“It’s my dream trajectory”: Hayes Warner on how a handwritten letter landed her a debut role in Ryan Murphy’s The Shards
Musician and actor Hayes Warner on the letter that landed her a leading role in Ryan Murphy’s The Shards.
The musician-to-actor pipeline is becoming increasingly common. Charli xcx brought a slice of Brat’s success to our screens in her A24 film The Moment, and Phoebe Bridgers, Adele and Billie Eilish are all currently gearing up to make their on-screen debuts. But, for Hayes Warner the story goes a little differently.
The 27-year-old’s passion for both music and acting was nurtured in tandem as she attended Northwestern University for their musical theatre program. A publishing deal kickstarted the American artist’s music career, which took off with hits such as Predator, Oh! and Zip, plus a Lollapalooza appearance in 2024. Behind the scenes, however, Warner built on her acting chops by taking classes and auditions. That work has recently culminated in Warner landing her debut role in a show from horror’s modern-day king, Ryan Murphy.
After a failed audition for The Shards – Murphy’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s semi-autobiographical novel – Warner determinedly sent a letter to the writer and producer to plead her case. The handwritten exchange with the legendary film and TV mind, explaining her deep connection to the character of Debbie Schaffer and Ryan’s work, would ultimately land Warner a leading role in his latest horror. Warner joins Kaia Gerber, Homer Gere and Igby Rigney in leading Murphy’s latest murderous project. Across 9 episodes, currently rolling out on Disney+, Warner brings preppy it-girl Shaffer to life as she, along with her peers from LA’s 80s elite, attempt to outrun a faceless serial killer hiding in plain sight. It’s haunting, visceral and disturbing: all the ingredients that make up the perfect Ryan Murphy flick. Warner’s compelling acting debut doesn’t mean she’s abandoned her first career, however. Working with the likes of pop sensation Troye Sivan, Warner contributed original songs to The Shards soundtrack.
During the show’s rollout, Hayes Warner joined EE72 from LA to talk about forming a real-life bond with The Shards’ cast, the advice Ryan Murphy bestowed upon them from his Chateau Marmont hideout, and bagging her dream role…
Where are you right now?
I just got back to LA. We had the LA premiere yesterday.
The premieres look like so much fun! Are you having a good time?
Yeah, it’s so fun. We’re all so close, so it really felt like a work trip with friends.
Did you guys get any pre-filming bonding time or did this relationship form on set?
Honestly, we didn’t realise how important the bonding we were doing was to our first scene on set. I remember we met like a month before shooting, and we all sat down at a dive bar. I remember being like, ‘Wow, Ryan Murphy is really good at casting.’ I could see each person’s character in them. But I was also like, ‘Oh, damn, I love everyone here.’ We just ended up hanging out. It wasn’t even for the show. We all liked each other, and we became a friend group. When the first day of shooting happened, Ryan came over and was like, ‘I want you guys to improv,’ which was so scary for the first day of shooting with Ryan watching, when you could still get fired. I think that you can see our friendship through the screen in that scene.
Do you have any stand-out moments with the cast from filming?
I think one of my favourites was when Ryan texted us in the middle of shooting and was like, ‘Let’s do a group dinner.’ We all went to Chateau Marmont where he has his writer’s room. It was so fab, and we were just sitting around this table and he was like, “I’m gonna show you guys the pilot.” We sat around his old laptop, which had a broken speaker, with our drinks at Chateau watching this with Ryan.
It’s clear working with Ryan meant a lot to you. Can you tell me a bit about watching the modern-day king of horror in action?
I don’t think people realise how funny he is and what a good hang he is. He’s a genius. We all got dinner with him last night, and we were just chatting, having fun and laughing about life. I think when you have that energy on set, and that’s the person guiding you, you feel so comfortable…At the same time, he directed so many of these episodes, and watching how his mind works is incredible. He has such attention to detail. Nothing goes unnoticed, and he can embody a character and act like them. He sees everything across every department and is heavily involved. That’s why he’s so good at world-building.
PHOTOGRAPHY JONNY MARLOW
This is your acting debut, following a successful music career. Has acting always been something at the forefront of your mind?
I love music so much because I grew up doing musical theatre. I’m a dancer, and I’ve been dancing and acting my whole life, and I’ve done theatre and plays. I’ve taken many, many acting classes, and I went to school for acting. Music, singing and songwriting grew from my love of that. The three were always intertwined. I fell in love with songwriting and signed a publishing deal, so I got to really dive into writing my songs, writing for other artists and performing. But acting has always been there. I’ve worked so hard on acting. So many of my favourite artists, people that I look up to, do more than just sing and perform, you know? For me, it just made so much sense. It’s my dream trajectory.
I’ve worked so hard on acting. So many of my favourite artists, people that I look up to, do more than just sing and perform, you know? For me, it just made so much sense. It’s my dream trajectory.
THE SHARDS STILL
You’re living the dream! Do you think that background in your songwriting and music informed how you approached your acting debut in such a major show?
A lot, actually. I’ve done a lot of touring, and I think with touring, you can do as much prep as you want, but when you get up on stage, you have to be in the moment, and there’s nothing you can do. Every stage is so drastically different. I’ve had to adjust and be on my feet. I think that has really informed how I act.
Do you see a world in which music and acting come together?
The way that it happened in The Shards is honestly a dream. I wrote two songs for the show that are coming out. Troye Sivan also has a lot of original music in the show, so I got to work with one of my dream collaborators. It’s been so life-changing and he’s such an inspiration to me. I got to write songs from my character’s perspective, which was amazing and crazy. It’s coming out in a few months, and then I’ll release my independent music project.
Wow, it’s literally your dream project!
It was. That’s why I was so crazy about getting it.
Did you go to crazy lengths to get the role?
I wrote Ryan a letter to get the part. Originally, I did four auditions, met him all these times, and then they let all of the Debbies go. They were like, ‘We don’t know what we want for Debbie yet.’ Then we all got drinks at a bar, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, it’s not meant to be.’ And I was like, ‘I need this role.’ So I wrote him a letter, and he gave me another chance with notes, once he knew what they wanted. Then I got the role, and I had to move to LA. I was in the middle of the tour. It was chaos. But I wanted it so bad. I would have done anything.
I wrote Ryan a letter to get the part. Originally, I did four auditions, met him all these times, and then they let all of the Debbies go. They were like, ‘We don’t know what we want for Debbie yet.’ Then we all got drinks at a bar, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, it’s not meant to be.’ And I was like, ‘I need this role.
HAYES WARNER
@hayeswarner
Can I ask you what you said in the letter?
I just told him how important this project was to me. I said, between the book and his work, I was so passionate about this project that I would drop anything for it. I explained how much I wanted to play Debbie and how much the character meant to me. He gave me a note during the original audition that I didn’t really understand, and I didn’t ask him for clarification because I didn’t want to ruin my chance. I admitted that in the letter and said if he ever wanted to see me again, I would love some notes. He sent me more notes, but like a month later. I’d accepted that I didn’t get the role. I went on tour, and then it came back around.
That is a very inspiring story. Everyone should write more letters, clearly.
I know, honestly. He wrote me a letter back, actually, two weeks into shooting. It said, ‘I just want you to know that this role was so yours and so right for you.’ But he said, ‘Always lead with passion and writing that letter really helped.’
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