At just 22 years old, Maude Apatow is leading the pack of young Hollywood with charm and talent unseen by her peers. With eagerness and authentic interest in her craft, the California native is more than just the daughter of director Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann — she’s one to look out for in the next few years. Currently starring in her father’s latest directorial effort, The King of Staten Island, Apatow tells PopCulture.com exclusively that her interest in the role of Pete Davidson‘s younger sister had a lot to do with her professional dynamic with dad.
“We have a very good working relationship — I’m lucky,” Apatow said in our series, PopCulture @ Home. “I know my dad’s seen everything I’ve done. My dad makes self-tapes of me sometimes. I really trust him to tell me if what I’m doing is not working and know that he has a good idea of what I’m capable of.” Adding how she always feels “very relaxed” on set with him, she posits how he might be a “little harder” on her than other actors, but “that’s only because he knows what — I don’t want to say my greatest potential is — but that,” she laughs.
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Apatow, who got her start in her father’s movie, Knocked Up at the age of 7, goes on to share how she has learned a lot about herself and her craft through her father’s direction, starting from her debut to her most latest role in The King of Staten Island.
“It’s so weird because I was so much younger doing those parts, like Knocked Up — and then the last time I worked with my dad was almost 10 years ago [in This Is 40]. So, I think I’m in a very different space now,” she said. “I guess I always knew I wanted to be an actor, but as I got older, I took acting a lot more seriously, and I’ve gotten to work with other filmmakers. So, before I kind of had nothing to compare it to. But coming back and getting to work with him as an older person was very special because my dad has a very unique way of working. That is, it’s not like anything I’ve ever done before, so I was really excited to be able to work with him as an adult.”
Confidently carving her own path and proving her merit, Apatow’s father previously told Variety the budding actress insisted she auditions for the role because she didn’t want any special treatment. While chatting with PopCulture about her role as Davidson’s on-screen younger sister, Claire, Apatow further shares it was a role beaming with heart that she could not pass up.
Loosely based on Davidson’s life, Apatow stars as his ambitious younger sister Claire, a voice of reason for Scott (Davidson), who has been a case of arrested development since their firefighter father died. “She’s a very strong female character,” she said of the “interesting” role. “The movie takes place at this breaking point with his sister and his mom — everyone is just about to break. They’re all very fed up, and I play a frustrated character who you can tell has had the exact same conversation with this person like 8,000 times, and they’re not listening.”
The actress, who aspires to write and direct like her beloved dad goes on to share she has been thriving amid a worldwide quarantine prompted by the coronavirus pandemic but is taking it all one day at a time. “I’ve been trying to be productive and work on different writing projects that maybe you’ll see one day, but probably in a while,” she said.
The King of Staten Island is now available to own on digital and Blu-ray/DVD. For more on Maude Apatow, your favorite stars, and all the movie news you need to know, keep it locked to PopCulture.com for the latest!
