Amy Poehler reveals she resonated strongly with Riley from Inside Out, describing herself as a blend of anxiety and joy.
Star Amy Poehler recently confessed that she felt a lot like Riley, the central character in the Inside Out series, in her teenage years. With the second installment out recently, Riley has been upped to a high schooler, which also means that she has to deal with a lot of complicated emotions that are a part and parcel of puberty. Poehler voices the emotion of Joy in the film but believes she also felt part anxious throughout her teenage years.
Amy Poehler details teenage experience, similarities with Riley
While speaking to PEOPLE magazine, the star divulged, “I definitely was a mix of anxiety and joy for sure, wrapped up in a Boston accent.” As anxiety enters Riley’s head in this part, it battles hands-on with Joy to establish dominance. Stranger Things star Maya Hawke voices the former, and has been the latest addition to the series.
Poehler further detailed that she wore shoulder pads and funky earrings at the age, but her head was just as “full” and “noisy” as Riley’s. For the comic, the escalation from not caring about what anyone has to say to being conscious of others’ opinions happens super fast. Added to that is the constant whirl of questions that one has to deal with, as she further acknowledges. From who to pick your friend to what to become as you grow older- these are fairly universal experiences, and the star says that they are never-ending too.
Inside Out 2 in theatres now
Inside Out 2, which came out in theatres on June 14, picks up the events from its prequel. Young Riley’s life was previously uprooted from the Midwest to San Francisco, and thus the emotions in her head were tasked to navigate this sudden shift. This time, several new additions were made with stars Kensington Tallman, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, and Grace Lu joining the cast. It was received with rave reviews and had the third-biggest opening day debut for an animated film domestically, grossing $438 million worldwide.
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