Generation’s Uly Schlesinger & Chloe east talk about everything.
Playing TV siblings comes a little too easy for Chloe East, 20 and Uly Schlesinger, 24.
Words by Dio Anthony
Having virtually grown up on opposite coasts, the two Zentenials come together to play Naomi and Nathan Stewart, twins and occasional frenemies on HBO MAX’s Genera+ion––a modern and dare I say sexualized take on the secret life of the Californian teenager. It’s each character’s individual introduction that captures the viewers attention, Nathan jerking off in bed, and Naomi mid-crisis outside a food-court mall. But it’s their seamless ability to appear like actual real life twins on the series that cements your interest and investment in these characters and their respective stories. It’s almost as if they were real siblings. It’s almost as if these stories taking place on screen are plucked from reality. With a 19-year-old Co-creator in Zelda Barnz, it’s no wonder why Generation feels like TV’s most honest show in recent years. Cinematography and neon colors aside––it’s the stories that count.
DIO ANTHONY: What were your first thoughts when reading the script?
ULY SCHLESINGER: I loved it. I loved the words on the script from the first time I read them, and so that was exciting. I had never done something this major before.
CHLOE EAST: I audition for so much stuff and I've worked a lot. This is the first time where I thought, dang, this is something I want to see.
ANTHONY: Uly, so many of your scenes on the show are next-level. What was your audition scene?
EAST: God. What was it even? There were two of them, maybe three. The one that I remember was this really great monologue on the yacht where my character gives a wedding toast. I wish I could remember the other two. I'm sure that it had to be something with Chloe’s character. I don't remember what it was, but I do remember thinking–– wow this is a beast.
Uly Schlesinger wears Aralda Vintage cashmere CHANEL argyle sweater, Vestiaire Collective COACH navy/green check trousers, Dr.Martens shoes, Adidas socks.
Chloe East wears Albright Fashion Library DKNY navy mini bloomers, Aralda Vintage 1970s KENZO sweater, What Goes Around Comes Around white/sun silk neck scarf, Ana Katarina mini diamond hoops, Shrimps pearl hair clips.
ANTHONY: I was wondering if you two did any rehearsing off-set because your chemistry on screen is really great.
EAST: I think it’s because of the time we had in between filming the pilot and the rest of the series. Uly was actually a recast and came on right before we started shooting. I don't even think he went to the first table read. We started shooting two days after we met and had an instant connection and bonded over cooking. He loves to cook. I love to cook, and so we got a long pretty fast. After the pilot, we had a whole year and a half of being in touch with each other and hanging out. Watching the show as a viewer, it really does feel like we’re twins.
“ I have this very wide range of food tastes and it’s all from consuming it through media all day.”
SCHLESINGER: Yeah. Chloe actually got me a cast iron skillet for Christmas. It’s one of my favorite things.
ANTHONY: Cooking isn’t a strange hobby by any means, but it’s interesting when young people are very into it. How’d it start for you?
SCHLESINGER: This is going to be really rude if my mom ever hears this, but she was not a very good cook when I was growing up. She was also very busy working a lot. So I kind of had to learn how to cook for myself. She made tacos one time with moldy cheese on them. And I literally could not eat tacos for like three years after that. So I would literally just sit and watch food network all the time as a kid. Eventually I would try and learn all of these crazy recipes. I really only cook for other people now though. If I'm making food for myself, I will just microwave a frozen meal or something. But I love to cook for other people.
EAST: I loved watching TLC as a child. I’d watch honey boo-boo, Cake Boss, and Toddlers & Tiaras. My favorite was The Price is Right. I really wanted to be on that show, and would die happy if I was ever able to. That was my media diet as a 9 and 10 year old. My 10th birthday party was a Cake Boss competition theme. We made a mess in my kitchen, but everyone made these big extravagant cakes. I just always loved watching people cook. For me it wasn’t even about the final product—I wanted to watch the process. My mom was really great at letting me experiment in the kitchen, no matter the mess. You can probably find some Cooking with Chloe Youtube videos from those days, where I teach people how to make peanut
ANTHONY: Chloe, when watching the series I remember thinking how the dialogue between you two and for Naomi in particular feels very grounded in reality. Would you say It was more of a traditional writer's room/ actor scenario? Or were were you also chiming in with dialogue suggestions? How collaborative was that in particular?
EAST: Zelda Barnz who created the show with her dad, actually lives right down the street from me in silver Lake. Her and I bonded a lot when I got the role, even before we started the pilot. We talked a lot about our characters and what they would say. But I think Zelda, her being 17 when she created the characters makes everything so authentic and real. It's not an older person writing for younger people, which I think you can always tell when it is. People do chime in, and we have our improvisational moments, but really all of it is just magic in the writing.butter-banana delights.
ANTHONY: I want to talk a little bit about the internet. We spend a lot of time on it. We do most of our daily things on it. Do you spend a lot of time online?
SCHLESINGER: You know, I really don't spend that much time. I feel like everyone else, I'm always checking my Instagram all the time. That's just a compulsory habit at this point. But other than that, I feel like I really only use my computer to watch anime and movies and stuff. Other than that, I really don't spend all that much time on the internet. Maybe I should? Or maybe I should just stop.
EAST: It's funny because being a part of a show that is so much about our generation and social media, I feel like I'm the most distant from social media. I don't have a Snapchat or a tik tok. In the show they're always turning to me for advice on how to do things when in reality the camera guy knows more about Snapchat than I do. I'm not a huge social media person anymore. I made a lot of YouTube videos when I was 14 and 13 and it’s interesting watching them since my character is about the same age. When I was super into instagram, I’d obsess over what my feed looked like. I would have all pink tones and then a month later I'd have all blue, and everything had to look perfect––which feels very much like my character. I think being so involved at that age caused me to burn out and get over it. Now when I check out Instagram, I just want to see what my friends are doing. I think Instagram right now has changed where a lot of people are trying to capitalize on their brand. Being an influencer is a huge thing right now. You don't really get that true, authentic posting that I want to see on Instagram. But maybe you get that on Snapchat––which I don't have.
Aralda Vintage 1960s Saks 5th Avenue floral coat.
ANTHONY: I feel like a lot of young people spend a lot of time online. Regardless of wether it’s on Instagram or not. It’s interesting to see what everybody’s tuning into online.
EAST: Probably YouTube for me. It’s my source for cooking videos. I love my Bon Appetit channel. America’s Test Kitchen, and I love Binging with Babish.
SCHLESINGER: Actually I recently got into reddit. I really had never ventured onto there before, but recently I've been dabbling.
ANTHONY: Chloe––I initially felt like you’d be a big instagrammer but by the looks of your profile, you’re not. I could be wrong. You probably have a Finsta.
EAST: Well, you’re right. I do [laughs].
ANTHONY: What’s your favorite thing on instagram right now?
SCHLESINGER: Meme accounts on Instagram. Always.
EAST: My explore page. All of it is cooking. I love those junk food Instagram accounts. They tell me when deserts like Reese's white chocolate, triple crunch, Supreme delight edition are coming out. I’ll be looking at hot dogs on a stick one second and caviar oysters the next. I have this very wide range of food tastes and it's all from consuming it through media all day. The thing is I could spend an hour scrolling through Instagram. Then afterwards I ask myself–– what did I look at? Did I see someone has a new baby? Did I see my friends doing this or that? Did I see something that taught me something? I didn't see anything. I just saw this line of images. Is that really productive? Maybe I'm just not following the right people. It's a time vortex.
ANTHONY: Uly––a big part of the show is presenting these conversations that young people are having. Which I think is really cool. I think it's funny how you and Chloe's character––they’re basically workshopping their conflict over text. While the parents are unaware of what's going on. What are the conversations looking like with your friends currently? What are the big topics being talked about?
Uly wears Depop navy turtleneck, Aralda Vintage 1990s plaid/floral cardigan, & Other Stories shoes, Mon Vintage Lanvin beige trousers with red stripe, Adidas socks. Chloe wears Aralda Vintage 1960s Givenchy skirt suit, Swedish Stockings cream mesh dot socks, Everlane cream square block heels, Rokit Vintage London brown square bag, Ana Katarina bee ring, green and blue diamond earrings, green and blue diamond ring
SCHLESINGER: Well, I mean, I feel like COVID is what everyone's always talking about now. But that's a little overplayed, a little boring at this point. We mostly talk about what we're watching on TV. I got really into Dawson's Creek a few months ago, and I watched the first four seasons. Then I started getting all of my friends to watch Dawson's Creek. So me and my best friend Maya, we've been texting, like, all day today and everyday about where she is in the series, that kind of stuff. That’s a pretty normal pandemic line of conversation. It's hard. I have this conversation a lot. My dad will call me and he's like, so what's new? And I'm like––nothing. He's like, yep, same here. It's the same, same all the time.
ANTHONY: Chloe––I think that young people now have tons of images for style references, because of instagram and all the other platforms dedicated to imagery. This is something I didn’t have growing up. Does the internet influence your way of dressing at all?
Chloe wears Aralda Vintage 1970s Burgundy Gucci skirt, Constance red turtleneck sweater, Other Stories red chunky socks, Dr. Martens shoes, Completed Works gold/pearl brooch, What Goes Around Comes Around gold hoops. Uly wears Depop navy turtleneck, Farfetch Lanvin navy pleated skirt, Constance navy button down cardigan, Other Stories shoes, COS ribbed socks.
EAST: That's a good question. I feel like I just pull my style from the people around me. When I moved to Korea-town, when I was 14 I got really into fashion. I think everyone in my building was really into wearing Fendi and all of these designer brands. And I really got into it then. I wanted the Prada this and the Chanel that. When I moved to silver Lake, I realized everyone here was a hipster. Now spending so much time in San Clemente, everyone looks like a surfer. They have their Converse on, they have their stance socks on, they’ve got the Rip Curl, they have the whole thing going on. I think my brain can't decide what I like. So I do them all. I'm a different person every day, and so I find myself dressing differently everyday. You even see it in our show. Every character is so specific in what they wear. When I auditioned I asked myself––what does Naomi wear? My idea was different from the wardrobe department’s idea, but it became so clear to me. Everyone’s style on the show seems to be influenced by what they consume. Riley and Greta’s style is so different from one another. Maybe Naomi and Ariana’s style is similar because they're best friends and they want to go to Sephora and spend the day shopping at the mall together. They want to wear Brandy Melville. It’s all influenced by what you consume IRL as well as instagram. You can be Billie Eilish or whatever else you want to be.
ANTHONY: Millennials weren’t privy to these big luxury designer brands back then. It was all about Hollister with the collar outside of your sweater.
EAST: Now it’s–– Are you Brandy Melville? Are you off-White? Hype-beast? Or are you Free People? Or a Yeezy’s type?
ANTHONY: What’s the last song you listened to?
Uly wears Levi's black jeans, Aralda Vintage 1980s yellow plaid Yves Saint Laurent jacket, Farfetch Lanvin striped sweater, Carla Colour black rectangular sunglasses.
SCHLESINGER: That's a really good question. The last thing I listened to was Linger by The Cranberries. I don't know what kind of weird mood I've been in, but I've literally been listening to Linger, like on repeat for the past couple of days.
EAST: I was in an Orange Theory class today and they played To Be Real for the cool-down. Not my choice, but it could be my choice.
ANTHONY: What’s the last thing you Googled?
EAST: Ooh. I Googled a recipe for chicken actually. I bought chicken thighs at the grocery store and I don’t know what I’m going to make it with.
SCHLESINGER: Let's see. The last thing I Googled was Sarah Connor's son in Terminator.
ANTHONY: Were you watching Terminator?
SCHLESINGER: No. I was actually with a friend the other night and she said, you know what? You look a lot like the kid from Terminator. I was like, what? who? I don't know if I've ever actually even seen Terminator to be perfectly honest. So I had to Google it. I was like, that's mildly offensive, but thank you. I suppose he has nice hair.
ANTHONY: Is there anything specific you're excited for people to see or gain from the series?
EAST: I'm excited for everyone to see how all of our storylines intersect. As well as how the relationships between the different characters change. A friendship in the beginning of the show might evolve into something else by the end.
SCHLESINGER: I guess the biggest thing is, I hope that someone sees it and maybe feels less alone. That sounds like a very existential big thing. But I've always been a firm believer that if your art touches even one person, then that's more than enough.
Photographed by Shane McCauley Styled by Sophie Laura Scott Written by Dio Anthony Hair by Sienree Make-up by Georgie Eisdell Grooming by Sonia Lee. Art Direction + Text by Dio Anthony Produced in conjunction with HBO MAX.