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  • - My character's supposed to be a tennis pro,

  • and clearly I'm not giving tennis pro, right?

  • Yet.

  • Hey, I'm Zendaya,

  • and today I'm going to let "ELLE" ask me anything.

  • But before we get started,

  • make sure you check out my cover for "ELLE", out now.

  • (mellow music)

  • If I weren't acting, I'd be,

  • I don't know, I think within the industry

  • I would be a director,

  • which is something I hope to do one day.

  • And I think outside, I feel like I would have

  • probably followed in the footsteps of my parents

  • and become a teacher.

  • I love kids.

  • I love learning, and I love teaching.

  • I would love to play a villain of sorts.

  • Tap into the evil, supervillian vibes.

  • Whatever that manifests in.

  • I don't think necessarily in a superhero sense,

  • I just mean in like a emotional sense.

  • I feel like I usually play the good guy,

  • so I'd like to play the bad guy.

  • My earliest memory of performing was

  • there was like a school play I auditioned for.

  • I was incredibly shy, so I'm proud of myself

  • for even trying to audition.

  • I must've been like seven or eight years old.

  • It was "James and the Giant Peach".

  • I got a non-speaking role.

  • I was the silk worm, which means that I literally

  • laid on the stage and did absolutely nothing,

  • because the silkworm doesn't speak.

  • But, you know, I feel very proud of that still to this day.

  • So that was my first role.

  • You know, listen, no such thing as as small parts.

  • A memory I could relive over and over.

  • I'm trying to think of ones I can share

  • that aren't as personal, you know what I mean?

  • Because some things, you know, they're my memories.

  • I like to keep those myself.

  • I would say the "Emmy" night

  • that I got to be with my family,

  • and like go through that with everyone in my home

  • was really special.

  • I think I was really stressed,

  • so I would like to go through it, but not as myself.

  • More as like maybe like the fly on the wall.

  • You know, I'd like to watch

  • from an outside perspective what happened,

  • and watch my family all there and react.

  • There was just so much love in the room.

  • I am the most proud of?

  • This is some deep questions, guys.

  • Wait a minute, now.

  • What am I the most proud of?

  • I am proud of myself, in general.

  • I think it's important,

  • and it's not a bad thing to like pat yourself on the back

  • and say, "You know what, you did a good job."

  • I think sometimes that's not always an easy thing to do.

  • I mean, I struggle with it.

  • Sometimes I'm so focused, like, "What's the next thing?"

  • Or being so self-critical that I forget to go,

  • "You know what, actually, dude, you did a good job.

  • Like, it's okay."

  • Best industry advice I've ever received.

  • I don't know if I've received it so much

  • as I had to learn it over time.

  • You can get taken advantage of.

  • So I try my best, especially in business,

  • to be involved in the boring conversations

  • and listen to it, and try to like absorb as much as I can

  • so I can really know what's going on.

  • The last show I binge watched?

  • So, I'm rewatching "Succession"

  • because I started the first season,

  • and then for some reason I stopped.

  • And I was like, "Wait a minute, why did I-"

  • I was watching that,

  • and then, I don't know if I got busy or something,

  • but I fell off.

  • And so now I'm rewatching it starting from the beginning.

  • I'll let you know how it goes.

  • No spoilers!

  • My favorite look,

  • I can't pick my favorite look.

  • That's like picking your favorite child,

  • you know what I mean?

  • It's impossible.

  • I love clothes, I love playing in them,

  • I love experimenting with them.

  • I feel like with every red carpet

  • it's like the development of a new character.

  • My fashion icon is Law Roach.

  • I mean, we've been working together

  • since I was like 14 years old.

  • He's my first one and only stylist.

  • When I met him, he owned a vintage store in Chicago.

  • I was a 14 year old that, up until that point,

  • had tried to dress myself, and it was tough.

  • We immediately connected,

  • and we've grown up so much together.

  • It's been an evolution,

  • and we've been able to experiment together,

  • and I've learned so much from him in the process.

  • My prized possession?

  • It sounds weird calling my dog a possession,

  • but, like, he was a gift to me literally on Christmas,

  • and like, he's the greatest gift.

  • I mean, it's my son, you know, it's my child.

  • I love him very, very much.

  • He's been here all day rocking out with us.

  • He brings so much joy, I think, to every set.

  • Dogs are the best.

  • Favorite memory on set?

  • From "Challengers" I think the best part was, I, you know,

  • my fans know this about me,

  • I'm not the hugest fan of having to work out.

  • I don't necessarily look forward to it, but I had to

  • because my character's supposed to be a tennis pro,

  • and clearly I'm not giving tennis pro, right?

  • Yet.

  • We had an incredible team of people

  • that we got to learn from.

  • But I was with Josh and Mike every day,

  • and they were the reason that I was able to

  • smile and laugh through our workout sessions.

  • It was a good time.

  • I think we all really needed to lean on each other

  • in those moments.

  • My favorite comfort meal is In-N-Out.

  • And so every time I'm home, I'm always like,

  • I always go get my grilled cheese.

  • Because I know people are like,

  • "Wait, aren't you a vegetarian?"

  • Grilled cheese, okay.

  • They're bomb, right?

  • Grilled cheese, excess spread, grilled onions.

  • Thank me later.

  • What's on my bucket list?

  • To direct one day.

  • I would love to direct a film.

  • Hopefully just more than one, but, you know,

  • just doing it.

  • The first step to actually doing something yourself

  • is not an easy step to take.

  • So, hopefully I can get over the fear.

  • Normally people would say, like, jumping outta a plane.

  • I don't wanna do that.

  • My mom wants to do that,

  • and she keeps trying to peer pressure me into doing that.

  • But I've told her, "No, no thank you."

  • The story behind my first major splurge

  • was like a very, like, this really cute little tiny

  • Louis Vuitton purse. (giggles)

  • It was my first time being in Paris,

  • and I was doing my first press tour.

  • And I was like, "You know what?

  • I make a little bit of money now.

  • Like, I'm on a Disney show."

  • And, yeah, I still have it to this day,

  • and it's very, very cute.

  • Might have to whip it out again,

  • 'cause since the small bags are in, you know?

  • Three beauty products I can't live without.

  • Hopefully I can live without all of them.

  • You gotta have a good SPF, you know.

  • Listen, SPF, everyone, every day.

  • Wear your SPF, protect your skin.

  • Gel nail polish, like, sometimes I do them myself

  • sometimes I get them done.

  • And then when you see them

  • and they look like they don't have anything on