Lena Dunham on fatphobia, dating advice and her new London rom-com Too Much

Getty ImagesDunham’s transfer to London in 2021 impressed her new rom-comLena Dunham is sort of synonymous with New York Metropolis. The US actress, author and director rose to fame together with her award-winning semi-autobiographical sequence Ladies, which adopted 4 20-something ladies as they navigated love, life and friendship within the Massive Apple. However her newest mission – a Netflix rom-com loosely primarily based on her life over the previous couple of years – is ready on the opposite facet of the Atlantic.Too A lot follows Jessica (Megan Stalter), who strikes from New York to London after breaking apart together with her boyfriend, and falls in love with punk musician Felix (Will Sharpe). Simply as Dunham did when she moved to London in 2021, Jessica shortly learns the necessary issues concerning the UK: everyone loves Paddington, the Jaffa Cake debate is extremely contentious (it is undoubtedly a biscuit) and a “housing property” is not the sprawling gardens of a lavish manor home.Dunham tells the BBC that whereas Too A lot has “superficial similarities” to her life and is “about 5% autobiographical”, she did not see herself ever enjoying the present’s protagonist in the best way she did in Ladies. “I did not think about Jessica to be me – she’s impressed by my life however is her personal character and was written with Megan in thoughts,” she says. Megan Stalter says Ladies “was all about intercourse and Too A lot is about falling in love”, which is a just like how Dunham sees the present. NetflixDunham says there are some autobiographical components to Too MuchThere was additionally one more reason she selected to step away from the highlight. Whereas filming Ladies, in her 20s, Dunham’s physique was closely scrutinised and final yr, she instructed the New Yorker she “was not up for having my physique dissected once more”. She explains that physique shaming was a part of the rationale she stepped additional behind the digital camera. “Simply being perceived was overwhelming,” she says. Dunham has spent the previous few years specializing in writing initiatives that do not centre her as an actor. She believes society has made some strides in the direction of being extra physique optimistic, however says the tradition we stay in remains to be “so deeply fatphobic, misogynistic, racist and ageist and that informs our dynamic with our physique”. The 39-year-old has been vocal about challenges she’s confronted together with her well being, notably her endometriosis, which led her to have a hysterectomy aged 31. Requested how her relationship together with her physique has modified since then, she says she’s developed a brand new love for the way she appears to be like.”I have been in a position to have a relationship with my physique that exists outdoors of the cultural pressures and I really feel fortunate for that.” Getty ImagesGirls ran for six sequence between 2012 and 2017As properly as reflecting on how her self picture has modified, Dunham additionally says she’s realized rather a lot since her 20s. Having been within the highlight for greater than decade, the actress has had her justifiable share of controversies.In 2017, she defended Ladies author Murray Miller when he was accused of sexual assault. Dunham later apologised, saying it was “completely the unsuitable time” to share her perspective. Miller vehemently denied the claims and was not charged. She additionally apologised for a “distasteful joke” she had made on a podcast saying she wished she’d skilled a termination when discussing the US abortion.”I believed, again then, it was necessary to simply hold going and be powerful it doesn’t matter what occurred,” she displays.”I used to be so targeted on work and never letting any of the noise in however I want I had allowed myself to take extra time and area. All of us must acknowledge our personal complexities and sensitivities however it’s exhausting to wrap your head round that if you’re in your 20s.”‘I’ve felt like I am an excessive amount of’Dunham’s new 10-episode sequence stars Hacks actor Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe, greatest recognized for taking part in Ethan Spiller in The White Lotus and movies reminiscent of A Actual Ache.Sharpe, 38, says he pertains to the challenges his character faces, as “everybody carries baggage from their earlier relationship” and feels susceptible after they enter a brand new one.Stalter pertains to her character too. The 34-year-old says she usually “felt like she was an excessive amount of” in her 20s however with time, has come to be happy with her who she is.NetflixMegan Stalter and Will Sharpe say they each see similarities between themselves and their characters in Too MuchWritten with Dunham’s husband, musician Luis Felber, Too A lot focuses on the evolution of 1 romantic relationship. It is refreshing in its realness – from severe conversations between Jessica and Felix to the actual fact Jessica’s media wage stretches to a housing property in east London fairly than a Bridget Jones-esque flat in Borough Market. I ask Dunham if she has any courting suggestions for girls of their 20s, given she’s been by way of the rollercoaster of looking for a life associate. She says the idea of courting has modified over time, and again within the late noughties, it was “thought-about a final resort or a wierd factor to fulfill somebody on-line”.Wanting again, Dunham needs she would have allowed herself to grasp what she actually needed fairly than simply seeing the cultural expectations that have been positioned on her. “If I used to be letting myself perceive my very own want, my 20s would have seemed actually completely different romantically.”Too A lot is launched on Netflix on 10 July.