CULTURED’s second annual CULT100 issue spotlights 100 names across five generations who are shaping our culture in real time. Some members of the list are household names; others have been working behind the scenes to make possible the encounters that stop us in our tracks. They are all thinking big, sharing generously, and embodying courage. We hope their work makes you a little braver, too. Order your copy of the CULT100 issue here.
At the age of 18, Molly Gordon did what a few thousand young adults do every year: move to New York to start school at NYU.
Her college career lasted less than two weeks, however—“not long enough to have a conversation about it,” she tells me archly, calling in from London, where she’s working on a new script with actor and writer Phoebe Walsh. Her real edification came in the form of a hostess job. Her campus? The well-heeled fixture Balthazar. “I always think of that Broad City episode where they mix up everyone’s coats,” Gordon recalls. “I did that all the time. I was a fucking mess, but I learned how to get my shit together.”
Just over a decade later, the Los Angeles native has emerged as a certified scene stealer in films like Theater Camp and Shiva Baby, administering a dose of insolence or sincerity at just the right moment, whether as a dorky theater counselor or an intimidating highschool ex. Now, she’s preparing to step into the spotlight in a very big way, with years of work culminating in a string of major projects—including her first leading role. “People always ask why I haven’t taken [one on] yet, and I’m like, ‘No one’s asked me to!’” she says, laughing. “For me, it’s always been about the filmmaker and the project, not the size of the role.”
In Oh, Hi!, set to release later this year, Gordon plays half of a romantic couple (opposite Logan Lerman) on a weekend trip that quickly goes awry. It’s a familiar logline, but you haven’t seen it play out quite like this. (Without giving too much away, expect a ball gag, witch spells, and David Cross.) Born from a shared experience of heartbreak, Oh, Hi! is the brainchild of Gordon (who received a story credit) and Sophie Brooks, who wrote and directed.
“Life’s too sad to not make funny things.” —Molly Gordon
Riffing on the brand of psychological intrigue Fatal Attraction and Misery crystallized in the late ’80s and early ’90s with an updated humor quotient, the film centers on Gordon’s Iris, offering a sympathetic window into what society has deemed “crazy” female behavior. Oh, Hi!’s revenge-fantasy plot was initially even more chaotic, with the first draft skewing “a bit ‘fuck men,’” Gordon admits. “It was deep in Covid, and we were drawing from some pretty dark places.” When the movie premiered at Sundance earlier this year, critics noted how deftly it navigates millennial romantic anxieties, especially before a relationship is fully defined. But Gordon argues that its themes should resonate with people of all ages: “‘Fuck boys’ and ‘soft boys’ have existed forever.”
The film offers a clear indication of what Gordon can do: redefine the “complex female character” for a permanently online generation. Her characters deliver a blunt edge in a girl-next-door envelope, complicating the often incompatible values social media demands from its users: high-octane authenticity and studied self-awareness. While deadpan humor and a knack for brutal honesty can occasionally veer into “bitchy” territory, Gordon always ensures her characters have a touch of relatable awkwardness. And she has no problem exposing the more unappealing, untethered aspects of a character—or indulging in goofiness. “Life’s too sad to not make funny things,” she tells me.
For someone frequently caught up in tense interrelational situations onscreen, Gordon’s real life is surprisingly calm and, she notes, mostly solitary. “I’m in my nomadic phase of life,” she tells me. With longstanding aspirations beyond acting, she’s focused on writing and juggling script deadlines these days. Fellow zillennial darlings Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott are among her close-knit circle of friends; beyond appearing in a suite of projects together, they’re also navigating a shared experience of coming up in the industry. “I literally texted Rachel this morning about how to submit something and what happens after I turn it in,” Gordon says. (When I compare her group to a Taylor Swift-esque girl gang, she chuckles, promptly noting that everyone’s welcome.)
Next, she’s adapting Outrageous Fortune, the 1987 film starring Shelley Long and Bette Midler as actors who inadvertently become involved in a heist, and preparing her solo A24-backed directorial debut, Peaked, in which she’ll also star. Gordon likens the film, a dark comedy about a high school reunion, to an adult bar mitzvah. “It’s such a great space for shit to go down. Everyone is coming for different reasons, with something to prove or looking for closure,” she says. “It’s very human, especially [relatable] for my generation, which is having a really hard time being an adult.”
Gordon is adamant about maintaining her multi-hyphenate status, stressing that writing makes her a better actor and vice versa. (Rounding out her triple threat: singing. A young Phoebe Bridgers once opened for her high school band, Louis and June.) “A lot of people end up leaving acting to focus just on directing or writing because once you’re seen as a female director, you don’t want to lose that label,” she explains. “There are only, like, five female directors out there.” She’s not too far off: In the Oscars’s 97-year-history, only 10 women filmmakers have been nominated for or won Best Director.
“So many times, I would see my dad getting ready for a job, only for the project to fall apart. This industry is all about tenacity.” —Molly Gordon
If she’s nervous about entering this new phase, on- and off-camera, and keeping all the plates spinning, Gordon doesn’t let it show. She grew up in the business—her father is a TV director and her mother is a writer-director—and credits her parents for her strong work ethic. “So many times, I would see my dad getting ready for a job, only for the project to fall apart,” she recalls. “This industry is all about tenacity.”
She also finds it helpful to remind herself that, because they’ll make fewer films in their lifetime than the crew, a director is likely to be the least experienced person on set. “All you have to do,” Gordon concludes, “is be brave enough to make the attempt and brave enough to fail.”
THE CULT100 QUESTIONNAIRE
What do you think is your biggest contribution to culture?
My snot bubble in Theater Camp. Or my snot bubble when Carmy broke up with Claire in The Bear.
What do you want to see more of in your industry? Less of?
I would love to see more original films made by new voices. Less judgment of art with sentiment.
Name an influence of yours that might surprise people.
Steve Kerr? My parents are obsessed with basketball and usually bring up something he said when giving me advice.
What’s one book, work of art, or film that got you through an important moment of your life?
I find myself always returning to the book Heartburn. I also return to truly anything Nora Ephron wrote when I’m feeling low.
When you were little, what were you known for?
Being loud.
Who do you call the most?
I call my mom and my friend Owen Thiele every day. For that, I am sorry.
Hair by DJ Quintero for Living Proof at the Wall Group
Makeup by Romy Soleimani
Nails by Lolly Koon for Chanel Beauty
Production by April Ellis and Andrew Chung
Lighting Direction and DP by Clay Howard-Smith
Digital Tech by Anthony Miller
Styling Assistance by Chloe Kerins and Cyrenae Tademy
Makeup Assistance by Jackie Piccola
Lighting Assistance by Angelo Capacyachi
