Big Little Highs

After a trio of trajectoryaltering projects, Kathryn newton takes on her heaviest role yet. She talks to elle Mcclure about keeping up her golf game, her poodle, Jack, and family dinners with her Big Little Lies co-stars

- Elle Mcclure

Kathryn Newton has the kind of unadulterated enthusiasm that could talk you around to seemingly anything. When the message comes through that my interview with the Floridaborn actor will go ahead, I’m completely unprepared. There’s been a flurry of emails trying to tee up a time to speak with her for two weeks — very much in vain, as she’s in the throes of filming a new Netflix series. But now she (very unexpectedly) has a spare 20 minutes to chat. As in, right now. I’m still trying to recall the questions I’d formulated as she picks up the phone, but it quickly becomes apparent that she has the kind of ardour that will carry our conversation through to well over its allocated time.

Within the first five minutes, she’s already convinced me to follow her poodle, Jack, on Instagram (“Let me tell you something, he is a funny poodle. He has a lot of agility”), indoctrinated me in the joys of her current internet spiral (videos of Pokémon parades in Japan; “I’m going to Japan in a week and I’m kind of freaking out about it, not going to lie. What seems like millions of people go to see these characters. I’m so excited”) and piqued my interest in — of all things — golf.

“I’m quite a golfer,” she tells me assuredly. “That’s my side thing. I’m always working on my golf game.” I ask if it’s a novel hobby, but am quickly put right. “No! I’ve played since I was eight, and played competitively in high school. My goal is to have a charity event of my own, and someday a golf line.” An enviable filming schedule clearly doesn’t get in the way of that. “I play as often as I can. I’m trying to get a net put up on set so I can do it in between shots. Then I don’t have any excuses.”