Maya Hawke is opening up about a light-hearted piece of advice she received from her mom, Uma Thurman, before working with Quentin Tarantino.
During a chat with Amy Poehler on the Nov. 4 episode of the Good Hang podcast, Hawke, 27, reflected on her experience playing Flower Child in Tarantino’s 2019 hit Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
Since Thurman famously worked with the director on Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, Poehler asked if she’d passed along any words of wisdom.
Hawke said her mom kept it simple, joking that she told her, “Keep your shoes on.”
Poehler repeated, “Keep your shoes on,” and the pair burst into laughter. The playful reminder referenced Tarantino’s long-running reputation for featuring bare feet in his films.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood included scenes of Margot Robbie, Margaret Qualley and Dakota Fanning without shoes, something that has been noted by fans and even Tarantino’s stars.
Brad Pitt once joked during his 2020 SAG Awards speech that the director “has separated more women from their shoes than the TSA.”
Hawke said she has always felt lucky to have both Thurman, 55, and father Ethan Hawke guiding her through the industry. Some of her favourite memories growing up came from being on movie sets with them.
She recalled feeling like it was a safe little bubble where she could explore on her own, raid the craft table for “cookies and M&M’s and gummy bears,” and watch stunt rehearsals.
To her, it felt “like Disneyland,” and she said that being in those environments is where she first fell in love with acting — whether backstage or on camera.
She and Poehler also looked back on working together in Inside Out 2. Hawke voiced Anxiety in the 2024 blockbuster and shared how meaningful that role has been for audiences.
Many people, especially kids, have told her that they “feel so seen by it” and that it helped them understand their minds better.
Hawke continues balancing a busy career.
Along with Inside Out 2, she is set to appear in Wishful Thinking, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, and will return for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, premiering Nov. 26 on Netflix.