Liza Koshy’s In Her Movie Star Era

In Elite Daily’s series At The Moment, celebs dish on their current projects, pop culture hot takes, and everything taking over their group chats. Below, Liza Koshy talks about the wildest improv moments in her new Netflix movie Players, her transition from social media to acting, and why she’s listening to the Hamilton soundtrack on repeat.

There’s a blink-and-you-miss-it moment in Netflix’s new rom-com Players where Liza Koshy is, simply put, peak Liza Koshy. The whole cast is at an exclusive black-tie gala that sets up the emotional climax for the film’s protagonist. Everyone’s dressed to the nines, having what’s likely the fanciest night of their lives. Cut to: Koshy putting her entire mouth around the rim of a champagne flute, tipping her head back, and chugging the whole glass of bubbly — all while taking a selfie, naturally.

When I bring up the moment with Koshy, she cackles and tells me it was an improv she had no idea would make it into the film’s final cut. “I was wondering if people were going to see this,” the 27-year-old tells Elite Daily. “I do that naturally in real life, which is why it came too easily to me to do on camera.”

Players, which premiered Feb. 14, is rife with quirky and hilarious gags like this. Starring Koshy, Gina Rodriguez, Damon Wayans Jr., Augustus Prew, and Joel Courtney, the movie follows a bawdy but lovable friend group who treat dating like a sport as they attempt to make the ultimate play: landing their ringleader, Mack (Rodriguez), her dream guy, Nick (Tom Ellis). High jinks ensue.

“This film is so rewatchable,” Koshy says. “You have to treat it like a Vine, watch it on loop, because genuinely there are so many moments of improvised brilliance — so many yummy bits and sh*ts and giggles — that you just have to watch it again to catch it.”

Koshy clearly had a blast with her co-stars. “Everyone was playing the entire time, cameras on or off,” she says. Case in point: when Koshy’s character, Ashley, needed to act drunk to help Mack get closer to Nick. Koshy fully sent it, rolling around in the grass, slurring her speech, fake-puking on herself — and even drinking a little bit of her prop beverage to really get in the spirit. “I was cracking open a cold one every [take],” she says with a laugh, adding, “I was tipsy; I was not drunk.”

These wild shenanigans, and her commitment to the bit, are nothing new for Koshy. The Houston native became a megastar on social platforms Vine and YouTube in the early 2010s, playing kooky characters in outlandish sketches and self-producing viral vlogs that showcased her quick wit and boisterous personality. Only now, she’s getting hired by production companies, acting alongside huge stars, and attending red-carpet premieres for work.

If this is the power that Elite Daily has, I’ll take the Emmy; I’ll take the Oscar; I’ll take the Grammy.

Koshy understands the move from social media to Hollywood may have seemed like an easy transition. “From the outside looking in at Issa Rae, I would’ve thought, ‘Wow, what a breeze it was for her to get there,’” she says. But Koshy knows better. “It has felt hard and effortful,” she says of her own experience. “You put your nose to the pavement for years before anybody sees you come up for a breath of air.”

Koshy began working with her acting coach almost a decade ago, in 2015, to hone her skills. In 2018, she stepped back from her weekly YouTube uploads — a move that surprised and confused many of her 17 million followers — in order to focus more on acting and traditional media. This allowed her to take on a veritable bevy of hosting gigs and launch her scripted series, Liza on Demand.

Now her acting career is thriving, with a slew of recent buzzy projects including Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Cat Person (alongside Nicholas Braun), and Netflix’s Sabrina Carpenter-led dance flick Work It. Up next, she’ll appear alongside A-listers Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, and Joey King in another big Netflix film, A Family Affair, which she teases is “different than what you’ve seen in me online.”

As Koshy’s acting career grows, so do her ambitions. When I mention Victoria Monét manifested her recent Grammy wins in an Elite Daily interview, Koshy has her own manifestations locked and loaded.

“If this is the power that Elite Daily has, I’ll take the Emmy; I’ll take the Oscar; I’ll take the Grammy,” she says.

I tell her a Tony would complete the EGOT.

“Yeah, I’ll just do the EGO,” she says.

For now, I nudge her.

“For now,” she agrees.

Below, Koshy opens up about some of the other sides of her that fans have yet to see.

Elite Daily: What’s your sun, moon, and rising sign?

Liza Koshy: Aries, Virgo, Virgo.

ED: First celebrity crush?

LK: Danny Phantom. He was drawn perfectly. But also Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law at the same time.

ED: Current coffee order?

LK: I actually make all my coffees at home now. I got a real nice Breville — I typically do a coconut almond milk creamer with a double shot of espresso and almond milk. And because I have a disgusting sweet tooth, I add a little bit of vanilla stevia extract.

ED: Current favorite TikTok trend?

LK: None, I’m on a cleanse!

ED: Song you can’t get out of your head?

LK: Oh, it’s so weird. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack of Hamilton again, I think because it’s so dramatic and it’s raining outside. “The Story of Tonight” has been on replay.

ED: What is your biggest ick?

LK: Repeating a punchline. Just saying something funny and then someone saying it, but louder, and in a character voice.

ED: The last thing that made you laugh really hard?

LK: I just had a wine night — but girl, the wine’s not letting me remember what I laughed at.

ED: Who’s your dream co-star?

LK: Chloe Fineman, Amanda Seyfried, Ariana DeBose, and Meg Stalter, because I have another film that I’m shooting this summer with all of them.

ED: What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?

LK: That I’m dramatic in a way that’s a little more grounded than what people may perceive me to be. I think they see my Aries [sun], and it’s time for them to see my Virgo [moon and rising].

ED: Would you ever try to pull off a dating play like your character does in Players?

LK: Girl, I ain’t got time for games. If I sense somebody else’s playing, then I pull away. Bye. I’m glad I get to experience it vicariously through the character of Ashley, but I cannot do this in real life. I’m a Southern belle who likes to tell the truth — and raise a little hell.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.