Ariana Greenblatt Was Filmed at School Without Knowing—Now She’s Taking Back Control (Exclusive)

When I get to the San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood, Ariana Greenblatt is already waiting for me. I don’t know why I’m late. I’ve been obsessively preparing for this interview. It’s both of our first-ever Cosmopolitan cover stories, I as the writer, she as the star. I’ve interviewed dozens of celebrities (including Ariana herself) for my podcast, Therapuss, and at the age of 18, she has already acted in what feels like countless blockbusters. Yet this feels different somehow—deeper, more permanent. So yes, I’m spiraling a little.

Ariana is clearly not. She makes no mention of my tardiness or the fact that she’s just come off a 13-hour flight after wrapping her newest movie, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, out November 14. Instead, she gives me a hug as she tucks away her phone, ready to lock in. It’s the type of focus that’s earned her roles in coveted films like 2023’s Barbie (for which she earned a Best Young Actress Critics Choice Award nomination) and in superhero franchises (she played a younger version of Zoe Saldaña’s character in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War). That’s on top of her early work on the Disney Channel and performances in movies like Borderlands, In the Heights, Love and Monsters, and 65.

I know I shouldn’t be surprised. I first met Ariana at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards. I was wearing a tragic sweater that didn’t fit, paired with an equally regrettable belt, pants, and loafer combo, and she was in a stunning Balmain dress. I saw her waving, and after a few seconds of looking around in confusion, I realized she was gesturing at me. Since then, we’ve traded countless memes, voice notes, and Instagram DMs, becoming a very online version of close friends.

Maybe that’s where my nerves are coming from—from bringing our virtual friendship into this IRL setting, collaborating on a story for a 60-year-old print magazine. Regardless, getting to document this moment in her life feels like an honor and also like a mirror. Held up to not only myself but to an entire generation that’s been stumbling through what it’s like to grow up and live online. We scroll endlessly, searching for validation in Likes and replies, and feel the sting of silence when a post doesn’t land. Every update feels like a confession and a performance, a way of being seen and hiding at the same time. We can only guess at what this all means for the rest of our lives, but at least all of us—you, me, Ariana—are in it together.

I want to start with friendship. How, as an always-working actor, do you make friends?

Weirdly enough, my comfortable, happy place is on set, where I can make friends in a day.

So you bonded with your Now You See Me: Now You Don’t costars?

The whole cast are my favorite people in the world, especially Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa. Dominic and I were next-door neighbors when we were filming in Budapest. He would usually wrap later than me, so I’d make him mac and cheese and leave it in his house for him. For some reason, I was always making sure he was eating. Justice is like an older brother to me. There were so many times when I was like, “I don’t know what this scene means,” and he’d really sit with me and break it down. Jesse [Eisenberg] has always been one of my favorite actors, and he couldn’t be sweeter. Dave Franco was truly another mentor of mine.

Does having all these new people in your life make it harder to keep up with your old friends?

I got massive FOMO when filming Now You See Me: Now You Don’t because I was so far away from my friends at home in L.A. I’d just bombard them with, “What am I missing? What was fun that I didn’t get to do?” Luckily, I was allowed visitors on set. My best friend Heaven came to Budapest to visit me and I sobbed into her arms.

Was it a surprise visit?

I was in my bed watching YouTube by myself, feeling lonely. Then she walked into my room!

That’s so special. Because this is Cosmopolitan’s Online Issue, I want to ask what you remember about your life before social media?

I miss the few years when I didn’t have social media.¹ Growing up, it felt natural to want all the apps and to be on top of every trend. When I was on the Disney Channel,² actually, they were like, “You need social media,” and my dad didn’t let me.

^{1. Ariana was born in August 2007, when MySpace was the reigning social media platform and YouTube was quickly becoming the place for video content.}

^{2. She played Daphne Diaz, the youngest of seven siblings on the popular show Stuck in the Middle.}

So Disney was the reason you got social media?

I technically got social media when I was 7, but I didn’t talk to the app. I didn’t control or look at it until I wanted to be perceived as cool, probably when I was 13. But then I eventually hit a point where I thought, I don’t know if this is actually benefiting me. I deleted TikTok off my phone a week ago after having to wean myself off of it.

Social media is a drug.

It’s fully a drug. I deleted TikTok because of its algorithm and because I’ve never really had a healthy relationship with knowing when to turn it off. I’ll see one thing about me, I’ll click the blue comment,³ and suddenly I’m scrolling through a feed of posts that are all negative. I’ll go from having a great day to seeing five videos and truly feeling sick to my stomach—the rest of the day is ruined. It’s crazy how one scroll can completely change my mood and even the physical state of my body.

^{3. A TikTok feature that highlights in blue certain comments that the app turns into clickable links to related content.}

How do you cope?

I talk to my brother, Gavin. He doesn’t have anyone talking about him, and he really kind of boils it down to “This is not real.” At first, I deactivated my main account⁴ and just had my private account to see what my friends were posting. But videos of me started sneaking into that, too.

^{4. Ariana’s “main” TikTok account was a verified, public one that millions of people could interact with (for reference, she currently has 4.1 million followers on Instagram).}

What is the difference, to you, between TikTok and Instagram? You have deleted one but still have the other.

With TikTok, the negative comments go to the top, but I have to work a lot harder to find negative things on Instagram. I love posting on Instagram Stories. Creatively, I like creating stuff like that. I have so much content from Now You See Me: Now You Don’t that everyone’s going to be so sick of it. I’m going to be spamming uncontrollably.

How has this all influenced your career?

I found myself caring so much about how I look because social media takes scenes I’ve acted in and edits them. That’s the last thing you need in acting, all of the extra opinions. There’s a negative term online for absolutely everything. “Instagram Face”⁵ is the latest I’ve seen.

^{5. Coined by New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino, the term refers to a specific, homogenized aesthetic that’s typically the result of Facetune or popular cosmetic procedures.}

Do you have a lot of close peers who can relate?

The majority of my friends aren’t connected to this industry. I only have one who’s close to my age, and she’s the kindest soul ever.⁶ She always tells me: “That’s the job.” She kind of spells it out. But I’m a big overthinker, so I can easily see something and allow it to take over my body.

^{6. Ariana is likely referring to actor India Fowler. The two met while filming the May 2025 movie Fear Street: Prom Queen.}

At what age did you realize that acting was a choice and you had free will over your career?

Two years ago. I used to just be excited and I never thought of it as a job. I mean, there are moments on set, like at a night shoot where we’re wrapping at 7 a.m. and my body is telling me I might die. But I also love it. And when brands started to notice my existence,⁷ I was like, Whoa. I now have a responsibility to keep this up. There’s a strategy behind it all.

^{7. In 2024, Coach chose Ariana to star in its major Coachtopia campaign.}

Well, you are L’Oréal’s youngest ambassador ever.

I had a meeting with them right around when Barbie came out. I was like, Oh my god, I get to talk about beauty and makeup and how this generation feels about it. It helped me realize that I have a big responsibility to be the right role model for this demographic. It’s not just doing an Instagram post. It matters. These commercials matter. They are what I grew up watching. They are what I have been exposed to my whole life.

It’s interesting when you feel like younger people look up to you and you don’t necessarily fully know who you are. I’m 25, and I have no idea who I am.

I feel like probably until I’m in my 20s, I’m not going to fully know who I am. I just watched interviews back from even five months ago and I’m like, Wow, I’m a completely different person now. And I was so sure in that interview that that was who I was. Now every video I post becomes a file for other people to use to reinforce another idea of what type of person I am.

Are there any people you admire for the way they handle all this?

My mom or, lowkey, Zendaya. Zendaya is just all around unproblematic and awesome. I look at Zendaya and I’m like, You’ve got your shit together. But I feel like every time I’m in any situation without my mom, I always ask myself, What would she do? And whatever I think she would do ends up being the right thing. That’s always a good little moral compass to have.

What about Billie Eilish? Has she given you good advice? I know you’re close from working on Barbie.

She didn’t necessarily give advice, but I think just seeing her live her life…how the people around her give her so much joy. She’s definitely, throughout everything, found her bubble. She’s figured out how to differentiate what she truly cares about and then just lets everything else go. And she’s inspiring because after all the years she’s been in public and despite everything that comes with that, she still remains such a light person.

When did you learn fear?

I’ve always been aware of it. But when I’m in environments with other teenagers, I immediately fall into fight or flight. I went to a couple house parties and they all sucked. I had the constant paranoia of phones being out and me looking stupid. I got paralyzed with fear. And also just knowing how other teens treat each other. I’d be in a group and they’d show me their phones, how they made an Instagram account about a person….⁸

^{8. Ariana is talking about “ship” or “gossip girl” accounts that feature people without their permission and generally post negative sentiments.}

You can’t help but think, What’s going to stop you from doing that to me?

Exactly. I never wanted to be near anything that could look bad because I’m not the type of person that indulges, generally. My brain goes: Okay, I could be near a bottle of alcohol, and they could Photoshop the bottle of alcohol into my hand. And then that goes online, and then I let down young girls. So I never had the freedom to enjoy those types of parties. I did go because I wanted to see what it was about. But in the back of my mind, I was always looking at where their phones were.

What about at school?

Well, they’d film me in school.

I’m sorry.

The paranoia of seeing things afterward….You weren’t even aware you were being listened to or watched. That’s what really freaked me out. In response, I’ve tried to be six steps ahead, which then just ruins whatever vibe I’m on. That’s also why I hate social media. It’s like, I don’t want to see what possibly could be put out there.

When did you understand this concept of being perceived?

Not until I was 14.

Do you remember why something shifted?

Video edits. I was like, What? These people take the videos I put out and they make something with it? And then when people would say, “You’re cool” or “I like this,” I realized people have an opinion on how I behave. I thought that was interesting.

My friend sent me a TikTok that was a compilation of me wearing these jeans 25 million times. I’m like, “Okay, I’m sorry I wear the clothes I like.” I’d never wear that outfit again now, but those jeans, I love them. I don’t think I’ll ever not wear them, and people make fun of me for it.

Do you feel like time moves quickly in your life?

Whenever my age gets brought up, I’m like, “There’s no fucking way I’m 18.” What? I’ve only been here 18 years? I’m not 80? When I think of my actual age and how I view other 18-year-olds, I’m not that.

You’re probably also thinking about how you’re perceived because that’s what you’re used to.

I think I’ll always be thinking about that. I just love people so much and having conversations with people so much that the last thing I would want is for them to think something negative. But you can’t control that. I need to just alert myself that I can’t control everything and that’s okay. And I don’t want to be so self-indulgent in what people think of me or how I look. I feel like my mental health is getting the slightest bit better not seeing a bunch of stuff all the time.

What era of your life would you say that you’re in right now?

I’m trying to think about things in a more adult-ish way. I’m trying to break through my anxiety of socializing. I’m actively trying to not just be a hermit crab in my room, doomscrolling.

I’m trying to give myself more freedom to figure stuff out and try new things. I love my job so much right now and I cherish every ounce of time that I get to do it. I’m in the era of trying to soak in everything and trying to have more fun.

I couldn’t relate more. What should we do after we finish our lunch?

We should talk shit. And then I’ll go home and watch some of my favorite comforting YouTubers.

(Title image) All clothing Miu Miu, earrings Cartier, bag Marc Jacobs. (Cover image) Jacket and top Burberry, bra, garter belt, and underwear Fleur du Mal, stockings Calzedonia, watch Cartier, ring Jade Ruzzo.

Styled by Brandon Tan. Hair by Marc Mena for Great Lengths. Makeup by Stevie Huynh for L’Oréal Paris. Manicure by Julie Kandalec for Morgan Taylor. Production by The Morrison Group. Shot on location at The Bowery Hotel.

“Cosmo Goes Deep” video, director and senior producer: Lucy Dolan-Zalaznick. Supervising cinematographer: Derrick Woodard. Cinematographer: Alvah Holmes. Editor: Ben Townsend. Producer: Ali Buchalter. Associate producer: Jessica Lee.

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