Interviewing Liza Koshy
“I didn’t realize that I was being a producer, director, and actor of sorts. It wasn’t until later that I understood those are labels and those are titles to call oneself in the entertainment industry.”
For years, Liza Koshy was a one-woman studio on YouTube and Vine where she grew a fanbase well beyond 25 million subscribers. She scripted skits on her notes app, acted them out in front of her camera, and edited it by herself, sometimes all in the span of one evening.
While her videos on social media now have over 2.6 billion views, Koshy has also been applying what she’s learned to the world of traditional media. In fact, with roles in the summer blockbusters Transformers: Rise of The Beasts and Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, three seasons of Liza On Demand, and 33 more credits to her name, Koshy is proving that she’s entering a new chapter in her career.
Liza Koshy and Jon Youshaei
I recently sat down with Koshy to talk about her upbringing in Houston, her rise to fame on Vine and YouTube, and how she’s now using her skills — as a producer, director, actor, and editor — to bridge the gap between social and traditional media with dreams on one day hosting Saturday Night Live.
The Early Days
In this summer’s Transformers movie, Koshy voices the role of Arcee, known as the “First Lady of the Autobots” and the first female Transformer to appear in a live-action movie. The role is a fitting metaphor because like Arcee, Koshy also pioneered many “firsts” as a female in her career.
She was the first to make a parody of Vogue’s 73 Questions that was so popular it got the attention of Vogue itself and led to a deeper partnership. To put that in perspective, Koshy’s parody video amassed 32 million views, which outperformed Vogue's 73 Questions videos with Margot Robbie (21 million views), Kylie Jenner (20 million), Michael B. Jordan (16 million), and Adele (19 million).
She then became the first creator to appear in her own 73 Questions video on Vogue’s official channel. In 2018 and 2019, Vogue invited Koshy to be the first creator to host red carpet interviews for the Met Gala, taking the baton from Vogue’s late creative director André Leon Talley and paving the way for other creators like Emma Chamberlain to host in recent years.
Liza Koshy's '73 Questions' with Vogue
Koshy’s Vogue parody was not only a pivotal moment, but a chance to show her talents on full display. The success of Koshy’s video — as well as her foray today into traditional media — didn’t happen by accident. Rather, it was the culmination of years of making weekly videos, refining her skills, and repeating the process.
The "One-Woman Studio"
During that process of creating weekly videos, Koshy experimented with different formats. “I didn’t realize that I really was uploading my hosting reel and my acting reel [to YouTube]” Koshy said. “You could go to each separate channel to see different facets of my perspective on the world.”While her main channel featured skits and parodies, her second channel Liza Koshy Too featured challenge videos and guest stars. Koshy again points to these as the reel for her career as a host and emcee, which now spans from Dancing with Myself to Double Dare to Chopped Next Gen.
But there’s an overlooked irony to Koshy’s videos: while they seem easy and off-the-cuff, they were surprisingly hard to produce. Behind the scenes, Koshy said she put weeks of script writing and planning into what looked like an effortless, impromptu video.
“I had a lot of sketches, a lot of really thought out ideas that look effortless,” said Koshy. “But really what's happening is weeks before I'm going to the Dollar Store and looking at each product, understanding…how I can write a joke around a specific word on that product? And then hopefully give a natural, effortless, delivery when it comes to day of shooting.”
Koshy didn’t stop at scripting and acting out sketches, either. Her YouTube channel was a crash-course on character development and costume design. One of her characters was Jet Packinski, who dons a bull cut, bushy eyebrows and mustache. She described Jet as her version of Beyonce’s confident, alter-ego “Sasha Fierce.” Or as Koshy jokes, Jet is like her “Sausage Fierce.” There’s also a character named Helga, who’s based on the maternal figure Koshy missed after moving to Los Angeles. Those are just two of Koshy’s many characters, each of whom have their own backstory, voice, and costume.
One of Koshy's recurring characters, Jet Packinski
Let that sink in. In other words: Koshy wasn’t just switching hats off-camera between writer, producer, and editor she was also switching roles on-camera between all of her characters and their myriad of mannerisms. In Hollywood, that typically takes a whole studio to pull off, especially at Koshy’s level of viewership. Let alone do it consistently for over two and a half years with little time off.
So it’s no wonder why Liza stopped her weekly YouTube uploads in 2018. While many viewers are quick to judge why she left, they’re also quick to underestimate how hard it was to do what she did because she made it look easy. Almost too easy.
Finding A New Spark
Liza’s pace of production also made it hard for her to step back and celebrate her wins. “I didn't really celebrate those wins, because I was just doing it solo.” Koshy said. “I lost that spark and I wanted to regain it again.”
When Koshy stopped her weekly YouTube uploads, she channeled her energy in a new direction. One that not as many people saw since so much of it happened off camera. No longer did she try to do everything by herself. Instead, she found herself taking what she learned from social media and applying it to traditional media. She traded in her tripod and notes app for professional sets and writers rooms. Koshy’s YouTube Original series, Liza On Demand, gave her a glimpse into what that could look like.
“You're creating magic with people,” Koshy explained of the writer’s room for Liza On Demand. She went on to describe how there are “so many brilliant brains that have so much more experience than you do, or come from a different perspective and are cultural consultants of their own cultural and ethnic backgrounds too. So you can make sure you're having a proper representation.”
Since then, it seems like Koshy has found more than just a spark. To date, she’s delivered three seasons of Liza On Demand, winning the 2018 Streamy for Best Comedy Series, as well as Koshy herself taking home the Best Acting in a Comedy Streamy. She also played a leading role in the 2020 Netflix film Work It and Koshy is set to appear in six films slated for release in 2023 alone including the aforementioned Transformers movie.
It’s fascinating to consider what Koshy’s future will look like if she continues down this path. After all, if she was a powerhouse as a one-woman studio, imagine the possibilities when she’s put in a proper studio system and building on ideas with Hollywood’s best.
Making A Statement
When I asked Koshy about her 2019 Met Gala dress — which she describes as a “literal strawberry shortcake” — she talked about the importance of showing up and taking up space both literally and figuratively.
Liza Koshy at the 2019 Met Gala
“I'm gonna steal a quote from Zendaya because she's — her. ‘I refuse to be ignored.’” Koshy said. “I don't wanna be ignored anymore. I have a vision and a message that I want to tell.”
With her Lucille Ball-like physical comedy and Jim Carrey-esque characters, Koshy is already hard to ignore. But if she continues down this path, she’ll also be harder to label. Harder to put in a box. It’s a rare stratosphere reserved for the true multi-hyphenates of the media world. But with Liza’s experience, team, and work ethic, she’s positioned well to get there.
“It takes that 10 years of silence, as they say, before you really see the fruits of your labor,” Koshy said. “I went to acting class. I'm putting in 10,000 hours. I'm putting in the 10 years of silence. I'm trying to wake up early in the morning like Kobe did…I’m trying to put in that work.”
Quite fittingly, Koshy’s bio on YouTube reads: “Just a little brown girl with big dreams.” So I asked her: what’s the next big dream? After expressing gratitude for all that she’s already accomplished, Koshy told me she hopes to one day host an episode of NBC’s cornerstone sketch comedy show: Saturday Night Live.
“SNL would be an absolute dream,” Koshy said. “But I’m going to do it the Liza Koshy way.” Becoming the first creator to host Saturday Night Live is a lofty goal, but that’s nothing new for Koshy. Time and time again, she has made the hard feats look easy in hindsight.
With her track record, it may only be a matter of time before she walks down the steps of SNL’s Studio 8H, delivers her opening monologue to the crowd, and finishes by looking right at the camera just as she did with her own videos for so many years. Except this time, she won’t conclude by saying: “like and subscribe.” Instead, she’ll say those hallowed words that greats like Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin echoed for 48 seasons: “live from New York, it’s Saturday Night.” Who knows, one of Koshy’s characters like Jet Packinski may even make a cameo during one of the show’s sketches, too.
