Maya Hawke makes quick talk and social awkwardness funny without making the person seem foolish. Her Anxiety in Inside Out 2 is the clearest reason we rate her: she lets us hear the kindness behind the fuss.
Fi1m perspective
In Inside Out 2 (2024), Maya Hawke's Anxiety talks quickly, and her pitch rises as she plans for every possible danger. Hawke makes the wish to help audible, which is why the character never becomes merely an irritating noise. We warmed to her because the worry comes from wanting Riley to be safe, even when it starts doing damage. Jason Deamer's team supply the frayed orange body and restless eyes; Hawke supplies a voice that sounds incapable of taking a break.
After playing Jo March in Little Women (2017), she broke through as Robin Buckley in the third series of Stranger Things (2016–2025). Robin's intelligence and snark suit an actor whose quick delivery can make social discomfort funny. We welcomed her addition, though another good performer still meant less time for somebody already there. By the fourth run, the Duffer Brothers' expanding cast and cross-cutting were leaving scenes too little time to breathe.
The film work has since offered both supporting parts and the chance to carry a story, which matters for an actor so readily cast as the awkward young woman. Wes Anderson gives her June Douglas in the ensemble of Asteroid City (2023). Ethan Hawke's Wildcat (2023) asks her to play Flannery O'Connor and several characters from the writer's stories. We are more interested in seeing those larger demands developed than in another variation on the snarky newcomer.
The director who gets the clearest result from her in our reviews is Kelsey Mann, though Inside Out 2 is only a decent sequel. Its familiar journey and repeated explanations make too little use of the complicated feeling Hawke conveys: Anxiety wants to protect Riley and makes things worse by trying too hard. We would have preferred less travelling and more time with that well-meant interference. Choose it for Hawke, and be prepared to forgive the plot.
Biography
Maya Hawke is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Born on 8 July 1998 in New York City, she is the daughter of actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. She began her career in modelling before making her screen debut as Jo March in the 2017 BBC adaptation of Little Women.
Hawke gained recognition for her role as Robin Buckley in the Netflix series Stranger Things, appearing from the third season onwards. She has appeared in films including Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019), Fear Street: 1994 (2021), Do Revenge (2022), Asteroid City (2023) and Maestro (2023), and voiced Anxiety in Inside Out 2 (2024). As a musician she has released the albums Blush (2020), Moss (2022) and Chaos Angel (2024).
