Tanzyn Crawford on Tiny Beautiful Things, creative fulfillment, and embracing her true self

I like to start off my interviews with a fun question. My question for you today is, if you were a door to door saleswoman trying to sell me your favorite new ice cream flavor, what slogan would you use to get me to buy all of your inventory?

I really like rainbow sherbet from Baskin Robbins. The thing that comes to my mind is taste the rainbow, [but] copyright issues, right? So something tropical. Ice cream is a vacation in a tub.

We always eat ice cream on vacation anyways, especially if you’re going to a really tropical place.

Ice cream is dessert at any temperature, it doesn’t matter how cold it is, I’ll eat it no matter what.

What was your first introduction to acting, and what really drove you to pursue it as a career? 

My first introduction was not by choice. My mom would put my sister and I in commercials and modeling when I was younger, but I didn’t really love it when I was younger, so it wasn’t my choice. My first introduction to acting was when I was around fifteen, when I got my very first short film. I’m a creative person. I did a lot of dancing when I was younger, and when I realized that that wasn’t going to turn into a career, I looked for something else to fulfill myself creatively. I turned to acting, which I always loved doing in school, but I didn’t really consider this a real career until after I graduated from acting school [in] 2021.

What drove me was one, fulfilling the creativity within myself. And then two was representing someone that I didn’t see on TV, particularly in Australia when I was younger. [I wanted] to bring things [to] TV that we’re now getting better at bringing, but we still have a long way to go. Being a part of that also really drove me.

I think it’s interesting how you started out in one field and decided to switch over. Did you have a favorite genre you were dancing?

I started with ballet. The foundation for any dance you’re doing is ballet. I’d probably say ballet or maybe lyrical, where it’s a little bit more loose but technique is still very important.

I feel like ballet is one of the main reasons why people want to go into dancing, at least in the beginning, and then they branch out from there.

I’m pretty sure that’s what my dance school required. You had to do a year of ballet before you could try anything else, so that’s what I started with.

What were some of the actors and shows that you watched growing up?

Growing up, I was obsessed with That’s So Raven. I also gravitated towards anyone on TV that was mixed and looked like how I looked. I loved the Spice Girls and Mel B from the Spice Girls, and I would watch the Spice World movie all the time. That was a big one for me. I was also really obsessed with Alicia Keys. I think she’s wonderful and has an amazing voice. I watched all of the normal Disney Channel shows, but the one that always sticks out in my head is That’s So Raven, because I loved it so much. It was so good.

Your most recent show, Tiny Beautiful Things, came out earlier this year. Congratulations. What was the casting process for that like, and what drew you to audition for Rae?

The sides that I got for the audition were immediately wonderful, and I was so excited by them right away. I didn’t get a lot of information, but I got somewhat of an outline about the relationship between Claire and Rae andDanny, and I really loved the dynamic that they had, so I thought that was really interesting. This was actually my second ever role that was asking for a specifically mixed white mom, black dad role. I don’t think I’d ever gotten that before, so that was really exciting, because that’s like my real life. 

I did an audition from my hotel room in Philadelphia, because I was filming something else over there. I went back to LA, did another audition, and then I was actually scheduled to go home, so I flew back to Australia. When I was at my stopover, my manager called me and [told me] they want you to do another chemistry read, so I had to rush home [and] learn six pages in four hours. I missed my connecting flight, it was so stressful. I went to do that in Perth, and I [didn’t] think it went that well, I didn’t [think I did] the best. But then the next day my manager [told me I] got it. I went back home for two or three days and then I came back to LA. 

What are some of your favorite moments from set where you were shooting Tiny Beautiful Things?

Definitely Episode Six when I got to spend a lot of time with Aneasa, who plays Montana in the show. We shot together every day for about a week and a half, and that was so fun because we get along so well. It was the first time I had shot with somebody other than Kathryn and Quentin, which was also great. It was so fun having someone else that was in their early twenties to mess around with. The scenes are so connected between each other that, even when the cameras were turned off and we were waiting to start again, we had so much chemistry between each other that it was just fun and bubbly and flowy. And of course all of the scenes with the horses [were] so fun. Laying in a field of horses with Kathryn Hahn was the highlight of my life.

Were you satisfied with the way that the story wrapped up for your character at the end of the season, or would you have written the ending differently if it was in your control? 

I’m really happy with how they wrapped up Rae’s story, although I maybe would have added some more connection with Rae’s dad Danny and finished that off a little better, [with] a little more truth from him to her about the divorce and everything. In general, I’m pretty happy about it. I think it ended with a big weight off Rae’s chest and a good connection with Clare. I just would have sprinkled in a little more dad daughter time.

If you could create or direct a movie about a book that you’ve read, which book would you choose, and how would the movie differ from the book?

I’ve actually thought about this so much. I was obsessed with a book series called The Three Doors by Emily Rodda. The first one is called The Golden Door, and my teacher read it out to the class when I was in sixth grade. I’ve been obsessed with it since then, and I’ve probably read it every year. It’s such a wonderful series that I would love to see someone make it into a movie series. It’s a fantasy adventure book, and I could see it being split into three like The Hunger Games. I don’t know how I would change it. I haven’t read it in probably a year, but what I remember is that a lot of the character descriptions are very focused around white people, [so] I would probably add more POC in there. Other than that, I honestly think it’s a perfect book, I think all three of them are perfect. I wouldn’t change the plot, I would just maybe change the people around a little bit.

What advice would you give to yourself ten years ago? 

I would [tell twelve-year-old me to] come out way sooner. You don’t have to wait that long. That would be the big one. Embrace your hair. Stop tying it up in a little button and let it be out. Treasure the time with your grandparents because they’re not going to be around that long. Overall, I would say, stop hiding so much — embrace yourself and don’t be so scared of being you. 

What was your most useless recent purchase? 

I love shopping, but I will put down an item and come back to it a week later if I’m still thinking about it. I never buy things just because I want them in the moment. I [tell myself], “Okay, if I really want it, I’ll come back and get it in a week.” I honestly feel like I haven’t bought anything. The last [purchase] I can think of that was expensive was four years ago, when I went through this photography phase and I bought myself a really good camera that I didn’t need and I used one time. It was over $1,000, and I don’t even know where it is.

Our last question for today is, what are you looking forward to in the second half of 2023, either professionally or personally? 

Professionally, I’m about to start filming another series so I’m really excited for that. Personally, I’ve been in LA for four or five months now, and I really miss my mom, so going home to see my mom in a little bit will be great. Seeing my family, seeing my dog. That’s another one 

What kind of dog?

He’s a little Maltese Shih Tzu. I’m really looking forward to going home. I don’t know why, but I just have a feeling that Christmas this year is going to be a really good one. My family never does Christmas, but I can just feel that this year is going to be a good one, so I’m looking forward to that.