The actress also shares how "so kind" and "so human" Aaron Paul was an example of how to lead a set when they worked together on The Path -- telling TooFab, "That's how you do it."
On her new series Laid, lead and executive producer Stephanie Hsu found herself in a brand new position: number one on the call sheet.
As the show's top star, it was up to Hsu to really set the mood on set, something she told TooFab she relished doing, especially after seeing both directing duo the Daniels (Kwan and Scheinert) and former costar Aaron Paul do it so well on past projects.
"I've luckily worked with all incredible people. But I would definitely say that working with the Daniels on [Everything Everywhere All at Once] that sense of we have warmups every morning, gave out awards on Fridays, that really showed me how far that spirit can go," said Hsu of whose example she really tried to follow when stepping into her role for Laid, before then bringing up Paul.
"I do remember very early on, my first series reoccurring role when I was just sort of starting out," she told TooFab. "Aaron Paul was the lead of a show called The Path. He was so kind after the great success of Breaking Bad. He was so kind, and so human. I just remember that was the first time working on a show I was like, 'If I ever get to be number one, that's how you do it.'"
On Laid, Hsu stars as a single woman who discovers all her former lovers are dying in pretty wild and out there ways, leaving her scrambling to figure why while also reevaluating her "sex timeline." The show costars Zosia Mamet, Michael Angarano and Tommy Martinez and comes from creators Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna.
While speaking with TooFab about the pressures of being at the top of the call sheet for the first time, Hsu revealed how she helped set the mood, knowing all eyes were on her.
"That part was actually the easy part. Hosting the dinner party was the fun part. Every Friday we came up with this theme, 'Friday Dress Up,' where the entire crew would dress up," she shared. "The first one Zosia and I came up with was 'Dress Like Your Grandparent Friday,' and the winner gets to choose next week's theme and it got really crazy."
"We had one week where it was 'Dress Like Someone Else on Set' and there was like five Nahnatchkas, six Rubys, Zosias, AJs," she continued. "One of our DPs was a 3-time ski Olympian, so, someone came in as a ski Olympian. It was like amazing and wild, so that part was amazing, as someone who holds a certain form of power and space, in this space, I want to give it all to you, that part was so amazing."
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She went on to explain the pressures that come with doing "more with that is more visible," as her profile continues to grow in Hollywood -- saying that as actors "form a body of work, it can feel scarier to take big swings and more vulnerable to try something new."
"My job as an actor, creator, storyteller, is to take swing and to tell stories, make mistakes, make it messy, and do the best I can to honor what I believe what is good ... but it's not my job to be perfect," she continued.
"So that's the hardest part, is really getting rid of that and allowing yourself to trust the process. Luckily, the entire cast is so amazing. Nahnatchka and Sally are so amazing. It really allowed all of us to trust fall into making this show."
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With her character on the show looking back at her dating history, TooFab wondered whether working on the series caused Hsu to take inventory of her own past.
"I think it is interesting. I am not a method actor at all. Definitely I would say halfway through filming I really started to think about the ones who got away or ones that were really close and you don't exactly know why that didn't work out," she replied. "I think what's really exciting -- the show is really funny, wild and surprising -- we've been hearing how people really like opening that can of worms, reflecting on what worked, and what didn't work and, you know, that's entertainment honey. What else do you go to your TV for?"
"And if you're watching on your computer, you can watch it and Facebook at the same time, for your convenience!"
With the show being described as a "f--ked up romcom," check out the video about to hear about some of Hsu's favorite romantic comedies.
All episodes of Laid premiere on Peacock on Thursday, December 19.
