IN CONVERSATION WITH PIPER CURDA

interview by JANA LETONJA

Piper Curda steps into a dazzling new chapter as the lead voice of HOPPERS, Disney-Pixar’s groundbreaking 2026 film, releasing on March 6th, that imagines a world where human consciousness can “hop” into lifelike robotic animals, unlocking an entirely new frontier of communication between species. As Mabel, Piper guides audiences through a mystery-filled, emotionally rich adventure alongside a star-studded cast that includes Jon Hamm, Meryl Streep, and Dave Franco. Known for her acclaimed turn in Todd Haynes’ May December and roles across The Morning Show, Matlock, Legacies and more, Piper now brings her range, humor, and heart to a film poised to become one of Pixar’s boldest stories yet.

How did you first learn about HOPPERS, and what was your reaction when you found out you’d be leading a Pixar film? 

When I first auditioned for HOPPERS, I had almost zero information about it. They were using a codename and the part of the email that usually gives you a run down of the plot and/or your character said, “Details under wraps.” I had to sign an NDA just to see a script that also gave me little to no context. All I knew is that it was for Pixar, and that was all I needed to know. Meeting Daniel Chong, the director, and the rest of the team just sealed the deal. Whatever the project ended up being, I was in.

Finding out I got the role went a little differently than it probably did for most, primarily because I was told two weeks prior that I had, unfortunately, not gotten the part. So I was on the couch in my apartment in Chicago with my best friend, thinking about quitting acting  forever, when my agent called me and asked if I was sitting down. My friend and I ordered Milk Bar to celebrate and I got teary-eyed over a slice of crack pie about getting to play someone who looked like me in the Pixar universe.

Pixar is known for world-building. What struck you most about the HOPPERS universe when you read the script? 

So fun fact, I actually never got to and still have yet to read the full script of HOPPERS. That’s how locked up Pixar is about their IP, which I totally get, because they’re Pixar. But that’s something people might not know. Until I saw the finished product when they screened it for me a couple months ago, I literally did not know how the movie ended. That being said, I got glimpses of the script and of who Mabel is in the scenes I got to read for my auditions and in the recording sessions, and the most fun part about it is the way it all jumps off the page. Pixar is so good at getting you to care about the characters and their stories and it’s because they paint with such vibrant colors and utilize rich emotions. Right away, you know who Mabel is and what the world around her means to her, and so much of that is owed to Daniel and his phenomenal brain.

The film centers on a future where humans can “hop” their consciousness into robotic animals. How did you connect with that concept emotionally or philosophically? 

I mean, I’m an actor. My career might be the closest you get in this life to spiritually “hopping” for a living. You sort of occupy a different body, in a sense, when you play different characters. But you could get even more basic than that. Hasn’t everyone wanted to be able to talk to their pets? Or know what it’s like to be them? It didn’t feel like a difficult concept for me to connect to and I think if everyone else is honest with themselves, then it won’t be for them either.

What aspects of Mabel’s arc—curiosity, bravery, vulnerability—felt closest to your own personality? 

I’ve always been told I care too much. Even my dad tells me that, and it’s never really been anything on which I’ve been able to get a handle. I’ve also been told it’s a “superpower,” but I’m still waiting to reap those long-term benefits. I think that’s where Mabel and I intersect, though. She cares so much, maybe some would say too much, and there are times where it seems to work against her, but it’s also what drives her. Everything she does, even the more questionable things, she does because she cares deeply and doesn’t know what else to do about it. I can relate to that on a devastating level, and it was cool to tap into a character that felt like it understood a part of me that most people don’t.

Voice acting requires a different kind of performance discipline. What surprised you most about the process? 

With voice acting, while you’re recording, the entirety of the world you’re playing in and the character you’re emulating has to come from inside of you, from your voice. There is no hair, makeup or wardrobe to help you get into or make you feel like the character. There are no other actors with energies to feed off of or play against. There is no set to transport you to a different place or time. It has to all be in your head and it has to all come from your voice. That’s something I’m wildly unfamiliar with, and it took a while for me to feel like I was doing it well or even correctly. That was surprising for me, feeling like I didn’t know how to do my job. They didn’t fire me, though, so I had to be doing something right.

The film raises big questions about what it means to be human. Did working on it shift how you think about empathy or connection? 

Not to brag, but empathy has never been a difficult concept for me. Or, maybe it has, but in an opposite way than you’d think. I have too much of it, I think. I feel too much, care too much, it’s all just too much all the time. But Mabel is like that too. I’ve never gotten to play a character that wrestles with their feelings as much as I do and feels so weighed down by them sometimes. 

Being able to access that part of me and lend it to my performance was really therapeutic in a way, maybe even freeing. When we were recording the emotional climax of the film, I was just full-on weeping in that booth, letting it all out because it was real and raw and that’s probably the one part of the movie that is more Piper than it is Mabel.

You share the film with icons like Meryl Streep and Jon Hamm. What was it like contributing your voice to a cast of that caliber? 

I mean, up to this point, it has all felt very cosmic and almost fake. I haven’t met any of those people yet so it sort of just sounds like a joke that people keep telling and I don’t understand why no one is laughing. That can’t be real, right? But that’s how so much of this has felt so far, and I hope at no point does my gratitude get lost in the shuffle. The industry has gone through the damn wringer in the last few years, and I feel lucky to be working at all let alone on something of this scale with folks of that stature.

Looking back, what feels like the thread that connects all the roles you’ve chosen so far? 

This is going to sound real “woo woo,” but I genuinely think the thread that connects them all is fate. I think the adage “everything happens for a reason,” is really dumb in like 8/10 circumstances, but the one area of my life I’ve always been able to see it resonate in is my career. Every time I’ve been absolutely and utterly devastated about losing a role that I was so sure was mine, something eventually showed up that made it obvious why it wasn’t meant to be. There was a movie I didn’t get that haunted me for years, but when I was eighteen, I went to college, and if I’d done that movie, then I would’ve had to leave school. That was such an important and formative time for me that I wouldn’t have traded for the world, even for that job. Things have always managed to settle around me in that way, so I truly believe the jobs I do get are “written in the stars,” so to speak.

How do you maintain balance and what keeps you grounded amidst such a busy career? 

The answer will always and forever be 100% my family, both blood and chosen. I’ve taken great care in surrounding myself with people who are able to celebrate my wins and grieve my losses alongside me. Having a support system of folks that aren’t in the industry and couldn’t care less if I wasn’t anymore has also always been a pillar for me. I think it keeps part of my brain rooted in reality, which I appreciate. Also, as of last year, I’ve been doing this now for twenty years. I still feel young, and I know I am, but twenty years is a long time to be doing anything. I think having lived through the highs and the lows and the ebbs and the flows and the strikes and the pandemics of it all has kept me incredibly sober to the fact that your ship can be here one day and gone the next, and that feels like enough to keep anyone grounded.

After leading a Pixar film, what worlds or genres are you most excited to explore next? 

My answer to this question or any type of “what’s next?” query is and always will be, “Anything I haven’t done yet.” I know my bag and I’ll always love returning to characters or genres that I’m comfortable with, but I crave stimulation and novelty and will always want to play in sandboxes I’ve never been in. I haven’t done much in the way of action or fantasy, so I’ll go ahead and throw those flags up.

TEAM CREDITS

talent PIPER CURDA
photography RAUL ROMO
styling AMANDA LIM
hair and makeup CARLEIGH HERBERT
interview JANA LETONJA
editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA