Myha’la on swapping high drama for Sunday roasts

Taken from the new print issue of THE FACE. Get your copy here.

Hi Myha’la. Industry is back for season three and garnering rave reviews. How did a show about an investment bank become the coolest thing on TV?

The show is set in a finance world, but it’s high drama. And people love high drama. There’s a lot of interpersonal drama, which we love. Then, of course, in the world of finance, the stakes are always so high because of dealing with so much money, and the potential to move the market and the geopolitical fabric of society. High drama, high stakes. And who doesn’t like watching people squirm?

Why do the viewers like Harper so much, when her fellow characters think she’s a sociopath and a narcissist?

I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ll speak for myself as a fan of Harper: I think people see her as a go-getter and as an ambitious person. People see her as an underdog in her environment – I think most people are rooting for the underdog. And, regardless of how she chooses to get there, she is playing a game everyone else is playing around her.

Maybe the fact that she does some morally dubious things makes people like her a bit as well. Maybe it’s that. She has no-fucks-given attitude about a lot of things. Sometimes I wish I had more of that!

So, are you into reading the Financial Times and keeping up with the stock markets now?

I’m definitely not picking up any sort of financial journals or news. On a very shallow level, I sort of have an understanding of what is going on in the show. But beyond that, it goes right over my head, and I’m OK admitting that!

At home in New York you have two Siamese sister cats, Natalia and BANG BANG. Do they miss you when you’re in Cardiff filming Industry?

Oh my God, they really do. My fiancé says that after I’m gone for three or four weeks, they start to get pretty confused. They’re very much lap cats, they love to sleep on us. When I’m here, I have both of them on me at all times. So when I leave, it takes them a little bit of time. But when they eventually realise that I’m not coming back, they’ll then sleep on him.

When you get home, do they still recognise you when you walk through the door?

Oh, yeah. Strangely enough, they recognise when it’s my key opening the door, and when it’s his key opening the door. If it’s me, they’ll come running up to the door. If it’s him, they’ll come part way to the door. But especially when it’s time to eat, they come running pretty quick.

Do you stay in contact with them via FaceTime?

My partner is really good at sending pictures and stuff, because he knows that I miss them and lose my mind. We did have a baby monitor that I could access – which I did a lot – while I was filming in Wales. I’m definitely, like, a crazy cat mom who likes to look at them while they’re sleeping.

When you spoke to THE FACE two years ago, you revealed that you like Sunday roasts. What, in your opinion, makes a great Sunday roast?

It’s got to be duck fat potatoes. I can’t have the… what’s it called? It’s like the bread? Yorkshire pudding. Yeah, because I can’t have gluten. If I could, it would definitely be a Yorkshire pudding, but I sub out for the potatoes instead. Food technology has reached a point where there should be gluten-free Yorkshire puddings.

We just need to spread more awareness and they’ll be on the menu.

Listen: I agree. What was the best thing about going to Miu Miu’s AW24 show at Paris Fashion Week?

The whole thing was unbelievable, it was awesome. But getting to shake Mrs Prada’s hand and looking her in the eyes… I was pretty starstruck.

Do you have a favourite tattoo?

There’s one I often forget about, because I can’t see it. On my lower back, on the left side of my butt, it says ​“Cadillac”, which was in honour of my grandma, who gave me her Cadillac when my car got totalled in high school. I’m sure people will think it’s bizarre. But I do like that one.

Dream performer at your wedding?

Chaka Khan.

And finally, what makes you feel happy?

Slapping on a movie or TV show with my fiancé and eating dinner with our cats. Nothing is better than that for me.

Season three of Industry is on HBO in the US now and on BBC1 in October