True Whitaker is not afraid to play a nepo baby (or speak Elvish) on ‘I Love LA’

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True Whitaker was determined to do well at her audition for what was then known as the “Untitled Rachel Sennott Project,” which later became “I Love LA.”

She was really excited about the part and had always wanted to collaborate with Sennott, who created and starred in the show. Unfortunately, when it was time to record her audition, all her friends were at the beach. That meant she had to ask her father – a celebrated actor with an Academy Award – for help with the scene.

True and her father, Forest Whitaker, prepared for an audition together for the first time, spending hours reviewing the script. She felt good about her chances after their practice session, and they both believed she would get the part.

She recalled him saying that it would be disappointing if she couldn’t connect with the character, because that character really represented a part of herself. She agreed, saying she felt a strong connection to the character and felt truly understood by her.

The part was for Alani Marcus, a main character on an HBO show, and she’s the daughter of a famous movie director. Forest Whitaker acknowledges the similarities between his own background and Alani’s – both come from privileged families. However, he believes the connection goes deeper than just being ‘nepo babies,’ noting a fundamental resemblance between himself and the character.

Review

In Rachel Sennott’s ‘I Love L.A.,’ Gen Z is desperate and difficult but very watchable

Rachel Sennott’s new HBO series, following the lives of people in their twenties in Los Angeles, isn’t always easy to watch – some of the characters are frustrating rather than likable. But that’s actually what makes the show interesting.

She reminded me of a more healed version of myself, someone who’s processed their difficult experiences in a healthy way. We share the same zodiac sign, Cancer, but she doesn’t seem as prone to crying as I am. She’s just naturally very optimistic, always looking on the bright side of things.”

She laughed and explained that despite not being intimidating, living in New York at 27 has its challenges and can be a bit frightening.

The new HBO series “I Love LA,” which started airing earlier this month, centers around a group of friends in their late twenties trying to build their careers and lives in Los Angeles. The show has already been renewed for a second season. Isabella Sennott stars as Maia, a talent manager who begins working with her friend, the unpredictable social media influencer Tallulah (played by Odessa A’zion). Jordan Firstman plays Charlie, a driven celebrity stylist, and Alani rounds out the group as a relaxed and spiritual friend who isn’t focused on climbing the career ladder like the others.

Whitaker explained the team originally envisioned the show as a female-led version of ‘Entourage.’ She also noted it captures the often absurd experiences of being in your twenties, as well as the general absurdity of the world around us.

The actor explained, while on a Zoom call from her New York City apartment, that she connected with the role while assisting a friend with an audition for ‘Tallulah.’ She was reading lines for the character Alani when she noticed something surprising. The scene involved a discussion about where to buy a birthday cake for Maia – Milk Bar or Sweet Lady Jane – and Whitaker realized Alani’s way of speaking, her enthusiasm, and even her choice of bakery were remarkably similar to her own personality.

According to Whitaker, Alani clearly loves Sweet Lady Jane bakery, just like her mother, Keisha Nash Whitaker, did. Keisha often celebrated special moments with cakes from there, including Alani’s baby shower when she was pregnant with True, and True’s first birthday.

Because the show took the time to explore Alani’s perspective and Whitaker wanted to portray her as a fully realized person, a character who could have easily been disliked instead became a beloved and surprisingly insightful fan favorite.

We first meet Alani as she steps out of a car near Silver Lake Reservoir, asking her driver to wait while she and her friends quickly walk around the lake. Soon after, she jokingly suggests Charlie hire someone unattractive to do his taxes, and dismisses a $10,000 payment to Tallulah as insignificant. Later, she unexpectedly attends a meeting at her father’s company, pretending to be the “VP of creative projects” – a role she acknowledges is made up – and reveals a wild upbringing filled with wealth, privilege, and somewhat detached parents.

During a separate conversation, Sennott praised Whitaker’s skill in portraying the character as genuinely kind and relatable, even though she was raised with privilege and had a somewhat disconnected perspective on the world.

Sennott praised the actor’s heartfelt performance, explaining that she brought a lot of emotional depth to a character who could have easily been seen negatively. It was a challenging role, but Sennott believes the actor handled it perfectly.

Sennott explained that the character was originally intended to be more distant than she ultimately became. However, after working with Whitaker, Sennott was struck by how funny, kind, and genuine the actress was – making her instantly likable. Because of this, Sennott and the writing team revised the character to reflect some of Whitaker’s warmth and honesty.

Whitaker acknowledged she wasn’t an angel in high school, but she said her experiences weren’t as rebellious as her character, Alani’s. Unlike Alani, she wasn’t interested in relying on her family name to get ahead. However, she was happy to explore the idea of a privileged L.A. kid using connections to their advantage through the role.

Her only hesitation was whether the part was too obvious, but she ultimately thought it would be funny and that she could play it convincingly.

She explained that she’s always been true to herself, acknowledging her privileged background as the daughter of her parents. Like Alani, she feels no embarrassment about it, and is actually very proud of both her parents, especially her father and his successful career, which she finds inspiring.

The latest episode of the series, which came out on Sunday, shows Alani is a huge fan of Elijah Wood, the star of “Lord of the Rings.” The group gets invited to a party at his house, but he’s nowhere to be seen at first. Maia and Alani eventually find him upstairs in his bedroom, relaxing and watching YouTube on a large TV – which causes Alani to initially freak out and leave. After calming down, they return and quickly become friends with Wood, who plays a comically exaggerated version of himself that suggests he rarely leaves the house. He asks them to put on robes and join him on his bed, and the girls mistakenly think he’s making a romantic advance. This leads to a chaotic breakdown from Wood, all while the song “All Star” by Smash Mouth plays, as Maia realizes they completely misinterpreted the situation.

When Whitaker received the script for the episode, she quickly watched all the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies—she hadn’t been a fan as a child—because she was excited about a particular scene. She also had the idea to add some lines in Elvish, the made-up language from J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. Although she admits she doesn’t actually speak the language fluently, the improvisation worked well and made it into the final version. As her characters, Alani and Maia, run away, she playfully shouts a phrase in Elvish: “I’ll always love you, Elijah!”

Whitaker explained that Wood was both surprised and very impressed by the spontaneous addition to the scene. Wood later shared in a call that the inclusion of Elvish was astounding, calling it an amazing creative choice.

Wood usually avoids playing characters based on himself, but he was intrigued by the script after being contacted by Sennott, whose previous work he admired. He found the script genuinely hilarious. He described the two-day shoot with Sennott and Whitaker as a playful and enjoyable experience, and praised Whitaker’s excellent comedic timing and original performance choices throughout the series.

He described the actress’s character as surprisingly challenging – outwardly very confident, but not particularly bright. Playing someone unintelligent can easily become over-the-top, but she brings a lot of intelligence and subtlety to the role. She’s constantly finding ways to make her performance better and explore the character’s possibilities. He’s a big fan of her work, and feels she’s one of the show’s biggest comedic strengths.

Whitaker believes she’s always had a good sense of humor, something she gets from her mother, but she was still nervous starting on “I Love LA,” feeling like the least experienced actor among the leads. Luckily, the friendly and encouraging atmosphere on set helped her relax and find her footing. The cast quickly became close friends while filming, and Whitaker jokingly apologized for a flurry of messages during our interview, explaining they were all chatting in their group text.

For her, working on the show has largely been a dream come true. She’d actually visualized collaborating with Sennott long before ‘I Love LA’ was even planned, but more importantly, she’d always wanted to be an actress. She initially hesitated to pursue acting, though, because her father was so passionate about it and she felt a bit intimidated.

Her father always told her that if she wanted to be an actor, she needed to train properly and study the craft. He emphasized that acting wasn’t just something you could decide to do without preparation; it was a true art form and a skill that required dedication, practice, and an understanding of its history.

He also cautioned her to choose her projects carefully, explaining that all her work would contribute to her lasting professional record and how she’d be remembered.

Whitaker explained that this project felt like the perfect fit for him right now, and he’s incredibly happy to have been a part of it. He anticipates cherishing the experience always.

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2025-11-24 14:35