A self-tape audition landed Odessa A'zion 'Marty Supreme.' She's still pinching herself

Hall of Fame shot subordinate Rickey Henderson erstwhile declared, “If my azygous doesn’t get dirty, I haven’t done thing successful the shot game.” Odessa A’zion isn’t the biggest sports fan, but she tin relate.

“I love having a ace soiled script,” she enthuses precocious 1 day successful aboriginal November astatine a Mid City cafe. “The dirtier the script, the much loved it is.” The 25-year-old histrion has been moving for astir a decennary successful fearfulness movies, indie comedies and transgression thrillers. But this fall, she is breaking done successful a caller mode acknowledgment to “Marty Supreme,” the highly-anticipated caller movie from “Uncut Gems” co-director Josh Safdie.

In this early-1950s epic, A’zion plays Rachel, a joined pet-store worker having an matter with her lifelong champion person and unscrupulous ping-pong champion Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet). But Rachel is nary shrinking violet, holding her ain against lowlifes and schemers portion navigating the movie’s unexpected turns, shocking unit and wrenching tension. A’zion saves each her scripts, but the “Marty Supreme” 1 is particularly meaningful to her.

“I telephone myself a representation hoarder, truthful the ungraded and buildup connected the publication are memories,” she explains. “‘Oh, there’s a fingerprint connected this leafage with humor connected it — I got [fake] humor connected my manus and needed to cheque thing connected my script. This [page] country was ripped disconnected due to the fact that I had to enactment my gum successful it earlier we started filming.’ I similar seeing the enactment that was enactment into it.”

“Marty Supreme” opens connected Christmas, but is already generating important Oscar buzz. In the meantime, A’zion is besides earning raves for her show arsenic Tallulah, the hopelessly shallow, endlessly entertaining influencer connected Rachel Sennott’s zeitgeist-y HBO series, “I Love L.A.” But dissimilar these 2 strong-willed, assertive characters, A’zion successful idiosyncratic exudes the warm, infectious vigor of your astir amusive pal, the 1 you privation to walk each time goofing disconnected with. She’s a hugger and a high-fiver; she laughs easy and swears up a storm. Dressed successful jeans, boots, a performance tee and a jacket, A’zion doesn’t behave similar a rising star. And adjacent though she hates erstwhile actors speech successful specified woo-woo terms, seriously, she knew she was destined to beryllium Rachel.

“When [Safdie and co-writer Ronald Bronstein] were penning it — earlier knowing that I was going to extremity up playing her — they were penning it for me,” she insists with implicit conviction. “I felt similar I knew her truly good — what she was going through, what she’s been through. Not that I’m arsenic manipulative and calculated, but I tin truly spot her. She’s idiosyncratic that I’ve ever wanted to beryllium capable to play and explore. If idiosyncratic was going to speech down [to] me, I’m not going to say, ‘Don’t f— speech to maine similar that, you portion of s—!’ I don’t bash that confrontational s—. I’m a defuser. But Rachel’s a f— hardheaded go-getter. I truly respect her — I consciousness similar I person that successful me, but successful a antithetic way.”

Acting has helped A’zion make that much assertive side. In interviews, she is fond of sharing her mantra: “I privation a manager to enactment with me, not connected me.” She formulated that ngo connection erstwhile she was starting out, dealing with teachers, directors and castmates who didn’t respect her due to the fact that of her bladed résumé. “It took a truly agelong clip for maine to make boundaries,” A’zion admits, “because I was truthful young and it’s truthful important to maine to beryllium benignant to everyone I’m moving with, nary substance however they’re treating me.”

She’s go conscionable arsenic committed to establishing boundaries portion discussing her family. A’zion’s parents are filmmaker Felix O. Adlon and “Better Things” co-creator Pamela Adlon, who loosely based the acclaimed bid connected her narration with her 3 daughters. A’zion, who chose not to usage the Adlon sanction professionally, is the mediate child, the 1 stereotypically known for being the peacemaker. When asked if her defuser tendencies stem from her spot successful the sibling commencement order, it’s the lone constituent successful the speech successful which she’s not effusive.

A’zion successful “Marty Supreme.”

(A24)

“I’m not truly bully astatine talking astir household stuff,” she says politely but firmly. “I volition accidental I felt precise misunderstood erstwhile I was younger and was much of the occupation child. Now I consciousness much similar the peacemaker.”

Because Adlon rendered “Better Things’” 3 daughters truthful vividly, it’s tempting to wonderment however overmuch of Frankie (who was played by Hannah Riley) is successful A’zion. Do radical conscionable A’zion expecting her to beryllium similar that free-spirited, searching character? “I’ve ne'er commented connected it before,” A’zion replies. “But I volition accidental that that’s a character, and it’s thing made from 1 person’s perspective.”

When A’zion was younger, she changeable her ain abbreviated movies, yet channeling her originative instincts into her auditions. “Once the manufacture started allowing self-tapes, I would ever bash thing truly retired there,” she says. “I’ve done self-tapes successful my car. I’ve done self-tapes astatine the beach. I’ve done self-tapes successful the ocean, successful a pool, successful my bed, successful my bathtub. Why would I bash it against a f— achromatic wall?”

On the mode to the New York Film Festival premiere of “Marty Supreme,” “I thought, ‘I’ll beryllium fine,’” A’zion says of her occasional bouts with anxiety. “And past I’m like, ‘I’m going to propulsion up.’”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

In fact, a self-tape got her the “Marty Supreme” occupation aft an archetypal Zoom with Safdie made him interest she mightiness beryllium excessively young to play Rachel. But A’zion ended up doing a self-tape successful the mediate of the nighttime successful Bucharest successful the midst of filming the fearfulness movie “Until Dawn.” It was an aggravated telephone booth country from “Marty Supreme,” and A’zion took it upon herself to find a telephone booth and recruited castmate Belmont Cameli to tally the camera.

“[The country is] a batch calmer successful the movie than my audition was,” she recalls, laughing. “But I was truthful blessed that I got a self-tape versus an in-person thing. You tin marque it wholly your ain — you tin truly marque it look similar however you consciousness similar it would look. If you privation idiosyncratic to wage attraction to your tape, marque definite that you basal retired and instrumentality a risk.” Needless to say, Safdie was convinced.

A’zion has occasionally gotten anxious successful the lead-up to the movie’s release. On the mode to the New York Film Festival premiere, “I thought, ‘I’ll beryllium fine’ — and past I’m like, ‘I’m going to propulsion up.’ I privation I smoked weed truthful that I could [calm down], but I don’t fume weed anymore — that would bash the opposite and marque my bosom contention adjacent more.” Still, she’s trying to absorption connected her excitement astir the doors that “Marty Supreme” could unfastened for her to have, arsenic she puts it, “a vocation that I ever saw myself having, doing roles that I person ever wanted to do, alternatively of taking a occupation due to the fact that I request much enactment and to financially get by.”

A rising star? A’zion has heard those predictions before, truthful she’s wary astir being anointed the adjacent large thing. After all, she remembers each the auditions that went nowhere. She remembers being down connected her rent. She remembers astir being evicted. She remembers getting fired from gigs. Simply being formed successful a Josh Safdie movie doesn’t marque those aged wounds disappear. “To each of a abrupt beryllium like, ‘Okay, I’m done [worrying astir my career]!’ — I don’t spot that feeling coming anytime soon.”

She takes a infinitesimal to bask the beautifully orangish autumn sunset successful the distance. “People archer maine that [‘Marty Supreme’] is going to beryllium a moment, but it’s inactive hard to process.” A’zion has held onto her soiled script, and its blessed memories, but she confesses, “I inactive don’t consciousness similar it’s real. It’s like, ‘Did I truly bash that?’ It’s conscionable a brainsick happening to beryllium a portion of. I’m pinching myself the full time.”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)