{"id":40490,"date":"2026-08-12T09:12:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T04:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40490"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:12:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T04:12:38","slug":"joseph-zada-tells-elle-fanning-how-the-odds-became-ever-in-his-favor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40490","title":{"rendered":"Joseph Zada Tells Elle Fanning How the Odds Became Ever In His Favor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_271884\" style=\"width: 1717px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-271884\" class=\"wp-image-271884 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Joseph Zada poses in front of painting. \" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_1-scaled.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_1-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_1-667x1000.jpg 667w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_1-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_1-97x146.jpg 97w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_1-33x50.jpg 33w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-271884\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Joseph Zada wears Shirt, Pants, Necklace, Tie, and Belt <\/em>Celine<em>. Sunglasses <\/em>Oakley<em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/josephzada\/?hl=en\">Joseph Zada<\/a> is about to have a killer year. This fall, the 21-year-old, born and raised in Sydney, steps into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/woodyharrelson\/?hl=en\">Woody Harrelson\u2019s<\/a> shoes as a young Haymitch Abernathy in <em>The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping<\/em>, building a version of the character that\u2019s entirely his own. Then he takes on Cal Trask, the role that made James Dean a legend, in Netflix\u2019s <em>East of Eden<\/em> adaptation, opposite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/florencepugh\/?hl=en\">Florence Pugh<\/a>. Before either premieres, Zada caught up with his <em>Hunger Games<\/em> costar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/film\/elle-fanning-1\">Elle Fanning<\/a>, one of the only people alive who actually knows what\u2019s coming for him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>FRIDAY 2 PM JUN 12, 2026 NEW YORK CITY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<p><strong>ELLE FANNING:<\/strong> What\u2019s up? Where are you right now?<\/p>\n<p><strong>JOSEPH ZADA:<\/strong> I\u2019m in a rich guy\u2019s house, taking photos.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Oh my god. You have a press day?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> I\u2019m doing the shoot for this.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> I could have popped by. You\u2019re probably close to me, because I\u2019m in New York too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Probably.<\/p>\n<p><strong> FANNING:<\/strong> Well, we just saw each other. We had to do a little <em>Hunger Games<\/em> thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Yeah, mate. We did that thing. You jumped back into that so quickly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> You did too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> No I didn\u2019t. That took me a week and a lot of stressing, and I don\u2019t know if I did it as elegantly as you did.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Oh my gosh, that\u2019s not true. You\u2019re so good. I know you worked on doing Woody [Harrelson]\u2019s voice. Was it hard to find the accent again?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> It\u2019s more of an occasional cadence, because he\u2019s not completely Southern in the original films. He\u2019s been living in parts of America that don\u2019t have that drawl, but he also has his own natural cadence. His voice is so iconic. I kept working until I sounded exactly like him, and from there I stripped it completely back. I decided when to dial it up or down, based on what was happening with my character.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> That\u2019s a real skill.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_271889\" style=\"width: 1717px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-271889\" class=\"wp-image-271889 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_7-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Joseph Zada sits on the kitchen island with his elbows propped up on his knees with a hard stare looking to his left.\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_7-scaled.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_7-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_7-667x1000.jpg 667w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_7-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_7-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_7-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_7-97x146.jpg 97w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_7-33x50.jpg 33w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-271889\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Sweater and Shoes<\/em> Dior. <em>T-Shirt, Pants, Necklace, and Belt<\/em> The Society Archive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> I know. I worked with quite a few coaches, but I more or less had to let go at some point and try not to focus on the accent, because the last thing you ever want to do is think about an accent while you\u2019re doing it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Totally. I worked with a coach for Elizabeth [Banks]\u2019s accent, but it was interesting what she did with Effie because it was kind of mid-Atlantic. It was English but also not really English. I\u2019m so grateful for the fan stuff on YouTube.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> [Laughs] I use those all the time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Me too. I would literally go in the trailer and be like, \u201cAlright, pop it on.\u201d I\u2019d watch Elizabeth, and it really helped.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> I used this sentence: \u201cEmbrace the probability of your imminent death and hope in your heart\u2026 there\u2019s nothing I can do to save you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> I\u2019m curious how you found out you got the role of Haymitch? Were there a lot of callbacks?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Yeah. I met [casting director] Deb Zane in January of 2025, and she said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to start auditioning soon.\u201d They sent the audition when I was on <em>East of Eden<\/em>, and they asked for one improvised scene. Because I was shooting, I told them, \u201cI\u2019ll have it to you in three weeks,\u201d because I had a plan to shoot the scenes properly and edit them. It\u2019s a crazy audition and I really went all out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Did Florence [Pugh] help you with the audition?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> No, she didn\u2019t. Actually, I flew back to Australia from New Zealand just so I could work with my older brother. He helped me, and so did my dad and a couple of friends. Then the day I finished <em>East of Eden<\/em>, they called me up and said I had another callback, so I went to L.A. and met with the Lionsgate people, doing chemistry reads and callbacks. It was a long process, which obviously it had to be, so they could find the right young person who would really work hard. I got back to Sydney and woke to a 7 a.m. call from my entire team, so I more or less knew immediately. I just started swearing, like, \u201cNow I have to do this and it\u2019s going to be really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> [Laughs] You were more scared after finding out?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Yes. Then the announcement came out a day after, so everyone found out at the same time as me. It was pretty full-on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Wow. What\u2019s the strangest encounter you\u2019ve had since you were cast? With fans or anyone being weird?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> [Laughs] We shot in a small town in Spain, only about 100 people. By the time we got there it was up to 250, because we brought 100 crew people and 50 fans. If you walked outside, you were immediately signing books and photos for superfans who made it all the way to this random place in Spain. I remember three people who came all the way from America to give me the pajama pants Woody wore to the premiere, like an exact copy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Whoa.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> [Laughs] It was crazy. I actually wear them to bed a lot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> You wear them every day?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> I washed them once, just in case. [Laughs] Or maybe twice, but yeah, I low-key wear those quite a bit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Also, apparently your name is not your name?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_271898\" style=\"width: 1717px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-271898\" class=\"wp-image-271898 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_4-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Joseph Zada sits cross-legged in a wood-rimmed bathtub fully clothed. He looks straight into the camera with a soft smolder.\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_4-scaled.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_4-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_4-667x1000.jpg 667w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_4-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_4-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_4-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_4-97x146.jpg 97w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_4-33x50.jpg 33w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-271898\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Shirt<\/em> Fendi. <em>Tank Top, Jeans, Necklace, and Belt<\/em>\u00a0 The Society Archive. <em>Watch<\/em> Cartier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> No, it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> What\u2019s your name?!<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> My original name is Cumpston, which my older brother still goes by.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Wait, so your last name is different?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Yes. But my grandmother\u2019s last name is Zada. When I was starting out, about to go for my big break, I was on my last callback and I\u2019d been thinking about changing my name. My grandmother\u2019s Australian Indigenous and also Afghan. The name comes from my great-grandfather, who was an Afghan cameleer. Our family built the first mosque in Australia, so it\u2019s got great history, that name. I felt a weird spiritual connection to it, and now I feel like I\u2019ve got my great-grandfather and my grandmother guiding me as my lucky stars.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> I love that. People think my sister and I changed our names, but we didn\u2019t. We both go by our middle names.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> What\u2019s your actual last name?<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> My last name is Fanning, but my first name is Mary, so it\u2019s Mary Elle Fanning. I\u2019d be in school and kids would be like, \u201cWhat\u2019s your middle name?\u201d I\u2019d say, \u201cElle,\u201d and they\u2019d say, \u201cSo your name\u2019s Elle Elle Fanning?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cNo, we just go by these other names.\u201d It\u2019s a Southern thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> So does your whole family call you Mary?<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> No, never. It\u2019s been Elle from the jump. I want to talk about <em>East of Eden<\/em> too, because I\u2019m excited to see it. You take on such challenging roles. You\u2019ve got Woody Harrelson and now Cal Trask, the role that launched James Dean.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Was that daunting? Did you watch the film or did you avoid it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> In my first callback they asked if I\u2019d watched the film. I said, \u201cWell, not yet. I was thinking maybe after I got the role,\u201d and she\u2019s like, \u201cNo, no, no, stop. Promise me you won\u2019t watch the film.\u201d I said, \u201cYeah, sure. I guess I won\u2019t watch it.\u201d So I waited about eight months to watch it. I didn\u2019t necessarily feel pressure until I finished the job and watched the film. Then I was like, \u201cOh, shit.\u201d [Laughs] That is an incredible, incredible performance from James Dean. But also, I\u2019m in the last two episodes. This project captures much more of the book, as opposed to the film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Then with Woody, this is very much my interpretation of the character. You meet Woody after 24 years of drinking, so I could do whatever the hell I wanted with that character.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Right. You didn\u2019t have the booze yet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> No, and I think the fans are probably more likely to enjoy my interpretation of it, as opposed to me trying to mimic something that already exists.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Did you get Woody\u2019s blessing? Did you talk to him before?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> No. We ended up meeting, but we\u2019d already shot. For my nerves and for me to really attack it, I had to not think about that at all. There was already too much of a task at hand. But when I did meet Woody, I had his blessing, and he was so, so lovely about the whole process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> I feel like the <em>Hunger Games<\/em> community\u2014<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> It\u2019s incredible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> It\u2019s so joyous and supportive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Oh my goodness, I\u2019ll never have it ever again. I mean, I hope I will. But the fact that this is their fifth film together and it\u2019s the same story\u2014the same themes and the same people behind the camera\u2014this is a perfectly curated team. It\u2019s also a family. I got to walk in and be completely accepted, and not just while we were at work. I was always invited to come out with the crew and go to dinners and be a part of it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> I felt the same way. Also, we have something in common because my sister\u2019s an actor and your brother\u2019s an actor, but he\u2019s older, right?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> He\u2019s six years older than me. My younger brother\u2019s an actor too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Oh, so it really is in the family.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Yes, it\u2019s really in the family.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Were all you boys inspired by your dad? I certainly felt like, \u201cMy sister did this, so I want to do it too.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_271893\" style=\"width: 1717px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-271893\" class=\"wp-image-271893 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_11-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Joseph Zada stands in front of a bookshelf wearing a black suit and sunglasses resting on his head. He looks straight into the camera with his right hand touching his eyebrow.\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_11-scaled.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_11-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_11-667x1000.jpg 667w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_11-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_11-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_11-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_11-97x146.jpg 97w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_11-33x50.jpg 33w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-271893\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Suit and Shoes<\/em> Bottega Veneta. <em>Sunglasses<\/em> Oakley. <em>Tie<\/em> The Society Archive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> One hundred percent. My mom is a producer too, or was a producer. My whole family and every family friend was somewhat connected. We grew up watching movies every single day. We did acting courses on our school holidays. It was never strange for us to act, or to be chucked into a short film for someone\u2019s friend. But it only properly appealed to me at about 15, when I started helping my older brother with auditions when he\u2019d come back from America. Then I wanted to do it myself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> So you already had that support system built in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Yeah. We\u2019d work up to eight hours on auditions. We\u2019d drive each other to the proper limits of a scene and try to do it 100 different ways just for fun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> That\u2019s really cool. Who\u2019s the first call with big exciting news?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> I got the call when there was no one in the house besides my little sister. I walked upstairs and we jumped up and down and cried together and I gave her a big hug. It was really, really special.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Gosh. Who are you when you\u2019re not a character, Joe?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> I\u2019m chilling.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> But you\u2019re chilling mostly in Australia?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> I guess so. There hasn\u2019t been a whole lot of chill until very recently. But yeah, Australia is a safe place.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Is that where you see yourself living full-time?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> No. I want to live somewhere else for a little bit. My mom doesn\u2019t really like that idea. She\u2019d rather I just stay home. But I do really want to go live in L.A. or New York, or maybe London at some point, so I can watch football every day. That\u2019s what my older brother\u2019s doing, because we\u2019re both die-hard Arsenal fans.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Wow. I went to a Man City game, but that\u2019s probably a bad thing to say, right?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> It\u2019s a bad thing to say.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> [Laughs] I\u2019m so sorry.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> That\u2019s a horrible thing to say. You kind of look like you could be related to Erling Haaland.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> I know. [Laughs]<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> You look like you\u2019d be siblings.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> A hundred percent. Did you film <em>East of Eden<\/em> in London?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> No, we were in New Zealand.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_271887\" style=\"width: 1717px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-271887\" class=\"wp-image-271887 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_5-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Joseph sits at the top of a staircase, smiling off to his right, softly biting his thumbnail.\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_5-scaled.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_5-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_5-667x1000.jpg 667w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_5-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_5-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_5-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_5-97x146.jpg 97w, https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_5-33x50.jpg 33w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-271887\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Sweater and Shoes<\/em> Loewe. <em>Sweatpants<\/em> by AMI Paris. <em>Hat<\/em> The Society Archive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> And how was Florence as a mother?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> She\u2019s scary. She shouldn\u2019t be that scary. [Laughs] As a mother, it doesn\u2019t add up. It\u2019s funny. It was very daunting, but she\u2019s so friendly and makes everyone feel so comfortable. She\u2019s such a leader as well, which is crazy because she is so young, but she\u2019s got a very old soul.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Yeah, very powerful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Very powerful. She worked so hard and I can\u2019t wait for people to see her performance, because it is so singular. It\u2019s really something special. I think it\u2019ll live on forever.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Oh, I can\u2019t wait. When does it come out?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> In the fall. It\u2019ll be close to <em>Hunger Games<\/em>, which is awesome.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Oh my gosh, you\u2019re going to have a lot of press to do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Lots of press.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Are there any actors on your bucket list to work with?<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> I love the actors I love, but I\u2019m shit scared of working with them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> [Laughs] Yeah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know how excited I\u2019d be as opposed to deathly nervous.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> Well, I just loved working with you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> I loved working with you, too. I feel like our characters hold a concentrated energy. They\u2019re so opposite, but seeing them connect was really funny, and I can\u2019t wait to see how that looks onscreen. You\u2019re just so freaking talented, Elle. I really hope we get to work together again soon.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FANNING:<\/strong> We will. I want that too. I love you. Thanks for asking me to do this.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZADA:<\/strong> Love you too. You\u2019re a great interviewer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Groomer<\/em>: Kumi Craig <em>using<\/em> La Mer <em>at<\/em> The Wall Group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Photo Assistant<\/em>: Diego Salcedo.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Styling Assistant<\/em>: Izaake Zuckerman.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Production Director<\/em>: Alexandra Weiss.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Photo Producer<\/em>: Georgia Ford.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Special Thanks<\/em>: Wendy Fentress <em>at<\/em> Priority One Productions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\nif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\nn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\nt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\ns.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', '465306474449381'); \nfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joseph Zada wears Shirt, Pants, Necklace, Tie, and Belt Celine. Sunglasses Oakley.\u00a0 Joseph Zada is about to have a killer year. This fall, the 21-year-old, born and raised in Sydney, steps into Woody Harrelson\u2019s shoes as a young Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, building a version of the character that\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.interviewmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Interview_Issue-568_September-2026_Joseph-Zada_7-scaled-1-e1786453730274.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}