I wasn’t especially familiar with Liza Koshy’s work on Vine, YouTube, and other social media platforms the first time I covered one of her feature films, but that certainly changed after our brief chat for her summer 2020 release, Work It. A big ball of infectious energy and positivity, it was immediately clear that Koshy’s star was going to continue to soar, and also that she’d be an ideal guest on Collider Ladies Night. Three years later, the time has finally come, and not only did she not disappoint, she far exceeded Ladies Night expectations.

Koshy voices Margot in DreamWorks Animation’s Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, the human best friend of the title character voiced by Lana Condor. When Ruby discovers she can transform into a gigantic kraken, she does what far too many high school students do with a quality that makes them different; she goes to great lengths to keep it a secret, even from her very understanding and supportive BFFs. However, when the new girl at school, Chelsea (voiced by Annie Murphy), turns out to be an evil mermaid with the power to destroy her hometown, Ruby knows exactly what she needs to do to keep her friends and family safe — fully unleash the kraken.

With Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken now playing in theaters nationwide, Koshy joined me for a Ladies Night chat to recap her journey from becoming a Vine powerhouse to a full-blown movie star, amassing a considerable filmography a mere 10 years into her time in Los Angeles.

Image via DreamWorks Animation

One can call Koshy a social media star, content creator, host, actor, producer, and then some, but there’s one particular word she insists stays off that list, “comedian.”

“People call me the C-word and I’m gonna rebrand right now. I am not a comedian. I did not say I was funny. I said I’m fun. I’m definitely fun. But comedians are athletes. What they do is a sport. Their brain? So quick! So, so fast with it. I don’t think I could do that, but comedic actress? All the way!”

I’m a big believer in the “never say never” mentality, especially when it comes to a seemingly boundless performer like Koshy. But, even if we do keep “comedian” off that list (for now), Koshy chose a surprising college major for one destined to become an Internet sensation and actress. She chose to major in business marketing. Why? “Because I went for one year and I had to declare a major.” Koshy laughed and continued:

“I didn’t have a vision. I didn’t have a plan. I just went for one year and then after that one year I started going back and forth to LA that summer after my freshman year in college. Go Cougs! University of Houston. But then I got picked up by my dad at the airport one time after coming back from LA and he said, ‘Do you want to go back to LA and live out there for a gap year and explore your resources out there?’ And it became a gap decade. This is actually almost my 10th year, but 10th year of making content online. I started when I was 17.”

Koshy had her father at her back right out the gate and then her support system grew even further soon after making the move to Los Angeles. She landed a great team at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), an amazing manager, and then some. They’re all people whom Koshy describes as “believers in a dream they can’t see yet,” her dreams, and a determination to get her there. A vital source of creative growth and support within that group? Acting coach Lesly Kahn.

“Her whole tagline that she slaps on every pencil, fidget spinner, anything, is “dare to suck,” and it’s the best, most freeing, relieving thing as an actor to just dare to suck, to just go for it, to not worry about being not perfect. You will never be. And to just throw spaghetti at the wall, you know? I think she’s just a nut case [laughs], and I appreciate who she is. She’s just so unapologetically herself, too, and just such a believer. She was an actor and now she’s a coach, and she has the insight of what it’s like to be on camera and the fear that it can bring up, and to have good actor thoughts versus bad actor thoughts. You want to believe in yourself, you want to sandwich your thoughts between each line like, what would you be if you were actually living in their shoes? What kind of thoughts would you have? She has a really cool methodology that I respect so much.”

Koshy is currently holding tight to that methodology as she begins a new chapter of her career, one in which she feels firm in her voice. Here’s how she put it:

“I’m stepping into a new chapter now, too. It feels like that! I mean, in my own 27 woo-woo way of like, my Saturn’s returning and my Aries, Virgo, Virgo, you know? The woo-woo of it all is coming to fruition. The fact that I’m entering my late 20s now and playing more grown up roles, the fact that I feel this internally, the fact that my work resembles the transition in my life too, it’s all aligning in a really beautiful way that I’m really excited to share who I am today and who I’ve become, because I started at 19. You’re still figuring out yourself, so to share now is really exciting. I feel firm in my voice.”

Having confidence in her voice proved pivotal in one particular circumstance, a situation involving sexual harassment at the workplace. Here’s what Koshy said when asked for an example of a time when she spoke up, her voice was heard, and something changed for the better because of it:

“I think especially as a woman you don’t hear of the cases in which women experience some kind of sexual harassment of some sort, and you speak up about it and something actually happens or changes, and you don’t think it can happen or change, or it’ll have an effect for the better. You think you’ll be the one that’s being a burden. You’ll think you’re the one that is driving a wedge in production when, really, what you’re doing is for the benefit of all women involved, all humans involved. And so I spoke up once on set and I was super hesitant to, but after a quick hour of reflection because, you know, the turnaround time is quick, you want to jump on it while you can and make sure it’s addressed and nipped in the bud, that had a positive change on the environment, and I’m so glad I did. And those aren’t the stories you always hear. Just because you move on and you have a win, you know, you just move on, but I had a win and it was a win for all women that day, so I’m so, so glad I did. And I encourage all women, if that’s something you’re experiencing or going through, it’s really hard, it’s really tough, lean on your support system and speak up.”

Koshy’s support system grows yet again via the fine folks at DreamWorks Animation, a filmmaking family that made Koshy “feel so at home.” In particular, Koshy had high praise for Faryn Pearl, the Ruby Gillman co-director. “Faryn Pearl came through with different suggestions and inflections all the time.” Koshy continued by emphasizing how much she loved “having a female filmmaker right next to you, giving you some advice of how to create this female character that you’re stepping into.”

Not only does Koshy take great pride in her collaboration with Pearl and the opportunity to bring “a very loud, proud brown woman” to screen via Margot, but she’s also especially proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish while promoting the film. Koshy admitted, “Press can be hard sometimes,” but added:

“I think I’m proud of the press that’s going into DreamWorks, and we get to speak on how this story came to be and how many women are behind it, and what a girl empowerment movie this is, and what a moment this is for Lana being [the first female title character of a DreamWorks Animation movie]. That huge! That’s huge! It’s historic. We have this incredible cast of women of all different generations, like I said, and it’s a big moment and I’m happy to see that in a time that’s tougher on women in general, to have this relief and this release is so important.”

Looking for more from Koshy? You’re in luck! You can hear loads more about her experience making Ruby Gillman, the upcoming Trish Sie-directed Netflix movie Players, a couple of bonkers audition stories, and then some in her episode of Collider Ladies Night at the top of this article or in the uncut version of the conversation in podcast form below: