THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 87 NOVEMBER 6, 2019
player in WME’s battle with the
Writers Guild, which has seen
Hollywood scribes dump their
agents as the guild challenges the
industry’s packaging practices.
“When we file briefs, we’re very
aware of the potential impact it
could have on the whole industry,”
says Mercier-Dalphond, who is
a three-time Canadian Junior
National Champion in badmin-
ton. “It’s very stressful, but I feel
privileged to be part of some-
thing much bigger than me.”
Mercier-Dalphond, who exclu-
sively studied and practiced law in
French until she enrolled in Duke
University’s Master of Laws pro-
gram in 2011, knows the company
inside and out — she spent seven
months in house at Endeavor on a
temporary assignment beginning in
late 2017.
WEIRDEST WAY I’VE MET A CLIENT
“At a onesie costume party, while
wearing a full lemur outfit.”PRIYA VERMA / 34
Partner, Morris Yorn
Verma is the youngest partner
at one of Hollywood’s top talent
boutiques — and it’s no surprise
the racing enthusiast sped throughthe ranks, earning the title in 2017
after just four years with the firm.
The Central California native started
USC pre-med, but switched to
political science and set her sights
on sports law. “I wanted to be the
general counsel of an NFL or NBA
team until I realized their jobs are
quite boring,” she says with a laugh.
At Morris Yorn, she reps a roster of
creators like director Nisha Ganatra
(Late Night), writer-producer Mike
McMahan (Rick and Morty) and
showrunner Justin Hillian (The
Chi), services talent including Fred
Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and
Josh Rabinowitz and is taking thelead on expanding the firm’s pres-
ence in New York and the U.K. As
for her favorite hobby: “It’s such
an adrenaline rush,” says Verma
of hitting a race track like the one
at the Porsche Experience Center
in Carson.
THE PERSON I’D SWITCH JOBS WITH FOR
A DAY ““[Formmer proofesssional teenniss
pplayer]] Darren Cahhill. ”Profiles written by Kirsten Chuba,
Ashley Cullins, Rebecca Ford,
Mia Galuppo, Natalie Jarvey,
Borys Kit, Michael O’Connell,
Bryn Elise Sandberg, Tatiana Siegel
and Piya Sinha-Roy.TAALL ENNTBarbie Ferreira / 22
After entering the public
eye at age 16 as a model for
Target, H&M and Aerie, the
New York native has been
pivoting toward her lifelong
dream of acting. She finally
notched breakout star status
this past year with HBO’s
Euphoria. “I was very nervous
about it because I feel like
people have opinions on mod-
els who act and there might be
more scrutiny,” says Ferreira
of her transition to perform-
ing, “but it’s been really
seamless.” Ferreira will follow
up season two of the prestige
drama with HBO Max’s first
film, Unpregnant, alongside
Haley Lu Richardson.
LAST SHOW I BINGED
SuccessionJaboukie
Young-White / 25The moment it “clicked” that
Young-White had made it as
a comedian was right before
his first set on The Tonight
Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
in December 2017. “I had to
readjust the narrative I was
telling myself,” he says. “I
don’t think I’m an underdog
anymore. I might just be a dog
now.” From there, the Illinois
native went on to write forNetflix comedy Big Mouth and
land a gig as a correspondent
on The Daily Show. The Set
It Up and Rough Night actor
is also attached to a new Bo
Burnham-scripted movie
at Paramount.
I HOPE I DON’T GET TYPECAST
AS “A really hot and smart and
amazingly talented person.”Haley Lu
Richardson / 24The Arizona native moved
out to Los Angeles at age 16
to dance after convincing her
parents with a poster board
presentation. It didn’t take
long for her to make the leap
to acting full time, quickly
graduating from made-for-TV
movies to more high-brow fare
like The Edge of Seventeen,
Split and Support the Girls.
She was nominated for a
Gotham Independent Film
Award in 2017 for her break-
out performance in Columbus.
Next, she’ll reteam with
director Kogonada for his new
film After Yang starring Colin
Farrell and front Unpregnant
with Ferreira.
IF I WEREN’T AN ACTOR, I’D BE
“An esthetician. I love
popping zits.”