Natasha Lyonne has all the time been an artist who marches to the beat of her personal drum. First rising as a teen star in movies like “However I’m a Cheerleader,” she has developed into one among Hollywood’s high hyphenates after co-creating and main the Netflix time loop comedy “Russian Doll” and the Peacock thriller sequence “Poker Face.” Her gravelly, unapologetically mental persona has change into actually iconic, and she or he continues to show her potential to use it to a number of genres.
That distinctive versatility earned her the Maverick Award on the 2025 IndieWire Honors. Whereas she was unable to attend the ceremony in particular person, Fred Armisen accepted the award on her behalf.
“Natasha couldn’t be right here tonight, however she actually needs she have been right here,” Armisen stated. “However on behalf of Natasha, she stated thanks all a lot and she or he loves you all.”
However whereas Lyonne wasn’t readily available to handle the viewers in particular person, she not too long ago spoke to IndieWire editor-in-chief Dana Harris-Bridson about her present slate of initiatives, which incorporates “Poker Face” and her upcoming function directorial debut “Uncanny Valley.” Unsurprisingly, she summarized the distinctive area of interest that she occupies in Hollywood completely. She emphasised the position that she performed in creating the position of her detective character Charlie Cale, which was impressed by her personal love of movie noir and John Cassavetes films.
“On the threat of sounding pedantic, I do suppose it’s necessary to say that — because it so usually appears with ladies — somebody assumes a personality was created for them,” she stated. “Let’s be actually clear: That by no means occurred. This character exists as a result of, like every good old school entrepreneur, I noticed a void.”
“In fashionable instances, there have been no ladies working round like Philip Marlowe on our screens. Certainly, that was a gap I may fill,” she continued. “I knew no one was casting me as a ‘Curler Woman’ sort, you understand what I imply? That’s Heather Graham’s half, and Meryl Streep had her part. Nicely, I discovered mine within the basements of YMCAs and Murray Hill in Manhattan, the place I might watch quite a lot of noir movies alone in the course of the day after I dropped out of Tisch.”
The IndieWire Honors occasion befell at NeueHouse in Hollywood on Thursday, June 5 as hosted by comic and “Hacks” breakout star Robby Hoffman. Different honorees for the night included Ben Stiller, Colin Farrell, Ramy Youssef, Julianne Nicholson, Kathy Bates, and extra.