Taylor Owen Is Waiting For HBO To Call Her

The idea for a string of TikToks that would garner Taylor Owen millions of Likes and be broadcast on the 2022 Emmys broadcast began on the treadmill.

“My whole brain was involved with Succession,” the 28-year-old actor and TikToker tells Bustle of her mindset on that fateful cardio day in 2021. She came up with the idea to insert the show’s high stakes into mundane, everyday activities, and, with help from her boyfriend, made a video about the Roy siblings arguing over who should brew coffee. “It blew up overnight and we were like, ‘We’ve got to keep going.’”

Soon, Owen was producing SuccessionTok videos weekly, even recruiting her professor from Chapman University to play ruthless patriarch Logan Roy. It wasn’t long before Owen began adding her humorous sheen of relatability to other shows like The Bear and The White Lotus.

As an aspiring actor growing up in Connecticut, Owen was inspired by strong female comedians like Chelsea Handler and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. After doing commercials as a child and theater in high school, she got her BFA in screen acting at Chapman University, and even found her way onto a set with Louis-Dreyfus when she appeared in an episode of Veep in 2019. “Her comedy, acting, writing, and producing — that’s a trajectory I would love to have,” Owen says. “It confirmed every kind of inspiration.”

Owen continues channeling her love of TV into her TikTok these days, and she’s so ready for HBO to write her into her beloved Succession. Or even The Righteous Gemstones. “I mean, anything!”

Fast Follow With @taylorgraysen

Describe the first post you shared on TikTok, Instagram, or wherever you put your first video. What do you think of it now looking back?

I think my first video on TikTok was my mom trying to pronounce chorizo, and she’s so Italian that she kept saying, “Chor-rizzo. Chor-rizzo.” And I was like, “Mom, no.” I still think it’s funny.

Who’s the person that followed you that you were most excited by, and did you interact at all after they followed you?

Some highlights are Questlove, which was a really fun follow and he would comment all the time; B.J. Novak, I went to his Vengeance premiere, which was amazing. And Mike Birbiglia was a really cool one, and we got to see [his Broadway show The Old Man And the Pool] too.

What’s your most underrated post, or the thing that you thought would go viral but didn't?

Did you watch The Rehearsal? We did a series spoofing it, and it was a little after its time. It was so niche that it didn’t take off at all, but we still loved it.

What’s the weirdest DM you’ve ever received?

I get a lot of DMs about my feet — did you watch the finale of House of the Dragon? We made a writers’ room sketch about the feet [scene]. Ever since then [I get messages]. Maybe it’s not because of that, but I like to justify that that’s why. I don’t love it!

Who’s your favorite person that you’re following right now and why?

I love following notskinnybutnotfat on Instagram because she covers everything pop culture, and it’s so great to be plugged into everything as it’s happening. And she’s so funny.

What links do you currently have open in your tabs?

Oh my God. I never close my tabs. The Bachelor. Yellowstone, because we just did a Yellowstone sketch, Ari Gold from Entourage because we were watching and I’m obsessed with him. Judy Gemstone gifs. Flights that I should be booking. Clothes from Zara. I should close these tabs.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.