Inside Out 2 Helped Maya Hawke Understand Her Own Anxiety

Inside Out is back again making us feel all the feels, but this time a new emotion was introduced to the mix: Maya Hawke’s Anxiety. Hawke is receiving high praise for her portrayal of the deeply complex emotion, and as it turns out she, like many others, often deals with Anxiety herself. In an interview with Comicbook, Hawke explains bringing Anxiety to life on screen and how playing the role has given her a greater understanding of her own.

“Yeah, I mean, I have a lot of anxiety personally as I think most people do. I mean, I’m not debilitating most of the time. The character really touched me and it gave me the tools with which to realize that my anxiety was intending to protect me. And then if I looked for it when I was feeling, you know, my heart rate go up and over wrong, what was the intention? And then therefore try to be like, ‘ok, well, I can work with you. Like, maybe I could figure out what you intended and therefore we can try to get there together a different way that’s not like of a panic attack, preferably,’” Hawke said. 

Hawke continued, relating the character to her own life and how she was able to bring her personal experiences to the role. “Though sometimes, you know, anxiety can come out in intense ways, even in intense moments of relief. Like the most recent time I had a panic attack was just relief. Like, something I was really worried was going to go badly, ended up going well. And I was like, ‘oh,’ it was really intense. And so I used a lot of stuff for my own life but I also just really trusted, you know, you don’t get to see that animation or that image. I was so blown away when I saw it. And so you just trust in the group of people around who are guiding you toward hitting the nail on the head and you do a lot of different versions and you just hope that they’re going to thread that needle beautifully.”

What is Inside Out 2 About?

While many wondered if a sequel to the box office hit Inside Out would be nothing more than a cash grab, it has received incredible praise from critics. Many believe it to be “inventive” and a “masterpiece.” Although the Pixar film has yet to hit theaters in the United States, it has amassed over a million dollars in several international markets, making it Pixar’s highest opening day to date. It has received an impressive score on Rotten Tomatoes, with praise from Comicbook’s Charlie Ridgley who gave the film a 4.5 out of 5.

Directed by Kelsey Mann, Inside Out 2 sees the return of Riley, now a teenager. All of this is happening while her mind is trying to make space for her teen feelings. Per the synopsis, “Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.”

Alongside Hawke, the cast also includes the return of Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Tony Hale as Fear, and Liza Lapira as Disgust. Inside Out 2 lands in theaters June 14.