Nathanya Alexander is taking a trip down memory lane.
The Brooklyn-born actress, 23, stars on HBO Max’s teen dramedyGeneration(stylizedGenera+ion) as Arianna, an outspoken high schooler navigating identity and sexuality with her peers in their conservative Orange County community.
Speaking with PEOPLE about the role, Alexander recalls some of her own high school memories — including the moment she met classmateTimothée Chalametat their alma mater, the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City.
At the time, Alexander was a freshman and Chalamet, now 25, was a senior. “I had worked behind the stage at this talent show that they would put on every year at my high school, LaGuardia,” Alexander says. “And I remember hearing about Timothée everywhere. All the girls would fan-girl over him. I was like, ‘Who is this guy? Who is Timothée?'”
After graduating from LaGuardia, Alexander’s first major role was inOcean’s 8, in which she was cast as a teenage hacker named Veronica. On set, she had the pleasure of working with Rihanna, who played her older sister.
“It was a magical experience,” she says before recounting an acting exercise that had her crying in front of the nine-time Grammy Award winner.
“We did a few acting exercises together, Rihanna and I, which connected us, connected our characters,” says Alexander. “We were doing one exercise where we had to look in each other’s eyes … and talk to each other as sisters. And it got really deep, and I started tearing up, and Rihanna was just like, ‘Wait, is this girl crying?’ That was pretty cool, just to have acting exercises with Rihanna … it was just a dream to be on set with all of those powerhouses.”
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Now playing fiercely loyal teenager Arianna inGenera+ion— the daughter of an interracial gay couple who has served up some quick-witted (and sometimes homophobic) one-liners — Alexander admits that in high school, she wasn’t the confident teen she portrays onscreen.
“One day, I snuck out the house, and I never did it again, because my mom caught me,” she says of the craziest thing she did as a teenager. “Nothing compared to what Naomi, Delilah and Arianna get into onGenera+ion, nothing compared to that … I think her high school experience is definitely different.”
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Since relocating to Los Angeles and filming season 1 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Alexander has developed a close bond with her costars. “We hang out all the time. Even now that we wrapped the show, we still keep in contact, and we hang out,” she shares.
“I think we’ve experienced shooting during a pandemic, which brought us closer and all the intimate scenes that we had definitely made us like, a little family,” Alexander continues. “We really love each other and we created a strong bond working onGenera+ion. So we’re basically like family now.”
The season 1 finale ofGenera+ionstreams Thursday on HBO Max.
source: people.com
