" Jean-Marc Vallee was like, I don't know if you can be tough,' so I flipped off the camera."

Kathryn Newton, 22, whose summer screen hat-trick is Pokemon Detective Pikachu, The Society, and Big Little Lies

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Opening Act

FAN MAIL

"Kathryn reminds me of Bernadette Peters. Behind her approachable, land exterior lurks a goddamned titan." -RYAN REYNOLDS

"I am so proud of how she's taken charge of her own career, becoming a leader on her sets and amongst her peers." -REESE WITHERSPOON

I can't imagine any other young actress going toe to toe with Frances McDormand and not being intimidated." -MARTIN McDONAGH

Kathryn Newton speaks with V.F.'s Britt Hennemuth.

This is the summer of Kathryn Newton. You star on the big and small screens, first inPokemon Detective Pikachuopposite Ryan Reynolds.

My first day of elementary school I had my Pikachu backpack, and I still have my cards. So it's crazy to be a part of something that defined a lot of your childhood. My character, Lucy Stevens, is a young reporter who's driven, fearless, and funny, and I'm very proud of this new world that we've created—a movie like Pokemon just doesn't come around that often.

Do I hear a little accent?

Honestly, it depends on who I've been hanging out with, because I'm from Miami. When I was n, I moved to L.A. for a CBS sitcom called Gary Unmarried, so now I'm surrounded by the Valley Girl accent. If I'm in London too long, I'll come home sounding British.

Jim Burrows produced that show, createdCheers, and directed Frasier, Friends,andWill & Grace.Tell me about auditioning for the sitcom king.

He plays golf and I play golf, and I think I got the gig because that was my in. They wrote golfing into the show.

Do you still play?

Of course. I was known as Kathryn the Golfer in high school. My next tournament is at Pebble Beach, which I'm really excited about. That's one of my favorite courses.

So you'll be back in Northern California, yourBig Little Liesneck of the woods.

Exactly. I love Carmel—the best golf and the best vintage shopping. I'm self-styled, so for the Pokemon press tour, I looked at the collections and just dreamt really big. I'm normally in sweatpants, so if I'm going to dress up, I go all out.

Take me from Kathryn the Golfer to being cast in HBO's star-stacked show.

When you see a cast like that, you just think, They're not going to pick me. When I met [director] Jean-Marc [Vallee], he was like, "I don't know if you can be tough," so I flipped off the camera. "Well, that's as tough as I can be." The next thing I knew, I was at the table read sitting with Nicole, Reese, Shailene, Zoe, and Laura, and I was just watching them. Reese and I had lunch together afterwards, and I could just feel that she was going to lift me up. She really let me fly and flourish.

Is there anything you can reveal about Season Two?

You can expect a lot more conflict between me and my mother, Madeline, played by Reese, amongst all the chaos that's happening in our Big Little Liesworld.

A world which now includes Meryl Streep?

Oh my God. When Reese told me that Meryl was going to be part of the cast, I just started screaming. She's amazing because she really adapts and listens, and it makes such a difference. It's the most professional set I've ever been on.