadblock when her exes start dying. How can Ruby (Stephanie Hsu) ethically pursue anyone when her former flames are dropping like flies?

“She just wants it so bad. She wants it so bad. And she is not going to get it — until maybe she does,” Hsu, 34, tells Bustle over Zoom.

In the comedy’s eight-episode debut season, Ruby searches for answers with the help of her best friend, A.J. (Zosia Mamet), and an ex, Richie (Michael Angarano), who’s seemingly escaped the fatal destiny.

It’s the first marquee TV role for Hsu, who achieved widespread acclaim in 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. And while her Oscar-nominated turn as Joy has given the actor space to take a deep breath — she recalls scrambling between The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and doing eight shows a week on Broadway — it hasn’t changed her love for the craft.

“That’s something I’m really trying to protect in myself, that desire to continue to be messy and find opportunities where I can feel artistically fulfilled that are less about public-facing outcome and more about just continuing to throw paint at the wall.”

Below, Hsu opens up about the future of Laid, filming awkward sex scenes, and her surprising self-care tradition.

I’m obsessed with the visual of Ruby dancing around to The Greatest Showman with a ponytail beard. Do you have any unusual ways to de-stress?

I do love to dance. I’m not a choreo dancer; I’m a get-weird dancer. Another thing I like to do is jump into cold water. I have a club called Chilly Willies, just a group of friends — when we all are in the same place, we’ll just jump in a river or in the ocean, even in December or January.

Laid really leans into the awkwardness of its sex scenes. Do you have any funny behind-the-scenes memories from filming?

I’ve known John Early for a long time. So filming that flashback scene where we have sex was absolutely crazy. It is so obscene with us in the masks. When the writers were pitching me the season, they had the entire sex timeline up on the board. They hadn’t cast anybody yet, and it said “John Early as himself.” And I was like, “I know John Early!” I texted him that night and was like, “We don’t even have a script, but if you do it, we’ll write an entire episode basically for you.” And he said yes. I mentioned to the writers: “Can we put in a flashback for us?” That was my one request as an executive producer.

Wielded wisely! I was also surprised to see Amanda Knox make a cameo as herself. How did that come about?

The writers always knew that A.J. would love true crime, and Amanda Knox was written in as a person she loves. While we were filming, [co-showrunners Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna] were like, “We should just ask Amanda Knox if she would do it.” It was such a reach-for-the-stars moment, and it’s pretty wild that we got to have her. She’s really funny.

I resonate with Ruby’s love of When Harry Met Sally, which she later realizes is maybe a love of Billy Crystal. What is your relationship to rom-coms?

I’m a total sap for rom-coms. When Harry Met Sally is my definitive favorite, and that was a huge part of developing this show. Ruby is really flawed, but outside of this crazy premise, I wanted to understand the “why now” of this story. I think [for] this current generation, we don’t have more Nora Ephrons. So a lot of people are having questions [like] “How do you know when you know?” and [questioning] what love is and how you’re supposed to figure it out. I love that about Ruby because I know so many people who are really experiencing a less extreme version of what she experiences.

Is there anything you can tease about a potential Season 2 — or is it still up in the air?

It’s still up in the air. I think if we had other seasons, there’s so much to explore about how everyone approaches love and relationships differently.

You weren’t new to acting before Everything Everywhere All at Once, but earning an Oscar nomination certainly took things to a new level. What is the biggest lesson you’ve internalized from that experience that you apply to your career now?

Up until Everything Everywhere, I’d been working nonstop. I was making a living as an actor, but I was still like, “I don’t know, maybe one day I’ll become a novelist and live in the woods by myself.” With Everything Everywhere, that project is so close to my heart, not only because of the story, but the way we made it — the bigness, but also intimate, philosophical, and experimental nature of it. It was everything I could ever wish for in a project. It was one of those moments where it was like “OK, if you’re going to keep pretending that you’re not doing this, that is insane.” It allowed me to surrender.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.