Havana Rose Liu Stays Sassy Baby Fresh

Havana Rose Liu was street-cast at NYU, blinked, and suddenly became an indie It girl: throwing punches in Bottoms, playing piano in Tuner, and stacking up festival favorites like Lurker. Now, the 28-year-old is starring in a Christmas comedy Oh. What. Fun., but as she tells her Bottoms co-star Ruby Cruz, she’s still not sure how she got here.

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WEDNESDAY  11 AM OCT. 29TH, 2025 HONG KONG

HAVANA ROSE LIU: Most of the time when we hang out, we just ha-ha-ha the whole time. So I’m just wondering if the interview’s going to be “Ruby: ha-ha-ha.” “Havana: ha-ha-ha.”

RUBY CRUZ: I know. When you came to me with this, I was like, “Wait a minute. There’s so much more I need to know about you.”

LIU: That’s the most disturbing thing I’ve ever heard. I feel like I’ve bared my entire soul to you.

CRUZ: I mean, I know your favorite color.

LIU: That’s what it is to really know someone.

CRUZ: To be loved is to be known.

LIU: And to be known is to be foolish.

CRUZ: Wait, where are you?

LIU: [Laughs] You ask me that question like you don’t know.

CRUZ: Tell the people where you are.

LIU: Dear reader, I’m in Hong Kong. Dear Ruby, where are you?

CRUZ: I’m in Brooklyn, New York. The hometown of Havana Rose Liu.

LIU: My heart and soul lives with you.

CRUZ: It looks like it’s the middle of the night?

LIU: Because my blackout shades are still down. It’s a gray day here in Hong Kong.

CRUZ: How is it out there?

LIU: It’s awesome and I can’t wait to talk about it with you more when I’m allowed to. After this call.

CRUZ: Okay. I guess I should ask you some questions. Have you ever seen a ghost?

LIU: [Laughs] I feel like I’m seeing one right now, like I just died and now I’m the ghost.

CRUZ: But have you actually?

LIU: I feel like yes, but I don’t know if I’ve seen a ghost. Do you know what I mean?

CRUZ: You felt a ghost?

LIU: I stay feeling ghosts. I’m always trying to make contact in a non-Ouija way.

CRUZ: Yeah.

LIU: I think loving the people I’ve lost feels like I’m contacting ghosts in some way.

CRUZ: Right.

LIU: But now I just sound weird and a little creepy. [Laughs] Have you seen a ghost?

CRUZ: That’s beautiful, and it reminds me of the ways I see ghosts as well. I see ghosts in my dreams of people I’ve lost.

LIU: That’s the best feeling in the world.

CRUZ: One time I was having a really stressful dream. I rushed into this restaurant and I saw my grandma and her girlfriend sitting at a table, beaming with light, and suddenly it was very calm. She called me over and was laughing and giving me guidance.

LIU: They came and comforted you in your time of need.

CRUZ: Yeah—you did flip my first question right back onto me, didn’t you?

LIU: And you gave such a good answer.

CRUZ: Well, it is Halloween, Havana. Has this holiday been important in your life?

LIU: Actually, it is because I would always sew my brothers these pretty elaborate costumes ever since I was little.

CRUZ: You’re kidding.

LIU: I would go all out because I like making things. One year I made my brother into a cardboard ostrich.

CRUZ: Oh my god.

LIU: Another year I sewed this big green dragon costume that had two heads.

CRUZ: That sounds incredible. When did you learn to sew?

LIU: I don’t know. I must have been 11-ish. My mom was into it. She’s a crafty woman.

CRUZ: Are you dressing up this year?

LIU: That is the ultimate question. I feel like I’m always dressing up for work, so sometimes it’s like, “Wow, I have to think of a whole other costume?” But I should have fun with it again.

CRUZ: What were you like as a kid?

LIU: I was just thinking about this, because I feel like I’ve been hiding for a minute in shoulds, and now I’m remembering the freedom of being a baby. Actually, this project I’m working on right now is really asking me to be baby, and it’s made me really grateful. I don’t know if that answers your question at all.

CRUZ: It does. Was it hard to find freedom at first?

LIU: Funnily enough, I feel like I didn’t find it—I feel like it cracked through me. I felt like it had been waiting for me to remember, and then in remembering, it was like, “Oh my god, bitch, finally.” Which was pretty cool.

CRUZ: I’m so glad you’re feeling that right now. That’s really, really good news.

LIU: I know.

CRUZ: Okay. I wanted to ask you this, because you described to me the way you’ve found acting in your career, that you kind of slipped into it, right?

LIU: I don’t know how serious you’re being right now.

CRUZ: It’s a real question.

LIU: Let’s just do yes or no questions. [Laughs]

CRUZ: Well, I was going to ask you what you thought you’d be as a kid.

LIU: I could never choose. I wanted to be an artist, then a writer, then a singer, then a dancer. Then I wanted to be a window washer, because I thought it was so crazy and acrobatic. I remember thinking that was a really wild job because you could see inside all these people’s windows. I loved the spying element.

CRUZ: Yes.

LIU: But looking back now, it’s kind of cool because I don’t have to choose. I could play a window washer, I could play a dancer, I could play a singer, I could play an artist, I could play a writer. Basically, I got here because I’m indecisive.[Laughs]

CRUZ: Havana, we are so similar. I would say this as a kid, too.

LIU: You were so born to be an actor.

CRUZ: And so were you!

LIU: But I feel like you knew from a young age that you were supposed to be an actor. You’re so empathetic and thoughtful, and you really love to examine the world so deeply.

CRUZ: I think it’s the same empathy that drew you to this career. It’s like the law of attraction.

LIU: You more than most have watched me learn, period.

CRUZ: I feel the same way. You’ve taught me a lot.

LIU: Wow, I guess we’re just double helixing towards knowledge and joy.

CRUZ: [Laughs] It’s all fucking working out. I was wondering, you know how acting sometimes involves uncertainty? It’s discovering and digging, and trying to figure out, “Why am I learning this now?” and “How do I get there?”

LIU: Yes.

CRUZ: What is the art form for you that gives you that free-flowing magic that’s just certain? Because you are so talented in so many different ways.

LIU: Oh my goodness gracious. That’s funny. It’s like always being a detective. Sometimes when you’re making something visually or when you’re hunting through character, the difference is more about the collaboration and feeling like you’re having to attune more deeply to what somebody else needs. I love working with writer-directors, because a lot of the time it’s their own personal journey or a way to process something they’ve written about.

CRUZ: Yeah.

LIU: Then you’re tapping into what they need for that process and finding a way to give that to them. Sometimes with my own work, if that’s quietly writing a song no one will hear, or making a big fiber arts thing, it’s more of a process of me doing that with myself. I want to be spending more time making things, using my two hands and brain for my own little creative ventures.

CRUZ: Yeah.

LIU: I know you feel the same.

CRUZ: So much. So what are we calling our band?

LIU: Oh my god. You just put it into the world, Ruby. [Laughs]

CRUZ: I’m cementing it.

LIU: Holy shit.

CRUZ: I’m holding us accountable.

LIU: Well, we’re open to offers, actually. Please let us know.

CRUZ: It’s true.

LIU: Dear readers, if you have any ideas, please let us know.

CRUZ: Speaking of music, what are you listening to right now?

LIU: I’m making my character playlists right now, so I’m listening to a lot of stuff that makes me feel baby. Stuff from my childhood, and also stuff that feels very sassy baby fresh.

CRUZ: Sassy baby fresh?

LIU: Yeah.

CRUZ: Fun.

LIU: What’s your favorite song this week?

CRUZ: My most played song this week is “Dozy Brown,” which is a brown noise that I put into my earbuds and listen to 24/7. [Laughs]

LIU: Wow, we’re having that kind of week.

CRUZ: Do you have an answer?

LIU: “Relax Baby Be Cool” is one. And then there’s a song called “Chick Habit.” And then it’s Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.”

CRUZ: [Laughs] I’m loving the music world you’re living in and—

LIU: The babyness.

CRUZ: I’ll send you some songs. I’ve been listening to the Sugar-cubes a lot. You should listen to them, because they dance, go crazy, spin around.

LIU: That’s the one thing I need more of: dance crazy baby. I have some tender baby, I have some sassy baby, I have some angry-grumpy baby, and I have some joy baby, but I don’t have dance-around-and-be-cray-cray baby.

CRUZ: I envision you spinning in circles, never stopping, singing loud and screaming with your arms flailing out.

LIU: Ultimately that’s exactly what I want. [Laughs]

CRUZ: Speaking of songs, I have some song title questions. We can rapid-fire.

LIU: What?

CRUZ: Just answer the questions, okay?

LIU: Okay, whoa. [Laughs]

CRUZ: “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

LIU: Woof, woof, woof, woof.

CRUZ: “How Deep is Your Love?”

LIU: For you? Darling, it’s a canyon.

CRUZ: [Laughs] “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?”

LIU: By spending time with your best friend.

CRUZ: [Laughs] Genius. “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”

LIU: Definitely stay. Don’t leave me.

CRUZ: “What Was I Made For?”

LIU: [Laughs] To be my friend, and to shine so brightly that people can’t get enough of you.

CRUZ: Oh, Havana, Havana. “Now That You Got It,” what you gon’ do about it?

LIU: That is such a good question. I feel adrenaline right now. This is like an Olympic sport.

CRUZ: What’s your mascot?

LIU: Okay, that’s really personal.

CRUZ:[Laughs] These can be harsh environments, these interviews.

LIU: Especially this one. I feel dragged through the mud here.

CRUZ: [Laughs] Yeah, I did not hold back with these.

 

 

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Hair: David Von Cannon using R+Co at A-Frame Agency.

Makeup: Shayna Goldberg using Mac Cosmetics at The Wall Group.

Nails: Pika using Essie at See Management.

Tailor: Clar Rubio at Lars Nord Studio.

Photography Assistant: John Vetromile.

Market Assistant: Nicholson Baird.

Special Thanks: The Morrison Group.