“I’ve often shared myself in truth as much as possible.”
Indya Photographed in Brooklyn by Zerb Mellish
Styling by Serena Pompei
Makeup by Pascale Poma
Hair by Raheem Robinson
Produced by Curt Weber, Production Assistant Jerome Johnson
above: top MSGM, shirt FIORUCCI, tie WEINSANTO, skirt FIORUCCI
CRUSHfanzine: Who was your first crush?
Indya Moore: My first crush was when I was in pre-kindergarten. I had a crush on this boy named Jonathan. I didn’t really understand that I had a crush on him, but I remember always wanting to be around him. I remember we would hold hands a lot and we would get the same lunches. If there was a day when we didn’t get the same lunches, I would feel like he wasn’t my friend anymore, and I would be worried. There was another friend. His name was Ryan. Ryan was like my comrade. We were all friends, but sometimes I would feel jealous because I felt like Jonathan and Ryan had a closer friendship than me and Jonathan. That made me feel sad. But yeah, that was my first crush.
CF: Can you tell us about a recent dream?
IM: I feel like the last dream I had was me looking for my sister. I have a sister that I love a lot. And I always think about her. She’s estranged, and I always wonder where she is and think of her often because we were very close when I was younger. She sort of disappeared without really saying goodbye, and I was really hurt by that. It had always been a wound, and every so often, I would look for my sister. I would have dreams looking for her as well.
CF: If your life were a soundtrack, what three songs must be on it?
IM: “Things Will Get Better” by Cleo Sol from her Gold album, “Practice” by Jamila Woods, “Fruits of the Spirit” by Jay Electronica, and “I Gotta Find Peace of Mind” by Lauryn Hill from the MTV Unplugged album. That’s the song that I live with. “Freedom Time” by Lauryn Hill. Her spirit reveals a song through her creativity, through her art that reflects something that my soul also is shining and reflecting too. And it’s the same song. It’s the same witness. It’s the same feeling. I know that it’s true because when she reveals it, I am able to see it and identify it in myself, too. She provides a really beautiful reflection, many different reflections that I see myself in that are really, really beautiful, and I’m so grateful for. That’s about Lauryn Hill specifically. I feel like that about the other artists in some capacities that I shared as well.
shirt SOLENE LESCOUET, blazer VAUTRAIT
CF: How does your audience shape what you choose to reveal or protect?
IM: I’ve often shared myself in truth as much as possible. I’ve been determined to do that consistently, irrespective of my audience. The role of my position and responsibility as an artist is to tell the truth, even when it’s scary. I am supporting my audience in their autonomy to make a choice with the information that they have. That’s all I think about when it comes to my work. What is it in this story that I am unveiling? What is it in this story that I am revealing? In some ways, being an artist is a lot like being a journalist. You don’t want to tell people what to think, but you want to give them the information. You want to provide a reflection of what is happening. I’m just trying to be a mirror that I can reflect the singularity of what’s actually happening. I can’t do that if I’m constantly thinking about what my audience will respond to and what they won’t. I have to have faith that my audience will be able to make do with the information how they need to, how it benefits them, whether it benefits them to walk away and shut their eyes and cover their ears and their minds, or whether it benefits them to listen and to reflect with the mirror. That’s my goal as an artist. I just want to reflect with people.
CF: Is there something in your recent work that you’d only want your closest friend to understand?
IM: No. There’s nothing. I think the more people that understand, the better. Usually, if I’m creating something for everybody, then everybody’s understanding is important to me.
CF: What conversation are you hoping to start with your latest project?
IM: How much do we think about how we impact other people? Through forcing what we want onto others. How much do we care about other people’s freedom? Other people’s lives and choices when we’re thinking about our own. I want people to think about loving each other. I want people to see how silly it is whenever we think that not loving each other is the best thing for any given moment. There’s something really powerful and humble about love. The effect and impact that it can have when we really, really make space for it through understanding. It’s profound and love is, it’s powerful and discreet, but it’s also not discreet. Sometimes it’s just in your face. My intention is for all my projects to have that impact on people and to introduce that conversation.
CF: What drew you to the characters in Ponyboi and Father Mother Sister Brother?
IM: Love. Family.
CF: Both films explore identity in different ways. How has your understanding of your own identity evolved through acting?
IM: There are many different elements to the way that acting has affected my identity. One element is the work element of acting, the professional element. I think accepting this identity as an actor makes it scary when I’m not acting because I feel like, “Who am I when I’m not working?” I’ve had to be very careful not to anchor my identity in my work, which is a very hard thing to do. I think it’s really important to be able to be a part of other things. I think the balance here is honoring the other aspect of acting, which is the creative form, the emotional element, the one that evokes your empathy with the story you’re meant to tell. I think that part of acting, the one that encourages me to understand my character and to empathize with them, can help me to empathize and understand other people and their humanity. Being able to interact and engage with other characters as well. But only if I let it, only if I allow it. And so, I think that in this work, if I’m very intentional about the stories that I tell, and I’m not just being a vessel for various characters, then I will be able to focus my work and energy-mental and emotional labor into a story that ultimately is in alignment with the mission of helping people to acquire an understanding… Within themselves, through reflection, with other people’s experiences that will cause them to love.
dress CHRISTOPHER ESBER, blazer DAVID KOMA
CF: Which moment in either film still lingers with you, emotionally or spiritually?
IM: Performing Father Mother Sister Brother with Luka Sabbat made me think about my brother a lot. It created a window into this possibility where I think I got to imagine other possibilities for closeness with my brother that I would have never thought I’d be able to embody. And so, it was really nice to do that. I don’t know if that’s too vulnerable. I hope my brother doesn’t get mad at me if he reads this interview, but it’s the truth. I guess it’s just about family and wanting to be closer to people that you love. Performing that role gave me an opportunity to maybe imagine what that could feel like. To embody that possibility. It felt really good. It was really beautiful.
As for Ponyboi, I left the project feeling like I wanted more from Charlie and Ponyboi. I guess that’s probably just my own wanting to have been more involved in the story and to work on the story more intimately. I think there’s something about Charlie and Ponyboi that feels incomplete that still sticks with me.
CF: How did working with the directors on these two projects challenge or affirm you as an artist?
IM: I love both of the directors. Esteban is amazing to work with and is really sweet and sensitive. His understanding of the characters, the nuance, and his curiosity about them created a space for a really beautiful collaboration that I really appreciated. Jim is more rigid in his vision of the scene. With Jim, it’s really important to grasp as closely as possible to his imagination for the story so that you stay committed to it. Both directors have different ways of working. One seems to be a bit more intuitive and sort of on the spot, and the other is a bit more structured in a way that is already pre-prepared. I benefit from both of the work environments they created, as they help me practice the dynamic nature of acting that enables an actor to be a successful storyteller.
CF: How do you prepare—emotionally, physically, spiritually—for roles that require so much vulnerability?
IM: I probably should, but I don’t really prepare for it. I think the lack of emotional preparation allows me to really step into the rawness of how all the variables of the scene come together in a different way when you’re actually on set versus when you’re working it through in your own imagination. When I’m stepping onto the set and everything is coming together in that moment, then I’m able to experience it in a way that’s as fresh as the character would experience it.
I don’t want to expect what’s going to happen, especially in a scenario that would require me to be vulnerable or raw, because I think that that would take away from the sincerity that I want to portray through the character’s storytelling. I think sincerity is really important in acting because I feel like it honors the truth that you’re sharing about the character. There are different methods and different ways to go about that. People have studied for a really long time to understand those things. I think this is something that I’m still open to exploring more of.
CF: What’s one question you wish people would ask you about your work—but rarely do?
How much does it cost me? I think people probably wonder more about how much I earn, but sometimes I wonder if they wonder how much it costs.
CF: Fashion has been part of your public expression. Has your relationship to style changed as your career has grown?
IM: Not by much. My style has always just been to be me – to be the best version of myself that I can, to embody the best translation of my values and principles, and manifest in this world as much as possible.
