Interview: ‘Hacks’ Star Hannah Einbinder Reflects on Her Growth As An Actress

Since the first season of Max’s Hacks, Hannah Einbinder has been excellent in her starring role as Ava Daniels. However, having secured her third Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show, it seems we have arrived at a turning point in the young actress’ career. Season three sees Ava tap into a newfound sense of agency, taking a lesson or two from Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) as she feistily asserts herself as the lead writer of Deborah’s new late night spot.

Likewise, Einbinder has asserted her own kind of dominance in 2024, releasing her first comedy special Everything Must Go and demonstrating unprecedented range as Ava on Hacks.

“I think I was just kind of driven by fear the first two seasons,” says Einbinder. “I just had a moment at the beginning of shooting season three, where I said ‘enough is enough.’ I don’t need to beat myself up all the time to get results. I can try the route of being confident and positive in my abilities, and I think that made a big difference.”

Indeed, the ending of Hacks season three is one of the more shocking moments in the show’s run thus far, but Einbinder found herself embracing the weightiness of that scene with newfound courage. Whereas her tendency may have previously been to look ahead to the heavy lift of those final sequences in S3E9 “Bulletproof,” the 29-year-old actress instead committed herself to living in each and every moment alongside Ava.

“I’ve just tried to stay really present, committing to the scene at hand and not letting the future journey of the character influence the moment,” explains Einbinder.

Of course, the parallels between Ava’s and Einbinder’s respective journeys are obvious, and the young actress is grateful to view the entertainment industry through Ava’s eyes, picking up on the same issues and obstacles that she observes in her own day-to-day life.

“In terms of our show’s main arc, it is this sort of ageist, misogynist attitude towards Deborah in terms of her ability to carry a late night show, and I would say that is reflective of some of the things I witness, and I would say Hacks does a really good job of criticizing the industry at every turn.”

Check out our full conversation with Hannah Einbinder below. We discuss her interpretation of that shocking finale, and even reflect on her family’s Philadelphia roots.