Two Steps FORWARD

Ahead of the release of Apple TV+’s comedy-drama Shrinking, Lukita Maxwell opens up about seeing the strength in vulnerability, family and the stories she wants to tell.

- AZRIN TAN

Lukita Maxwell’s first big screen break was HBO’s Genera+ion in 2021, where she played Delilah Faye, the resident Gen Z activist who seemed to have all her wits about her. Just over a year later, the fresh-faced actor is packed and on a flight to Los Angeles—travelling across the country to share screen credits with some of the industry’s most seasoned actors, from Jason Segel to Harrison Ford. The role she’s landed this time around is for Apple TV+’s latest comedy-drama Shrinking, backed by the creators of genre favourite Ted Lasso.

As she goes over the main two personas she’s played thus far—Delilah for Genera+ion and Alice for Shrinking—I see a running thread of what Maxwell shares with her on-screen characters: an overwhelming wealth of strength alongside a veiled softness. “I had a wonderful time playing these strong characters. They’re so multifaceted and multidimensional and being able to not only portray the strength, but also the vulnerability and pain behind all their trials, is really gratifying.”