Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers for Tiny Beautiful Things.You may not know Tanzyn Crawford’s name yet, but there’s a good chance that’s going to change very, very soon. The Australian actor most recently appeared in M. Night Shyamalan’s Apple TV+ series Servant and can now be seen in the highly anticipated adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things.

The series centers around a woman named Clare (Kathryn Hahn), who takes on the unlikely role of advice columnist despite her own life falling apart. Among her issues are a stalling career, trouble with her marriage to her husband Danny (Quentin Plair), and a crumbling relationship with her teenage daughter Rae. Crawford plays Rae and masterfully holds her own through every scene.
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I got a chance to speak to Crawford about how she found out she go the role, what it was like to work with her onscreen parents, and what it meant to bring a queer, biracial character like this to the screen.

TAYLOR GATES: So this is one of your first roles — though I’m sure very far from your last because you’re so good in it. But walk me through a little bit what it was like to get that call telling you that you got the part. What thoughts and feelings were you having?

TANZYN CRAWFORD: Even from the very first audition that I did for this role, I was in love with it. You can get so many auditions, and you can be like, “Oh, I like this role. I’d love to play this role.” But this one, for me, was like a, “Oh, this is, like, me. Someone’s written me as a character and put it on screen. I just instantly felt such a connection with it. So every step of the callback — the chemistry read, another chemistry read — the fact I kept going…I was gagged, really that anyone was gonna care about me or see me. I had actually just gotten home. I did all of my auditions here in LA, and then I flew home, and then as soon as I got to Sydney to my stopover before I went back to Perth, my manager called me up and was like, “Oh yeah — you have to do another chemistry read in like three hours” or six hours or whatever. And I was like, “Okay, but I’m not even home yet. Can I just have a minute?” [Laughs] So then I had to race home and do it all. It was just a very stressful period.

So I’ve been home for like two days, and then they — my manager and both of my agents — called me up at like two in the morning and were like, “Hey, so you got it.” And I was so dead asleep that I didn’t even register what anybody was telling me. I sat there on FaceTime for a good minute just trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I didn’t understand anything. But then I broke down and started crying because it’s a role that just meant so much to me. The thought that I actually would get to bring so much of myself into a role — and so early in my career — it’s something so meaningful. It was the best moment, honestly.

You and Kathryn really capture that signature mother-daughter angst as well as that really strong love that they have. How did you develop that bond, and what was the dynamic like when the cameras weren’t rolling? I imagine it might be kind of intimidating.

I was so scared. I didn’t know how it was gonna be going into it — whether she’d want to, like, build a relationship with me. I was just happy to be there. If she didn’t, I’d be like, “Okay, fair. You got your own life — not a problem.” But from the second we met, she was very interested in me and my experiences and what I could bring to Rae. And she would ask me questions about how it was with my mom who’s my white parent as well. A lot of my scenes are just with her, so I would spend so much time with her behind the scenes. I feel like I’m the kind of person who, when I get nervous, all my trauma comes out. So I like immediately did that, and she was like, “Oh, work. Okay.” [Laughs] So then she was telling me stuff, and I was like, “Oh, this is perfect.”

So it very quickly became not intimidating to be around her and very much like just a regular lady in her forties that doesn’t know how to use her iPhone and was asking me how to do stuff. We made some Spotify playlists together that we would play, and I sent her a link so we could do a collaborative playlist. And she was like, “I don’t know how to do that.” So she just sent me a whole list in text and was like, “Add these.” And I was like, “Okay, I got you.” But yeah, she was just so warm. And even during filming, she would always check in that I was fine after the 10th take of crying or whatever. We just had a really solid motherly relationship very quickly that I think she very much initiated, which made me feel so comfortable.

Image via Hulu

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I think that shines through. I interviewed Quentin Plair last week, and it sounded like the two of you got really close as well throughout the process. Can you talk a little bit about working with him, too?

Oh, I love Quentin. Did he say he was like the dorky older brother or whatever?

Those vibes were there for sure, yes.

I honestly feel like now I have a very kind of lame uncle for the rest of my life because that is exactly his vibe. He’s just so corny, and maybe he has a slightly intimidating exterior, but as soon as you talk to him, he’s just like — he’s just so lame. Immediately, he didn’t try to put up any front or anything, and I was like, “Oh, this is gonna work out great. This is gonna be so good.” I would just go sit in his trailer and wait for him to come back from lunch, and he wouldn’t know I was in there. I filmed so many TikToks while he was just sitting eating his lunch or learning his lines, and I’m just, like, in the back doing TikTok dances, and he would occasionally look up and glance at the camera and be like, “What are you doing?” It was so good. He’s so cool. I’m so glad I got to meet him as well. We clicked so fast, and we spent a lot of time off-set together, and he lived pretty close to where I was staying, so he would drive me to set. He’s a really cool guy.

Do you have a scene that was the most fun to shoot or the most fun day on set for you?

I honestly really enjoyed the big fight in episode five between the three of us. It was like free therapy. It was so good. I was getting all of my anger out — things I wish I could have said to my mom when I was 16, and I was just throwing them at Kathryn. It was so fun, and I was getting really jittery and hyped up. So that was definitely up there.

And then I would also say every single scene that I filmed with Aneasa [Yacoub] was so fun because she and I also clicked instantly. Also, she’s one of the only people that I got to work with that was like my age, so we had like a good understanding of each other, you know what I mean? We were just making TikToks together and doing stupid stuff, so all that was really fun. All those scenes were quite playful — there was so much room for joy. There also was in the other scenes, but then we’d have to snap back into deep sobbing or screaming or something.

That kind of takes me to my next question. On the flip side, what was the most challenging to shoot? Was there one that was the hardest for you or maybe that you were the most nervous about?

Even though I didn’t have a lot of lines, I was super nervous for episode eight sort of being in the back of everything that was happening because there was so much going on. And I’m glad I didn’t have a lot of lines because I feel like I got very overwhelmed that day. There was so much going on between everyone else. So that one was quite difficult.

It wasn’t really screaming or whatever, but episode four when there’s all of the family there, that was another overwhelming day. That was the first day where we had a bunch of background actors, and there was just so much going on. I had so many marks that I had to hit when I was just walking around. That was the first time I’d shot with Desiree [Akhavan], the director for that block, too, so I was trying to figure out what her directing style was. That whole day was quite overwhelming but fun. I felt not as much pressure because I had like three lines, but still — a lot going on.

Image via Hulu

I imagine it can be kind of hard not to fall into tropes when you’re playing sort of a rebellious teen character, but she always does feel very real and multidimensional. How did you make sure that was the case?

I think the work was pretty much done for me because it was so well-written — nothing felt out of place or just bratty because it was bratty. In my mind, I like created a map of, “Okay — she did this because she did this and this,” and nothing was like, “Oh, so why is she all of a sudden just screaming for no reason?” You know what I mean? It all felt very justified. So I felt like I didn’t really have to be like, “Okay, I’m gonna scream not as much here because I don’t want it to come off this way.” I think that flow really worked. And that’s a credit to all the writers because made my job super easy.

I have to say, as a queer woman, I found the LGBTQ+ representation so casual and so refreshing. What did it mean to you as a queer actor to be able to embody this character?

This was a kind of role that I didn’t see growing up in Australia. We don’t really have a lot of African American people or mixed people on TV at all. So all of my representation came from Disney Channel in America, and in the mid-2000s, there were, like, three black people. And none of them were gay. So for me, this is a role that I prayed to see on TV for so long, and now I get to bring it into the world. And I’m so happy that now I can be in the mix of so many other Black, gay, or mixed representation on TV. It’s not like I’m now coming in and making my own thing because we already have it, which is so amazing, but it just feels like such an honor that I myself get to bring something to the screen that really was so difficult for me to come to terms with. Five years ago or whatever, it would have been just so meaningful to me. I feel so honored.

That flows into my next question. As I said, I spoke with Quentin, and he talked about the Easter episode and how he feels there’s a more natural ease and comfort that Rae has around her Black side of the family. Can you talk a little bit about how being biracial informs this character and the dynamics that she has with her family?

Yeah, for sure. I think I brought my experience as a biracial person into Rae. So for me, I’m not a white-passing mixed person, but I’m not the darkest-skinned mixed person. I do exist pretty much in the center, maybe slightly tipped toward Black. My white family is lovely, but you know…sometimes white people just make you feel a little bit isolated. That’s just how it is. So I also have always felt more comfortable around my other side. A lot of my family is mixed or Black, so I’ve always felt like, “Well, they look like me. They have American accents, but you know, we can all work together.” It just clicks better. And my experience talking to a lot of my mixed friends is that there’s always something that feels a little bit off in the white part of your family.

That’s definitely what I wanted to bring to Rae and what was written for Rae as well. That’s not everyone’s family — you never know. Some people just grow up around their white family, and they’re fine with them, and that’s fine. That’s how things are. Everyone’s different. But it was important for me. You see a couple of members of Clare’s side of the family, but it’s not a comfortable relationship, so I wanted there to be somewhere where Rae felt safe outside of her own home, and I really like that it’s with her Black family.

This show has an amazing cast. Who do you think would be the best at writing an advice column?

Oh. I would definitely say Sarah [Pidgeon]. She is so eloquent when she speaks whenever I’m around, and she has such a masterful way of always inviting you into the conversation and asking you questions all the time. But she doesn’t make it feel like it’s an interrogation kind of thing because I feel like sometimes, I’m like, “Okay, I’m not gonna talk about myself because I feel like I do that a lot. Let me ask some questions.” But she asks the most thoughtful questions. And I feel like that would really translate into an advice column.

I have to say, I talked to her last week as well, and she and Quentin both said that you would have the best advice column.

Me?

Yes.

What?!

So I would like to ask, do you have any advice — especially for aspiring actors who might be trying to get into it like you are?

Oh, wow. I can’t believe they said me. That’s crazy. Maybe it’s because I’m quite honest. I just give my honest opinion. But okay, advice to someone. Well, in my acting school, we had this whole big talk with one of my acting teachers, and he was like, “Okay, so you audition for something — it’s gonna be 10% your acting and 90% everything else as to why they cast you.” And now I think about it that way. I mean, I know I’m a good actor because I’ve got an agent and I’ve made it a little bit so far, so if I don’t get an audition, it’s because I was a little bit too tall or I just didn’t look good standing next to the other cast member. It’s nothing to do with your acting. And I feel like that takes the pressure off of me so much when I’m like, “I just gotta please every single aspect.” Sometimes, you just can’t. Sometimes, you just can’t please everyone, and you just have to be confident in the ability that you have and know that you’ve got the stuff. So don’t worry about trying to check all the other boxes because you just can’t — it’s not gonna happen. And somebody’s gonna come along and want you for exactly how you are, and then you’re gonna have your time to shine.

I love that. I think that’s great advice. The last question I have: there’s a very satisfying, beautiful ending. However, I’m greedy and would like a season two. If there were to be another season, what would you like to explore with Rae?

The one thing I would really love would be more of a relationship between Danny and Rae. Because I really wanted a relationship between them, and we got a little bit, but I would just love for them to have a special dad-daughter thing we can see. Because we know they have a connection that’s more than Clare and Rae, but to be able to see it. And I would also like more time with Quentin just to bug him. [Laughs]

All episodes of Tiny Beautiful Things will be available to stream on Hulu April 7.