On a sunny Fall day in LA, I sat down at a high-school picnic table with the young stars of Hulu's adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere, and I'm here to tell you, this crew of up-and-comers is primed to spark a difference in Hollywood and beyond. Starring alongside Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, castmates Lexi Underwood, Megan Stott, Gavin Lewis, Jade Pettyjohn, and Jordan Elsass shared their thoughts on stereotypes about their generation and, more importantly, how they plan to use their passions to make some major changes in the world. Get to know the Little Fires actors about to do big things ahead.
Little Fires Everywhere Cast Interviews About Gen Z
The Little Fires Everywhere Cast Are Here to Shatter Gen Z Misconceptions and Change the World, NBD
POPSUGAR: What do you feel is the biggest misconception about Gen Z?
Jade Pettyjohn: I think there is this common misconception for Gen Z that we're disconnected and we don't care. We're always on our phones and all of that. We are the most connected generation because of social media, honestly. Obviously, social media has its plus points and its minus points, right? But it's incredible that we can plan a march, like international news within a week and get thousands of people marching about something that we're passionate about. I am very inspired and empowered for the future.
PS: What are you excited about with this generation as far as how you'll change the industry?
JP: I think that the industry is changing very quickly. There have been such beautiful stories recently, like Little Fires Everywhere, where there aren't any stereotypes. We're playing real human beings here, and I think that that is very exciting. And I know that actors are just going to just dive into that. I feel what people see in the movie theatres is going to be deeper and more beautiful and incredible, just because it's real. Even if it's fantasy, you're still playing something that's grounded, and I like that.
PS: Do you have a cause that you're really passionate about?
JP: I think climate change right now is really important, just because that should not be a political thing to me, that affects everyone. Really I feel what I'm passionate about is human beings and humanity. So anything that helps people, I will back and support.
PS: What would you say to other young people who want to make a difference?
JP: Use your voice. Know that what you have to say is vital and important. You really do have the ability to change the world, and it's up to this generation. We have a lot of power with social media and with what we want to say. People want to hear your voice, so don't quiet down and don't be silent.
Follow Jade on Instagram: jadepettyjohn_official
POPSUGAR: What do you feel is the biggest misconception about Gen Z?
Lexi Underwood: That we're not aware of what's happening around us, because I think that we're the most politically aware generation as of right now. We are the future. I mean you see people like Greta Thunberg, you see Emma Gonzalez. We're changing the narrative, we're changing the world right now.
PS: Do you have a cause that you're really passionate about?
LU: I am really passionate about March For Our Lives. I'm really passionate about Black Lives Matter. I'm really passionate about women's rights and women's equality. I opened up my own production company for my 15th birthday last year. It's called Ultimate Dreamer Productions. My mom was like, do you want to do something for your 15th birthday? Do you want to piece together a project? And so I pieced together this thing called We the Voices of Gen Z, which is a roundtable discussion full of diverse Generation Z voices.
We're talking about really important issues about what's happening in the world right now. We talked about climate change, we talked about social injustice, we talked about gun control, we talked about abortion rights. What that looks like, a woman's rights to choose. LGBTQ rights.
I don't think that I have a specific cause that I'm passionate about. I think I'm just passionate about making the world a better place and making sure that everybody's treated equally and that we all have the right to choose and the right to live freely.
PS: What would you say to other young people who want to make a difference?
LU: Don't be hesitant. Don't ever think that your voice doesn't matter, because it does. If you stay silent, you're a part of the problem. We have to get out there. Even if you're not old enough to vote, tell people who are around you to vote, because it's going to make a difference.
Follow Lexi on Instagram: officiallexiunderwood
POPSUGAR: What do you feel is the biggest misconception about Gen Z?
Jordan Elsass: I feel like one of the misconceptions is that we're on our phones all the time. But in reality, I see a lot of kids who still love to go outside, still love to talk and hang out with friends and just communicate through actual face-to-face contact, and I feel like that's the silent majority. There's a lot more than meets the eye with our generation, and it's really exciting coming up in a generation of these sort of new, up-and-coming artists and seeing them work around me and working with my castmates like Gavin, like Lexi, like Jade who are all my age, 16, 17, 18, and seeing them work and seeing them not conforming to those stereotypes and just being themselves and being artists, being true to themselves.
PS: What are you excited about with this generation as far as how you'll change the industry?
JE: I want to make the industry more diverse. I want to see it become more diverse, not just racially, but just all kinds of people, all kinds of backgrounds. I'm from Austin, TX, and the reason I love Austin is because it's just this big melting pot because it is a liberal city in a conservative state. And I find that you get all kinds of people coming from all walks of life, and I really like that because everybody has a voice, everybody needs to speak. I'm really hoping to change the industry and that it just naturally becomes diverse and you get to see everybody tell their story and everybody tells other people's stories and through that, we can become closer as people.
Follow Jordan on Instagram: jordanelsass
POPSUGAR: What do you feel is the biggest misconception about Gen Z?
Gavin Lewis: I think the stereotype for the generation right now is the kids you think of who play Fortnite and vape. Those are the bad examples. It's actually a really promising generation right now. A lot of kids are figuring out education in a different way with so many homeschoolers now, and they're just coming up differently with all the technology. It's too early for a verdict on how everybody's going to turn out in this generation, but I think it's looking positive right now.
PS: Do you have a cause that you're really passionate about?
GL: I'm passionate about raising awareness for type one diabetes. I'm soon to be on the board of investors for Beyond Type 1. And I'm passionate about raising awareness, like especially the difference between type one and type two and helping newly diagnosed kids kind of learn about the disease and that it's not something to be afraid of. It doesn't change your life that much. Once you figured it out, anybody can live with it, and you can still do anything you want.
PS: What would you say to other young people who want to make a difference?
GL: Find a cause that you're passionate about and learn everything you can about it and possibly finding some sort of organisation to endorse or other people your age who are passionate. You can start a website. You could just put yourself out there in any way you can if you're passionate about something to try and raise awareness.
Follow Gavin on Instagram: gavinklewis
POPSUGAR: What do you feel is the biggest misconception about Gen Z?
Megan Stott: I've heard a lot of like, "You guys don't care about political issues; you don't care about environmental issues," like things like that, but we do. We actually think about political issues and how the world works, because when everyone else leaves, we're going to be left, and we're going to be the ones dealing with everything.
PS: Do you have a cause that you're really passionate about?
MS: I'm very passionate about antibullying. That's one of my major, major concerns. Being bullied is hard. It's emotionally challenging. You have a lot of things happen to you that you don't know why, and then you think it's your fault. I think that it is such a prominent issue in today's time for kids to be bullied about whatever it is, their race, their gender. I feel like there's no reason. They are who they are. Leave it alone. They are just humans and they are loved.
PS: What would you say to someone who is going through that, going through bullying?
MS: Talk to your parents about it. Parents can do a lot more than what you think they can. Don't brush it off. Stand up for yourself.
Follow Megan on Instagram: itsmeganstott