Katherine Langford, who starred in the first season of 13 Reasons Why and the surprise box office hit Love, Simon, is on the cover of the new issue of Elle Australia.
The 22-year-old Australian native is one of five Rising Stars celebrated by the magazine.
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In her interview, Langford talked about her role in the Time’s Up movement and her decision to star in two projects about important issues. 13 Reasons Why tackles teen suicide, while Love, Simon centered on the title character’s decision to come out to to his family.
“A hugely fulfilling part of what I do is doing things that are meaningful… doing things that affect people in a positive way,” Langford said.
Before the Golden Globes, Langford said she was invited to a Time’s Up meeting, which has inspired her to speak out on behalf of the initiative. It was set up earlier this year to set up a legal fund for women victimized by sexual harassment. During the meeting, she posed for a picture that also included Hollywood heavyweights Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, Lena Dunham, Emilia Clarke, Brie Larson and Laura Dern.
“I think we’ve been able to see a lot more change since women started speaking out [against sexual harassment],” Langford told Glamour earlier this month. “For me, being not only a young woman — but a young woman in Hollywood — is very empowering, particularly when it’s mixed with the social resources we have.”
Langford also tried to explain why the movement was so important to her when she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote the upcoming new season of 13 Reasons Why, but Fallon surprisingly quickly changed the subject before she could go into more detail as she teared up.
“Unfortunately, it may have been misconstrued as me being overly emotional or starstruck because of the fame factor,” Langford told Glamour. “Being a woman who is just starting out in my career, it’s so inspiring to see these other actresses who are so decorated and talented talking and putting their names out for the world to create change.”
Langford earned a Golden Globe nomination for playing Hannah Baker in 13 Reasons Why, a Netflix series that has sparked conversations about teen suicide and mental health. The series, based on Jay Asher’s novel, centers on the reasons why Hannah took her own life.
The second season of 13 Reasons Why will debut sometime this year. There were rumors about it showing up online this weekend, but that’s not the case. Posters referring to a March 31 release date are for season one, which was posted on Netflix on March 31, 2017.
There was also an early screening of the season in Los Angeles, spread out over three days on Friday, Saturday and Wednesday.
Photo credit: Elle Australia
