Maude Apatow has hit back at being branded a “nepotism baby” and admitted she is “in a lucky position”.
The Euphoria actress and daughter of Hollywood power players Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann admitted the abuse initially got her down until she realised she would just have to keep working to prove herself in the industry.
Maude, 24, told the new issue of Porter magazine: “At first, I was sad… I try not to let it get to me because I obviously understand that I’m in such a lucky position.
“A lot of people (in a similar position) have proven themselves over the years, so I’ve got to keep going and make good work. It’s so early in my career.
“I try not to think about that so much, but it definitely drives me. I feel like I really need to prove myself, so I work extra hard.”
She had been called a “nepotism baby” by online trolls, and says in the new interview that she used her worries over being shy to improve her acting.
“I’d channel all my anxiety into theatre. Everything had to be just perfect. That’s not always a good thing; I probably burnt a lot of bridges.”
She also told Porter about struggling with anxiety since she was a teenager: “I never want to let fear get in the way.”
Maude, who is the older sister of Love actress Iris Apatow, 19, said she does turn to her filmmaker dad for guidance with her writing, after he directed her in her first film, his 2007 comedy Knocked Up, which also starred her mother.
She said: “My dad always told me acting is tough because you never know what’s going to come next. He always encouraged me to write.
“Dad always reads what I write, but I have to be at a certain point. I’ll wait until I’m almost done and then get notes from him. I get annoyed because he’ll come up with a better idea, but he’s super-helpful.”
Maude is making the third and final season of Sam Levinson’s Euphoria for HBO, and is working on a “dark comedy” that she will write and feature in for Netflix.
She said about her writing: “I’m always hard on myself. Sometimes I get in my head and think, ‘Why would anyone want to hear what I have to say?’ Then I tell myself, ‘It doesn't matter, it’s just entertainment’.
“I try to clear my head of any of those thoughts. You can’t constantly judge yourself: it’s such a creativity killer.”
She said she is trying to “take it easier on myself” after she contracted a “really bad infection” in 2020 that saw her hospitalised.
Maude, who is rumoured to be dating actor Patrick Gibson, 27, said: “I wish I could say I meditate. I don’t, but I’m trying not to run myself into the ground so much. I’m trying to judge myself less.”