Hannah Einbinder Knows Everything Is Because of 'Hacks'

"I always marvel at Jean [Smart], but it is to her credit that she goes so out of her way to make me feel comfortable."

After a nearly two-year hiatus, the Max-original Emmy Award-winning series Hacks is back. And Hannah Einbinder, who plays Ava, the comedy writer to legendary—and difficult—stand-up comic Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), used the time off to figure out how to be a person again. "I went on the road, I did stand-up, but I kind of had to fill in the rest of my time with various hobbies and things. It made me go like, 'OK, I gotta like be a person. Do sh** that isn't just work.'" Now that the dark comedy series is in its third season, Einbinder is no longer intimidated by Smart. "At this point in our relationship it's familial close." And now Einbinder has more than just Hacks in the works, she will also debut her first stand-up comedy special this June on Max. But she gives the credit to Hacks: "It is single-handedly because of this acting gig. That boosted the visibility for me to be able to tour and develop. To run an hour, to sharpen it, it's hard to get that opportunity. I am so grateful to do that and to work it out in a way that is not common. I hope people like it."

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Editor's Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication.

It's been two years since season two. How anxious were you to come back?

Quite. I would say that I felt an urgency to get back but also just for us to do our thing all together again, have the groove of being on set and making the show. I will say, I went on the road, I did stand-up, but I kind of had to fill in the rest of my time with various hobbies and certain things. It made me go like, "Okay, I gotta like be a person. Do sh** that isn't just work."

Where do we find Ava this season?

Well, it's been about a year since the two characters parted ways. Ava has kind of figured it out in L.A., she's hitting her stride a little bit. She's got this new job where she's on a cool show, working her way up at work, and she's living with her girlfriend, and she's kind of got more of a full life outside of Deborah. She's doing pretty well. Of course, that doesn't last. But I'm proud of where we find her because I feel like she's earned it.

The impact of L.A. and Ava is so apparent, her hustle and yet the weight the L.A. experience has on her, I feel like it's a big part of who she is.

It's an interesting point. I think when we first see her, she's obviously doing her little V.R., weird game and her girlfriend is coming in with her friends that she doesn't really identify with and it feels like she's out of place. So I definitely see that and I think obviously, L.A. is not where Deborah [is]. If Deborah were there, I think it might be different but because she's in Vegas, Ava has her heart somewhere else. So I think it's a really astute observation and definitely true and tied to her love for Deborah first.

One thing that does stand out to me is how rare a show like this is. Female-led from top to bottom with diverse characters in so many ways, from race to sexuality.

It's so unique in that way. And I think that is a product of showing these two people very honestly. They don't bother blurring the edges on Deborah. Deborah will say f*****-up sh** and Ava will do f*****-up sh**. And they're not going to misrepresent the character of Deborah Vance to make her look better. I think she's real in a way that connects to people of her generation, and I think the same of Ava. So this is an honest portrayal of these two individuals who happen to be members of these groups. There are writers on the show who represent all of the characters in this world. And so there's an honest correlation between the writing and the actors who also are queer and diverse and women and of all ages. So it's just honest, and I think that's why it translates because it represents what's really out there.

How much of your own background in comedy and stand-up do you bring to Ava?

I think for Ava because she is a writer of comedy and not necessarily a stand-up comic, I feel like it's such a different world. But I think the way that stand-up comedians relate to other comics and the way that TV writers relate to other writers and funny people is so the same. Like the banter that Deborah and Ava share, that's two comics in the greenroom. So that I absolutely am bringing to it. But it's also very much on the page because Paul [Downs] and Lucia [Aniello] have experienced it as performers, they've all done sketch. They've all done improv. There's a lot of comics in the writers room, these are people who live it, so they write about it. It's a show filled with comedy people.

Was it difficult finding your footing as an actor when you started out as a stand-up?

Certainly. So much insecurity and self doubt, oh, my God! I was just faking it so f****** hard on set and just trying to be okay. I had no precedent for this work. I did not know what was up, I was so thrown by the fact that because we're recording sound and everybody has to be quiet in the room, no one could actually laugh. To be attempt being funny even as a comedic actress in a scene and not being able to hear laughter, it is such a foreign experience to do comedy and not hear laughs. But I had really good teachers in Jean, who obviously comes from the theater and Designing Women, which is filmed in front of a live studio audience. That is a performer. When she's doing the stand-up pieces, it's f****** natural as sh**. And when we're not rolling, Jean is riffing and she's talking to people who are the background actors who are filling the scenes and she's f****** kill[ing] it.

Do you ever get over standing in the presence of Jean Smart?

Here's the thing, I always marvel at Jean, but it is to her credit that she goes so out of her way to make me feel comfortable. And now at this point in our relationship it's familial close. She has always been so warm and friendly but like we're just close now to the point where I just see so far beyond like Jean Smart.

Besides the core cast, the guest stars on Hacks are next level. From Laurie Metcalf to Helen Hunt, how do you keep it together while also doing your job?

Oh my God, it's so wild because we all kind of sit in the same area between scenes. When Laurie was on set, she was knitting a scarf for her daughter-in-law, I think. She's in costume, her camo pants and Wrangler, waffle long sleeve, or whatever it is. She's just really different from me, then she's Laurie Metcalf, really poised, lovely woman. It's just a treat to be in the presence of these women. Helen Hunt. She's so cool and chill and then she snapped into this character that is so terrifying. It's like whiplash. Everyone's warm. We haven't had bizarre, psycho, greatly eccentric experiences. Everyone's just sweet.

What Deborah Vance-level comics do you admire?

I see Sarah Silverman as Deborah Vance-level. She's someone who I just love watching perform and love her specials and Jesus Is Magic, obviously, and the Sarah Silverman Program. Chelsea Handler, who I love and got to open for on tour before Hacks. She took me out as her opener. I went out with her on the road post-Hacks, after season one, and we're sitting there and she's like, "Oh my God. I'm Deborah." Like we're in her gorgeous hotel room, we played Vegas. She's so incredible and just warm and sweet. A lot of the old Jim Carrey [stand-up] before he started acting. Some of those old sets I've just loved watching on YouTube. I got my hands on Robin Williams Live at the Roxy, which the Home Box Office generally generously passed along, and it just is crazy. He is insane up there. Just so free and different and unique. I mean, of course Joan [Rivers] obviously, Joan is the answer. She is that girl, specially like her being a Jewish woman and sticking to that experience. And the way she was done dirty by the late night world. That sh** rings true for sure. That's very Deborah.

Congrats on your new Max comedy special! Are you nervous at all?

I started stand-up at the end of 2017. I was a New Year's resolution comic. And I've been working at it in a way that is the way comics work, which is relentlessly. In a way I've been Nightcrawler, I was f****** out there on the scene, hitting mics, trying to get on shows, everything, hustling. I think there was after season one a conversation like, "Okay, you're busting on the scene, you want to do a special?" And I was just like, "I'm not ready. I'm not ready. I'm not ready." And now I feel like I am. I really was taking the time to really get that longer set sharp. So, I don't know that I'm nervous. I'm excited. And just going on tour and testing it all around and going all over the country and Canada and London. Just making it what it needs to be. Much to my team's chagrin, I am Mrs. No. I go, "Not until it's right. Not until it's perfect. Not until it's ready." And I think that time is now.

Well, and all of this happened so fast for you. You got Hacks so quickly after starting stand-up, so it must feel like a it of a whirlwind.

For sure. I mean, there's the industry pressure to drop the hour. And then there's the reality of the amount of years comedians typically have to put in to get to the point of a special. I have a nonlinear path here. Obviously, acting and being on Hacks totally accelerated my ability to do comedy, to sell tickets on the road, tour. I went from doing the one-nighter or doing the college gig in Laramie, Wyoming, to doing five shows in Portland. It's a totally different thing and it is single-handedly because of this acting gig. That boosted the visibility for me to be able to tour and develop. So many comedians in local scenes, you can only get 10 minutes, 12 minutes, maybe 15. To run an hour five times in a weekend the way you need to, to sharpen it and to build it is expensive, and it's hard to get that opportunity. I am so grateful to do that and to work it out in a way that is not common. I hope people like it.