Luck Star Eva Noblezada Talks Bad Days, Found Family, and Broadway
It’s your lucky day!
Apple TV+’s Luck follows Sam Greenfield, voiced by Eva Noblezada (Hadestown), the unluckiest person in the world. When she finds herself in the Land of Luck, she must work with the magical beings there to turn her luck around. I spoke with Noblezada about leading her first animated film, the return of Broadway, and joining the all Filipino cast of Easter Sunday.
Noblezada is no stranger to the stage, but Luck marks her first time voice acting for an animated project. “It's different, but it's not so out of my comfort zone. I use my voice so much in my normal job, but doing this without a stage, without an audience, it felt really weird at first,” she told me. “[But] because our director Peggy Holmes was there over Zoom for all of our sessions I got really comfortable really quickly. I was so grateful for her to have been there. I learned a lot.”
We do get to hear some of Noblezada’s pitch-perfect vocals in a cover of Madonna’s “Lucky Star.” “That wasn't in the original script […] and when they told me that they wanted to add it in there I was super excited because I love singing and I love Madonna,” she gushed. “Animation always has a little musical moment and that's always my favorite part, so I'm really glad that they chose to do that and add that in there. It was really fun to record.”
The film tackles themes of good and bad luck, found family, and putting others before yourself. “It's quite a deep one because Sam has grown up in the foster care system, which I know here in the States is quite broken. What's so beautiful about that is Sam chooses to make sure that all of her energy goes into making sure that her friend Hazel does not experience what Sam has experienced,” said Noblezada. “She goes on this journey to find luck for her friend Hazel and ends up understanding that she doesn't have bad luck and, if she does, it doesn't mean that she's a bad person. It's a really beautiful message.”
She continues: “The forever family is so important. Everybody deserves to have that whether that's their blood family or people that they choose to have in their life. I hope that everyone has communities like that [where] they feel seen and understood and accepted and most importantly loved and for them to love someone as well. It's a necessity. We have to have that in our lives.”
While Sam struggles with bad days, Noblezada shares how she deals with hers. “I cry. I cry very easy. I'll probably lock myself in the bathroom and cry and then wash my face and put some eyebrow gel on and some perfume and then tell myself that I’m fine to be. But, you know, sometimes you just gotta take it on the chin and go, ‘That’s annoying,’ and then move on. In New York, you never have time so you don’t have time to dwell.” she said. “There has to be [that] duality of […] you can't experience happiness without knowing what sadness is.”
Noblezada also currently stars as Eurydice in Hadestown on Broadway, performing eight shows a week. She reflects on Broadway’s closing and reopening during the pandemic. “Oh my god, 18 months, can you believe it? It feels like the pandemic was both 10 years [long] and 10 years ago, it doesn't make any sense. I'm obviously extremely grateful to have my gig back and, more importantly, for all of my friends […] to start getting their jobs back as well. It was really tough to be walking around New York and seeing all the marquees that were completely turned off. It was like a horror movie,” she said. “Theater is so special and I will always love it so much, no if ands or butts. I'm just really grateful to be doing this.”
Next up Noblezada stars alongside Jo Koy in Easter Sunday, out in theaters now. “That was amazing. I mean, to get a job during the pandemic was insane. I was really, really grateful for that, but also just being on set with a bunch of Filipinos, I was like, what is this? I’ve never seen this or heard of this. I cannot believe that I get to be a part of this. It’s monumental,” she gushed. “Jo Koy is amazing. He’s such an incredible person and leader and was the heart of the movie. I watched it and it’s so stupid in the best way and it just brings a smile to my face. To hear people that were laughing makes me really happy because it’s something that I hope that everyone can see themselves in.”
Luck is streaming on Apple TV+.
