Mae Martin’s new series, Wayward, is the manifestation of years of hard work, but that doesn’t mean every take was easy to film.
“I have to handle a gun in Wayward, and it took me 17 takes simply to get it out of the case,” the actor, 38, shares exclusively in their 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me feature in the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now. “I’m not very coordinated.”
Martin is the creator, executive producer and lead actor on Netflix’s Wayward, which follows a small-town police officer who begins to unearth the mystery surrounding a local school for troubled teens and its suspicious founder.
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“It’s so surreal for me that people are finally going to see it,” Martin says about the limited series, which is available to stream now. “It’s been in my brain for so long. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say that filming it was wild and thrilling. I was often covered in blood, water and mud.”
Keep scrolling for more personal stories from Martin, including their surprising habits, celebrity encounters and childhood memories.
- A psychic told me that this is my “expansion” year, and next year I’ll settle down. We’ll see.
- I used to obsessively cook lentil shepherd’s pie until people told me to stop because it wasn’t very good.
- I do 10 push-ups before I go on stage for my comedy routines, which is really embarrassing if there are other comedians around.
- I always feel like my brain starts waking up in the fall — Halloween, jacket weather, leaves falling.
- I watch so many true-crime documentaries that they all blend into one horrific soup in my brain.
- I remember when I was 11 on vacation in Greece. I woke up at 6:30 am, watched the sunrise, walked through the olive groves, bought a bag of sugar donuts, sat on the beach and ate them all. Pure happiness.
- I have to handle a gun in Wayward, and it took me 17 takes simply to get it out of the case. I’m not very coordinated.
- I’m definitely a night owl. I love to be awake when everyone else is asleep, and mornings can be scary.
Saty+Pratha/NETFLIX - I have a recurring nightmare that I have to go back to middle school.
- When I went to summer camp, I tried to tell people that my nickname was “Maple Sugar” because I thought it sounded cool. It really didn’t catch on.
- I spent most of my time in parks and alleyways being sketchy as a teenager, but performing at the Second City Toronto was formative for sure.
- This sounds pretentious, but genuinely Crime and Punishment by [Fyodor] Dostoevsky is my favorite book.
- I have a small brass pig that has a really nice weight to it when you hold it in your hand.
- Chicken schnitzel, mashed potatoes, broccoli and gravy is my favorite comfort meal.
- I worked the graveyard shift at a pizza place in Toronto, serving hipsters. I ate a lot of pizza and tried to ignore the rats and mice I saw in the kitchen.
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- Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show was my celebrity crush. He has this piratic smile like he would ruin your life in a fun way.
- Lisa Kudrow will forever be my most famous friend, I think, and I’m lucky to know her.
- I met Kevin Bacon at a party, and he was wildly charismatic and very kind. I hope I didn’t say anything weird.
- My alternate profession would be a monk, or I’d love to work with troubled teens.
- Paul Reubens was my hero as a kid. I also spent a lot of time imagining that Bette Midler would show up at my school and recruit me to star in a movie with her.
- I memorized all the countries and capital cities of the world!
- I’d like to write a kids’ movie, direct something I’ve written and learn how to dance like a Magic Mike dancer because that seems like it could be a fun party trick.
- I lived in London for 12 years and I miss it a lot, partly because I was so close to [other parts of] Europe!
- I can’t leave the house without a notebook, black pen and peanut butter PowerBar.
- Wayward has been in my brain for so long. Filming it was wild and thrilling. I was often covered in blood, water and mud.
