There’s a good chance you’re familiar withAya Cashcourtesy of her work on the hit TV seriesYou’re the WorstandThe Boys, but initially her focus was on theater. Cash’s pivot to the screen proved to be a journey filled with experiences that illuminated how she’d find the most joy in her work and also what she’d strive for as a leader on set to best support others. With her new movieWe Broke Upin theaters now and set to hit VOD on April 23rd, Cash took the time to join us for an episode ofCollider Ladies Nightto look back on the steps she took that paved the way to her many recent accomplishments.
Cash opted to plant the first seeds of her career in New York City with hopes of building a name for herself in the theater scene there. When financial concerns crept in, that’s when Cash had to seriously consider the fact that she’d be more likely to make a living doing film and television. Here’s how Cash explained the situation:
“It was kind of a balance. It was like, ‘How do you get enough film and TV to pay your bills and still do theater?’ And initially, I’d say even the first 10 years of my career, I didn’t get a lot of joy out of acting on camera. It wasn’t really until You’re the Worst that I learned to enjoy acting on camera. It was the opportunity to play a character like that and to have it written on you and taken to those places. And the way we were allowed to shoot sometimes where we would do very long takes. That gave me the same feeling that I would get on stage, and I had never had that before because on film and TV, acting is so truncated. You don’t get the chance to get going and I didn’t think it was possible.”
In addition to finding that kind of joy and fulfillment in her on-camera work, Cash also deeply values how she can contribute to the working environment on set. Here’s what she said when asked which television guest appearance taught her the most about being the lead of her own series:
“I won’t say any of the bad things because people could have a bad day; it doesn’t mean they’re bad people or that it was even personal or anything like that. But, honestly, I learn more from the bad moments than the good simply because you go, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do that.’ Or, ‘I don’t want to treat people that way. I don’t want a set that I am on and semi-responsible for as someone high on the call sheet,’ which is a bullshit hierarchy anyway. But, if you want to put it that way, if there’s some sense of responsibility about leading a cast or a crew with the showrunner and stuff, I would say it helped me be welcoming to every single person who came on our set.”
Ultimately, Cash got the chance to bring those leadership qualities to the set ofWe Broke Up, a unique romantic comedy featuring Cash oppositeWilliam JacksonHarperas Lori and Doug. They’ve been together for 10 years, but wind up breaking up right before heading off to Lori’s little sister’s wedding when Doug’s surprise proposal doesn’t go to plan. In an effort to make sure Lori’s sister can still have the wedding of her dreams, they opt to keep their break-up a secret.
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Turns out,We Broke Upactually marks Cash’s very first offer, and even though it’s something that’s first being released now, it’s a project she remained committed to ever since being offered the role of Lori six, seven years ago. Here’s how Cash broke down the timeline:
“We Broke Up was my first offer ever. It was six or seven years ago. So that’s the journey of an indie film, is I was offered this around Season 2 I think of You’re the Worst. I sat down with [director] Jeff [Rosenberg], we had a meeting, we went to coffee, he seemed lovely, I was so excited to get an offer for a movie to play the lead. Normally I was auditioning for these. And of course I say yes, and then it didn’t come together until six years later and they were like, ‘Would you still do it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, of course!’ When I make a commitment, I try - I’ve had to pull out of things, but I try to only say yes to things that I wanna do and it was so lovely to come back around and be able to do this with him.”
If you’re looking for more from Cash, be sure to check out her episode of Collider Ladies Night at the top of this article! She also looked back on working onThe Wolf of Wall StreetwithLeonardo DiCaprio, explained why she had to step away from the fan conversation asThe BoysSeason 2 episodes rolled out and teased her upcoming Fox show,This Country. You can hear about all of that in the video and if you’re eager for even more, you can catch our uncut interview in podcast form below:
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