Haley Lu Richardson by Emilia Clarke

“Some people won’t get me, and I’m more genuinely okay with that now” — Haley Lu Richardson reveals the things she lives by and her most authentic self to Emilia Clarke.

TOP: STYLIST'S OWN | SKIRT & BELT: MAISIE WILEN

HAT, COAT & SHORTS: MATTERS WORLD AT TATA LA | BRA: CULTNAKED | SHOES: FEMME LA

Haley Lu Richardson is Bold & Bright

April 17, 2026

“You and I got to know each other while we were filming Ponies — it was the year I turned 30, I was working on putting this book together, and I was playing Twila who was extremely freeing. I feel like all of that allowed me to embark on this next level of life.”

JACKET: VASSIA KOSTARA AT TATA LA

Warning: This interview contains spoilers for the season one finale of Ponies.

HALEY LU RICHARDSON: Hello?

EMILIA CLARKE: Hey, baby girl!

HLR: Oh, your little hair!

EC: I have released emotional weight, not even joking.

HLR: Oh, nice. I think I need to shave my head.

EC: Fucking yes, do it! You’ve got a cute little head — and also, just don’t, because your hair is beautiful.

HLR: What time is it for you? I woke up 20 minutes ago.

EC: It’s four o’clock in the afternoon.

HLR: Okay, you’ve had a lot of Diet Cokes and chai. [Laughs] I haven’t even had my matcha yet.

EC: Baby! [Clarke reveals a mug on camera] So, I’m gonna ask you some questions.

HLR: Do you think we’re capable of doing an interview, or are we just gonna gab the whole time?

EC: I have to say, and I’m not just saying this because we’re being recorded — the questions that they sent as suggestions are really fucking good, and I want to know the answer to them. For the sake of our beautiful readers of Grumpy Magazine, you, Haley Lu Richardson, are currently sitting in your badass house with a sexy-ass pool.

HLR: It is a cool pool.

EC: [Laughs] Every time I get a voicemail from you, you’re like, “I’m just sunbathing by the pool.” And I’m always listening to it, being like, “I’m in torrential rain in London.”

HLR: Look at your house, look at your bookshelves!

EC: You know me, baby, I like to read. It’s crazy that you haven’t been to my house.

HLR: It’s crazy to me we haven’t known each other for actual years.

EC: We’ve known each other in other lives.

HLR: I think I might have lived a lot of them. [Laughs] That might be part of the exhaustion of this life. Have you gotten Chani’s astrology book? [You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance]

EC: No! But I wanted you to read it for me, and then you could tell me about it.

HLR: I’m reading it only for you. [Laughs] No, but I’m reading it and I’m understanding my astrology — not just the signs, but I understand the houses, the planets, and things that all sounded gibberish to me before.

EC: I still can’t understand it, but my astrology right now is on point.

HLR: In a good way? Because apparently, it’s generally supposed to be pretty rough right now.

EC: I’m having a grand old time, honey. [Both laugh]

HLR: Well, good for you!

EC: Okay, I’m gonna start asking you some legitimate questions.


Read the full story in the print or digital issue (a 20+ page booklet dedicated to one talent). Order it now or subscribe below to the digital edition.

“I think my confidence in myself and my instincts has grown since I was 16. I had confidence and instincts then, but they were delusional and naive in a way. And now that I’ve had more experience and been disillusioned, maybe I’m more realistic and grounded in my instincts, confidence, and all of that.”

COAT: VASSIA KOSTARA AT TATA LA | SKIRT: MAISIE WILEN

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TOP: MISS CIRCLE

Ponies is now streaming on Peacock and HBO Max in select territories & coming to Sky and NOW in the UK and Ireland on May 22, 2026.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Raul Romo TALENT: Haley Lu Richardson INTERVIEW: Emilia Clarke VIDEOGRAPHY: Yong W Kim STYLING: Amanda Mariko at B&A MAKEUP: Rachel Pagan at TMG LA using Chantecaille & Monastery Made HAIR: Rena Calhoun at A-Frame Agency pRODUCTION: Jasmine Perrier LOCATION: Kingsley Studios SPECIAL THANKS: NBCUniversal, Viewpoint PR & Narrative PR

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