A programmer trapped in a Star Trek–inspired digital simulation created by her boss, an apathetic wedding guest who gets sucked into a time loop after stumbling into a magical cave in the desert, a suburban soccer mom who finds herself down an online conspiracy rabbit hole, an impressionable woman on the run after discovering her tech-billionaire husband implanted a monitoring device in her brain—Cristin Milioti’s acting résumé reads like a series of bizarre comedy sketches, and that’s on purpose.
If you are thinking Milioti has a certain affinity for the absurd, you’d be right. She thrives in a fantastical world, no matter how outlandish it may be, and commits to her characters full-throttle, making her an utter delight to watch on screen. Subverting expectations at every turn, she’s earned both critical praise and fanfare for her performances in projects like How I Met Your Mother, Black Mirror, and last year’s summer hit Palm Springs, but it’s her most recent turn in the HBO Max series Made for Love that has Emmy nom written all over it. Based on the novel by Alissa Nutting, the oddball dark comedy presents a perhaps not-so-distant reality of technology-influenced utopianism. Milioti plays Hazel, a woman desperately trying to regain her independence after escaping a suffocating 10-year marriage. There’s only one big problem: She has a chip implanted in her brain that allows her husband to watch and analyze her every move and thought. Milioti sucks you in from the moment we meet Hazel, bursting out of a hatch in the desert, soaking wet and barefoot in an emerald sequin cocktail dress, makeup running down her face, and takes us on an enthralling ride all the way to the end. It’s a performance that should not be missed.
Ahead of the show’s final episodes, I jumped on the phone with the actress to talk about her attraction to the bizarre, her complicated relationship with technology, and the story behind that perfect green dress.
