Myra Molloy Is Still A Hopeful Romantic

Myra Molloy is still processing the dream that was making Girls Like Girls. In theaters June 19, Hayley Kiyoko’s feature filmmaking debut — inspired by her book and song of the same name — tells a sapphic coming-of-age romance between it-girl Sonya (Molloy) and quiet, new-in-town Coley (Maya da Costa). While it will put your heart through the wringer, Girls Like Girls is ultimately optimistic about love and identity. Filmed in Kelowna, British Columbia, two summers ago, it was just what Molloy, 28, needed while coming out of a four-and-a-half-year relationship.

“It was actually quite a godly moment,” Molloy tells Bustle over Zoom, recalling a moment where she filmed a fan-favorite scene between Sonya and Coley that — book fans, IYKYK — takes place on the ground outside. “The sun was setting, I’m lying there looking at Maya, everyone’s quiet, and you can hear the nature, and we’re just having that very intimate heart-to-heart conversation as our characters. But even as Myra, I was like, Oh, my goodness, am I being moved?”

Adding to the film’s dreamlike quality is the fact that it takes place in 2006, and while AIM looms large, communication is pleasantly confined to the girls’ bedroom computers. Could the film usher in a low-tech summer? “I get it, look — we all want to be numb sometimes,” she says of the irresistible siren call of our phones. “But let’s not! Let’s just go outside.”

While filming Girls Like Girls, Molloy & co. did just that, with days off spent boating and splashing about Okanagan Lake. “It was what I needed,” she says. “I was going through so much going into the film, personally, that I feel like the experience genuinely healed me.”

Girls Like Girls marks Molloy’s lead screen debut, but she’s already had quite the creative journey. She was born and raised in Bangkok, and her parents encouraged every kind of artistic avenue. A’s were rewarded with new books. (“I’d come back with stacks of YA romance. I’ve always been such a lover girl, and I’ve always been such a hopeful romantic.”) Frequent trips to New York — where her parents previously lived — sparked her love for Broadway. And at home, she dove into every instrument and extracurricular. “My parents were just like, ‘We’ll let you try it all.’ I feel so lucky that they were always down to clown with me, and that’s what sparked it all — the ability to try and fail.”

That versatility would come to define Molloy’s career. In 2011, she won the first season of Thailand’s Got Talent with her singing chops at just 13 years old. That type of exposure didn’t always feel like a fairy tale. “Just knowing you have one take and everyone in the world gets to see it, and then it’s documented on the Internet forever for people to pick apart, haunts me to this day,” she says.

But she credits it with helping to set her path, which included studying at the Berklee College of Music. Now a multi-hyphenate musician, she even composed the score for a moment in the film where a hurt Coley observes Sonya and her on-and-off ex, Trenton. And last summer, Molloy made her Broadway debut as Eurydice in Hadestown.

When I list out the auspicious details of her past two summers, Molloy says she gets chills — her warm enthusiasm infectious. “Hadestown and Girls Like Girls, it’s two very distinct dreams that I remember praying over and just dreaming about,” she says. “Having both of them come true in such a short span — I’m still short-circuiting.”

And she’s not slowing down. Most recently, Molloy joined the ensemble of Untamed Season 2. We’re Zooming at the end of her filming the season in Hawaii, and she’s not too chill to revel in her amazing work location. “That’s why I became an actor, guys!” she laughs.

Learn more about Molloy — and her exquisite taste in rom-coms — in the Bustle Booth questionnaire below.

In The Bustle Booth

What’s your coffee order?

Black, extra hot Americano.

What are the saved weather locations on your phone?

New York, London, Bangkok, Los Angeles, Virginia Beach, Honolulu.

What’s your sign?

Virgo.

Favorite overused movie quote?

I’ve never been able to quote anything verbatim in my entire life. :’)

What was your favorite cartoon as a kid?

Courage the Cowardly Dog.

What’s one movie or TV show you’re currently obsessed with?

If When Harry Met Sally has a million fans, I am one of them. If WHMS has one fan, it’s me. If WHMS has zero fans, I am dead.

Who is your celeb idol?

Larry David.

If you had to be on a reality TV show, what would it be?

The Great British Baking Show.

Go-to karaoke song?

“Someone Like You” by Adele!!!!

What’s something that’s inspiring you lately?

Experiencing nature in Hawaii. <3

What is something you would want people to say about you?

“I can be myself around her.”