JOE DUCK. STYLED BY CAROLINE TRAN.uphold a stale status quo. Viswanathan gained
a US visa for the film, so once it wrapped she
made the move permanent, packing up the
Sydney apartment where she’d spent the few
years since high school cutting her teeth in the
local stand-up scene, and working with friends
Victoria Zerbst and Jenna Owen in their
sketch comedy group, Freudian Nip (aka The
Nips). “It was a way to write and perform without having to get
someone’s permission — I could just go out and do it,” she says.
“I’m so glad I did, it definitely helped with gettingBlockers.They
were so interested in the fact that I was already doing comedy.
It’s hard to imagine anyone who has riffed in a room full of
strangers lacking in ballsiness, but Viswanathan says the workings
of the press circuit — which, as her star rises, will mean more
photoshoots and interviews much like ours — have taken some
getting used to. “I definitely still feel a little out of place, and I am
yet to feel completely comfortable in a photoshoot or interviewing,”
she says. “I’m always mind-blown that I get to do it, so it’s this
“I had moments
where I was like,I’m
in a scene with SteveBuscemi! What is
going on? How didI get here?”
Valentino top, $2075, and
pants, $2035, from Parlour X;
Mara & Mine shoes, $465.contrast of,Oh my god, this is incredible, I am so happy and
lucky, but then also being so out of my comfort zone. I’ve
been told having fun with it is key!” I muse that if she can
attempt stand-up, she can probably handle anything. “No,
[stand-up] is so daunting,” she says. “It’s a form of self-tor-
ture sometimes. Especially when you’re trying out stuff,
you don’t know if it’s going to work. It’s a very immediate
rejection. But that’s good, it keeps you humble.”
In the days after our shoot in Sydney, she tells me she’ll
be catching up with friends before making a beeline for
her family home in Newcastle. She doesn’t mention it —
and I’m not about to waste precious minutes with a
talented and determined young actor prying into her love
life — but she’s in the country with her boyfriend, musi-
cian andBlockersco-star Miles Robbins, son of Hollywood
dignitaries Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. On
Viswanathan’s Instagram feed, there’s a photo of herself
with Sarandon in the UK at Guards Polo Club in
Windsor, in the presence of the Queen, but it’s inter-
spersed with regular 23-year-old Insta-fodder of self-dep-
recating selfies and baby photos. The humility is real.
Viswanathan now calls New York home. She spent
most of last year settling in after travelling between back-
to-back projects in Vancouver, Chicago and Atlanta.
“I was doing the classic actor thing of just living out of
a suitcase for a long time, so it’s niceto be planted some-
where,” she says. “I love New York, it has a really great
comedy scene, and a great theatre scene, obviously. I’ve
met some really amazing people and seen really amazing
art, which I feel very lucky for.” Spare time is spent seeing
live shows at the New York Theatre Workshop and
comedy at Union Hall, catching up on films that have
piqued her interest and reading stories that could make
for interesting movies. “I definitely want to head in that
direction,” she says of film-writing, “I’m always writing.
Comedy is the natural inclination for me, and it’s the
most fun to write. I’ve met a lot of really cool, really smart
writers who are generous and lovely with their time.”
Next up for Viswanathan isBad Education, starring
Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney, but for
now, you can catch her in Netflix’sThe Package,
as well as Stan’s Miracle Workers, alongside
Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi. The latter
is a workplace comedy, where Heaven is a
corporation and Buscemi is its CEO — aka,
God. Radcliffe and Viswanathan play his angel
employees. She reveals that while Buscemi is
renowned for playing eccentric comedy char-
acters, off-screen, “he’s just a family man — he
talks about them a lot. He’s such a lovely guy.
I had moments where I was like,I’m in a scene with Steve Buscemi!
What is going on? How did I get here?”
She admires a varied Hollywood set — fromAtlantastar Donald
Glover; toFleabagandKilling Evecreator, Phoebe Waller-Bridge; as
well as Emma Stone (“I really love Emma and would be really keen
to work with her”) — and the respect is clearly reciprocal. When
Viswanathan nabbed a place on Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen
Talent list last year, another of her idols, actor, comedian and writer
Mindy Kaling tweeted: “Yassss. Congrats little sis!” Viswanathan’s
response? “I tweeted her saying that my dad wants to go eat South
Indian food together. She was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’”156 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU April 2019
CULTURE