Between ‘The Love Hypothesis’ and ‘Adults,’ Rachel Marsh’s Breakout Moment Is Here

Rachel Marsh is having a breakout moment, and she is not playing it cool. The 34-year-old actress is fresh off a viral turn on FX’s Adults, where she plays Carly, the girlfriend to leading player Samir (Malik Elassal). Now she is stepping into the world of romantic comedies as Anh in Prime Video’s adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis.

“I love anytime women are funny,” Marsh declares. The actress has been able to put that into practice across a string of recent projects, including the streamer’s romantic comedy. She plays Anh, a graduate student and best friend to Lili Reinhart’s Olive, in Prime Video’s adaptation of the wildly popular novel.

The Best Friend Role She Did Not Want

Marsh was not looking to become the quirky best friend character. Director Claire Scanlon and writers Sarah Rothschild and Hazelwood were not interested in rehashing that trope either. “She is important in this story,” Marsh tells The Hollywood Reporter on a recent Zoom. “She also is funny.”

The friendship between Anh and Olive is the foundation of the whole story, something that holds true in Hazelwood’s book as well. Marsh and Reinhart built that connection quickly, both on and off screen. Building that trust was pretty easy, Marsh says, because Lili is so amazing and so sweet. She’s such a good actor and a great scene partner. It was really fun for us to get to develop their best friendship over the summer in Montreal.

Carly, the K-Pop Star

The upcoming romcom is not the first time audiences have seen Marsh on screen. Her turn as Carly in Adults has gone viral over the last month, mostly thanks to a ridiculously catchy fake K-pop song in the series. If you have not heard “Hiccups (Body Go Crazy),” it is time to look it up.

“It sparked something in me, which I think every single girl has,” she says. “Where I wondered, ‘What if I can sing and I just haven’t been vocally produced in the right way?'”

The whole thing started when Marsh got a call from series co-creator Ben Kronengold. He told her the show was thinking about making Carly a K-pop star and wondered if she would be comfortable with it. “I was just tears in my eyes, full body chills,” she says cheekily. “No one’s ever asked me this before. My dream.”

Former Saturday Night Live video director Paul Briganti directed Marsh’s turn as a K-pop star on Adults. He cheered her on as she made “the stupidest hand moves or facial expressions,” something she loved. There is an entire choreographed version of the song that did not make the cut. Maybe it will be released, she muses. But “Hiccups” fans, don’t worry. Marsh is also pleading for a version of the song to be released on streaming platforms.

“I really think they should put the song on Spotify or something,” she says. “I think people yearn for things like that, to just have a moment of joy.”

Montreal and the Waiting Period

It has been a busy few weeks for Marsh. The first fan screening for The Love Hypothesis took place the other night, and it went really well. She says the waiting period has been fun, with the first batch of people seeing it and liking it. She is just anticipating a lot ahead of the 23rd, when the movie comes out.

She did not know about the book at all before signing on. She had seen it in airports and bookstores everywhere, a big seller for so long. She remembered the cover and put it on her list of books to read, but never got around to it. Booking the job meant she could read it without a preconceived notion of it, which she found really fun.

Shooting in Montreal was awesome. She had never been there before. It felt like Europe and Brooklyn, she says. Like other cities but nicer people and beautiful streets and public transportation. She tried to do all the Montreal things, including Cirque du Soleil as a cast. The food scene was fun too, and she loved Canada.

Comedy Is the Challenge

Marsh says comedy has always been what she is trying to be really great at, and she thinks it is the most challenging thing to do as an actor. Even though she has done some drama, she came from comedy and still has some imposter syndrome about it. But the more she does it, the more she sees how closely comedy and drama are linked.

She has had a lot of these roles that are drama, but she feels lucky to have gotten to do both. As long as it is feeling fun, she is happy.

Fallout also has an element of comedy, so it feels very familiar to her. But the cool thing about it is that it shoots on film, which is a totally new challenge for her. With The Morning Show, there is so many celebrities in that show. It is a very high-pressure job, and so that is a challenge in a different way. The acting is fun, and she is mostly coming in and delivering bad news to Jennifer Aniston.

The Genre Question

Marsh says she really does like that she gets to dabble in different things. In acting, you do not really get a lot of agency in choosing your jobs. But she feels lucky to have had a lot of these roles that are drama and comedy.

She says comedy has always been what she is trying to be really great at, and she thinks it is the most challenging thing to do as an actor. Even though she has done some drama, she came from comedy and still has some imposter syndrome about it. But the more she does it, the more she sees how closely comedy and drama are linked.

The Roles

Marsh’s recent work spans comedy, drama, and romantic comedy. Here is a breakdown of her current projects:

1. Adults: Carly, the girlfriend to Samir (Malik Elassal); viral turn; Carly becomes a K-pop star
2. The Love Hypothesis: Anh, best friend to Olive (Lili Reinhart); romantic comedy
3. Fallout: Drama, with comedic elements; shoots on film
4. The Morning Show: High-pressure drama with celebrities; delivers bad news to Jennifer Aniston

Marsh’s career is moving fast, and she is enjoying the ride.

Source material: “Between ‘The Love Hypothesis’ and ‘Adults,’ Rachel Marsh’s Breakout Moment Is Here,” The Hollywood Reporter.

K-pop · Prime Video · Rachel Marsh · romantic comedy · viral