Meg Stalter has always been a leading lady; she was just waiting for the world to catch up with her vision. "In high school, I auditioned for everything, and I always got put in the chorus," she says. "I never remember not wanting to act. When I was little, I was always making videos with my family, and I just always wanted to be on stage. I got into improv and stand-up because I wanted to be an actor, and then fell in love with comedy."
Her comedic sweet spot became character work, recording short-form videos playing various absurd personalities. ("Usually someone who's losing their mind but they're trying to pretend like they're not.") She became a breakout star of the social media era, but not content to stop at viral fame, Stalter made the jump from the internet to television with a scene-stealing role on HBO's Hacks.
The past year has seen her make the leap again, this time to the big screen: A bona fide actress at last, Stalter popped up in small roles in Sometimes I Think About Dying and Problemista; her first leading role arrived in the form of Cora Bora, in which she plays a 30-something navigating a music career that won't start and a relationship that's about to end. In other words, Cora is someone who's losing her mind, but trying to pretend like she's not.
"As someone who always wanted to perform and never got any of the good parts, it felt really amazing to be offered such a good part," the actress says. "The most fun character to play is someone who's acting like they are really talented, or trying to play it off like they're really confident, but they're actually really nervous and insecure. And I loved it that it was gay and funny and heartbreaking."
Below, Stalter shares with A.frame five of her favorite films.
Directed by: Jamie Babbit | Written by: Brian Wayne Peterson
The first one is something that everyone can guess is on my list, because I feel like it's on every gay woman's list. But I'm a Cheerleader is, obviously, one of the best movies to ever exist. I actually don't think I saw it until I was older. I was probably 25 when I saw it for the first time, and I was like, "Oh my god, this is amazing!" I'd never seen a movie like it.
I love how it's funny, but it's also really heartwarming and it's also really camp. I love the way the movie looks, I love all the actors in it. It's funny, it's sweet, it's emotional, it's sexy — it has everything. I wish I would've seen it when I was little, because maybe I would've known that I loved women so much.
Directed by: Michael Patrick Jann | Written by: Lona Williams
Drop Dead Gorgeous is my ultimate favorite movie. I saw it when I was pretty young, and it just informed so much. It's so my sense of humor. I go see it anytime it's at a drive-in, or anytime there's a special showing of it. Every single second of it is iconic. The cast is absolutely insane, and it's probably my favorite Kirsten Dunst movie. I mean, Bring It On is the reason I started taking tumbling classes and became a cheerleader in eighth grade, and I don't think I realized the reason I love that movie is because I had a crush on everyone in the movie and not because I wanted to be a cheerleader. But Drop Dead Gorgeous is just the best. It's so unbelievably funny.
Directed by: Tim Burton | Written by: Phil Hartman, Paul Reubens and Michael Varhol
Nothing's funnier to me than when Pee-wee is kind of sassy to someone. Like, when he's a brat. My dad showed us all the Pee-wee Herman stuff, and I love Pee-wee's Playhouse, but the movie is so much funnier. And when he's being mean, which he doesn't do that often in the show, that's so funny to me.
Directed by: Tim Burton | Written by: Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren
Beetlejuice is so good. I love that movie because it's so funny and it's creepy. It's scary but it's family [friendly]. We watched it all the time when we were little, and it's perfect all year round, not just at Halloween. The scene where they're singing around the table is unreal! The other-worldliness of Beetlejuice is unlike anything I'd ever seen, especially when I was little. The costumes are so good, everyone in the movie's incredible, the story is so interesting and fun. That definitely is one of my all-time favorite movies.
Directed by: Wes Craven | Written by: Kevin Williamson
The Scream franchise is so good to me, because it's genuinely really funny and camp, but it's also really scary. Especially the first two movies, they really get me! Like, I can't watch them by myself. But it also shouldn't be that scary! It's a classic slasher, but it's also like teenagers trying to make a scary movie, but they actually did a good job. When we were little, we'd do these horror films and that's what we were always trying to make, but we never could.
I do think there's something really funny about horror movies. I would love to be in a horror movie, but one that's not actually scary to make. I don't want to be too scared.
