You’ve built a career around a sharp comedic voice and a willingness to play with form. Early shorts like Honey and Marina Tire became online hits and Vimeo Staff Picks. Looking back, what first pulled you toward directing, and how did that path evolve into the work you’re making now? What did those early projects reveal about your voice as a director?
I’d loved movies since I was very young, and my first real step toward directing was a workshop at the New York Film Academy in Burbank when I was 16. I went on to NYU and trained as an actor at the Atlantic Theater Company, but I quickly realised I was more interested in shaping performance — and observing it — than performing myself. Being around actors working at that level, and seeing dialogue come alive in unexpected ways, gave me the confidence to make my first short, which I wrote and directed shortly after graduating. The magic and malleability of performance have been the cornerstone of my directing life. Without that, I’d be lost.
Your work from SNL segments to Joel Kim Booster: Psychosexual and Matt Rogers: Have You Heard of Christmas? has a distinct comedic rhythm and tone. How would you describe your sensibility, and what keeps pulling you toward this kind of humour?
I fell into comedy because I came up around so many comedians and stand-ups at NYU and in the years right after. Writing is slow for me, and I wanted to keep building as a director, so I was lucky to have friends who trusted me with their material. I’m always trying to smuggle a little drama and melancholy into comedy — it makes things feel richer, and suggests there’s more happening beneath the surface. I also love putting larger-than-life characters into real, grounded environments. That contrast is exciting to me. Being trusted by comedians and performers means a lot, and I’m proud of that. With specials, my goal is to honour the comic and not overwhelm their voice, while still bringing in texture. The spectacle of performance is inherently interesting to me, so it’s a great space to explore.
You were the only guest director on Hacks Season 4. How did that opportunity come about, and what did it mean for you professionally and creatively?
I made a short called Marina Tire with Blair Beeken, who co-wrote and stars in it. It’s about a straight woman who opens a queer auto shop. Lucia Aniello and Paul Downs found it on Instagram and thought it was funny. We became friends and started developing it as a TV idea. A year or two later, Lucia texted asking if I’d be interested in directing an episode of Hacks. I interviewed and got it. I’m hugely grateful — practically, because it helped me make my feature (I had my rent money), and creatively, because I came away with real insight from watching Lucia and Paul work at that level.
You move fluidly across TV, film, stand-up specials, and commercials. Do those formats activate different creative muscles, or do you think of them as part of one continuum?
Both. It can feel continuous, but I’m still in a phase of building my skill set. Each format has different demands, and it’s been rewarding to learn how each project asks for its own kind of attention and care.
You’re now in post-production with Tinygiant on your first feature, She Keeps Me Young. What can you share about your approach to features, and how that compares with short-form work?
She Keeps Me Young is a film I’ve wanted to make for a long time — it’s been cooking in my brain for years. It brings together a lot of my interests and ideas. I spent a decade focused on short-form, but I’ve realized I love the narrative real estate of a feature: the room to stay with character, place, and even mood.
Your career has resisted easy categorisation. Looking back, what felt like the key turning points — and what continues to drive you now?
Kate Berlant Teaches for Comedy Central was my first paid job as a writer-director, and that was a major shift. Soon after, I was hired at SNL, which gave me a sense of legitimacy — personally and professionally. Hacks was another clear turning point. What drives me now is wanting to make more work that fuses my love of Hollywood filmmaking, arthouse, and comedy.
Honey
