Maya Hawke Says Producer Told Her She “Looked Prettier With My Mouth Closed”

deadline.com:

Maya Hawke has delivered some memorable performances in recent years, despite some questionable unsolicited advice along the way.

The Stranger Things actress recently revealed the insulting behind-the-scenes suggestion a producer once gave her about how she could “look prettier” on camera, which “really upset” her. “A director told me — actually, I think it was a producer, but they were in cahoots — told me that I looked prettier with my mouth closed and that I should close my mouth after I speak more often,” Hawke recalled on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

Admitting that she is “kind of a mouth-breather,” she explained, “I do often let my mouth hang open but depending on what character I’m playing, because I feel like jaw tension and mouth tension is so important to express what kind of person you are.” Hawke added, “Where you leave that, I think, is really important.

And I was really upset about being told that I should close my mouth more to look prettier, because I was playing a character that was distinctly unselfconscious.