Emily Bader Thinks We Should Ask More of Rom-Coms – Jimmy Star’s World

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When casting news first broke in August 2024 for the Netflix adaptation of Emily Henry’s enormously popular slow-burn romance novel People We Meet on Vacation, the internet went wild. After months of anticipation, we finally had our first look at Poppy and Alex, the friends-to-lovers duo that captivated so many readers. It wasn’t long before the name Emily, as in actress Emily Bader, started trending on X. With Henry’s stamp approval and an overwhelmingly positive response from fans, Bader could breathe a massive sigh of relief. She had overcome the first hurdle.

“As a book fan myself, it’s always this kind of impossible thing,” Bader tells me from her hotel room. “Everyone is always going to imagine these characters in a way that’s completely unique and specific to them.”

Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature lying on the floor of a bedroom. She is talking on a retro phone with a tennis ball in her other hand, and her feet are perched up on a metal frame bed. She is wearing a Chloe t-shirt with a flamingo on the front and a pink silk skirt.

(Image credit: Alex Harper; Wardrobe: Chloé look and bag)

It’s early December, and already, Bader has begun the press run for People We Meet on Vacation. A few days before our interview, the actress, along with costar Tom Blyth (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) and director Brett Haley, crashed the first fan screening at Prytania Theatre in New Orleans, where a packed audience cheered on in excitement. The response, once again, was overwhelmingly positive. The second hurdle was crossed.

The last hurdle will be pleasing the larger Netflix audience when the film debuts on January 9 on the streamer.

Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature sitting on the floor of a bedroom playing with a poodle who is licking her face. She is wearing a Chloe t-shirt with a pink flamingo on the front and a pink silk skirt.Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature sitting on the floor of a bedroom playing with a poodle who is licking her face. She is wearing a Chloe t-shirt with a pink flamingo on the front and a pink silk skirt.

(Image credit: Alex Harper; Wardrobe: Chloé look and bag)

Many know Bader from her breakout role in the Amazon Prime Video series My Lady Jane, the 16th-century rom-com that was canceled too soon after only one season, which stirred up backlash from passionate fans and online campaigns to save the show. It was a heartbreaking moment for the actress, who made lifelong friends while working on the project. “Jane was a dream for me,” she says. “Riding a horse in a custom corset gown down the ramps of Dover Castle in England, a place I’d never been, is fantasy.” The disappointment from not being able to continue Jane’s story was hard to shake for Bader, but the fan response was comforting in its wake. “Knowing that people will take these characters with them makes it all worth it,” she adds.

Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature lying on the floor of a bedroom talking on the phone. She is wearing a Chloe t-shirt with pink flamingo on the front and a pink silk skirt. There is a pull quote in the top left corner that reads, "I feel so much of myself in Poppy."Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature lying on the floor of a bedroom talking on the phone. She is wearing a Chloe t-shirt with pink flamingo on the front and a pink silk skirt. There is a pull quote in the top left corner that reads, "I feel so much of myself in Poppy."

(Image credit: Alex Harper; Wardrobe: Chloé look and bag)

As they say, when one door closes, another “exciting film opportunity” door opens.

While abroad working on another project, Bader received an email from her team saying Haley wanted to talk to her about a film he was directing. “That was a first for me, to just go straight into a conversation,” Bader says. “For every actor, that’s something you dream about.” She met Haley on a Zoom call, where he talked her through the character. They aligned pretty quickly on the vision for Poppy, and Bader tells me her initial instinct with the character is exactly how she did it in the film.

Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature standing on the front lawn of a home. She is wearing a striped cardigan with wide-leg trousers.Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature standing on the front lawn of a home. She is wearing a striped cardigan with wide-leg trousers.

(Image credit: Alex Harper; Wardrobe: Veronica Beard top and pants)

“I feel so much of myself in Poppy,” Bader says. “She’s audacious and excitable and enigmatic in a way that I’ve dulled those parts of myself in the past. She’s very playful. I always feel like maybe actors have a childishness in them, and I sometimes feel that way. I’m very easily excitable about everything.” While tapping into this side of Poppy was more intuitive for Bader, how confident Poppy is in her personality was more of a stretch for the actress. “I really think my favorite thing about her is that she knows who she is, and it’s one of her biggest fears that she’s unable to change. She just can’t. It’s who she is in every fiber of her being. I have been able to hide those parts of myself more, and I’ve been more insecure in those parts of myself. I’m loud and very talkative, and I think as a young woman that is not always loved by everyone. She takes up so much space in a way that I was really inspired by,” she continues.

Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature lying on the grass. She is running her hand through her hair and wearing a striped cardigan.Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature lying on the grass. She is running her hand through her hair and wearing a striped cardigan.

(Image credit: Alex Harper; Wardrobe: Veronica Beard top and pants)

Pull quote from Emily Bader's In Focus feature for Who What Wear that reads, "I think character-driven slice-of-life, romantic movies will always be loved and are having a resurgence, and a little more attention is coming back to them."Pull quote from Emily Bader's In Focus feature for Who What Wear that reads, "I think character-driven slice-of-life, romantic movies will always be loved and are having a resurgence, and a little more attention is coming back to them."

(Image credit: Future)

Before Poppy could officially be Bader’s, though, it was important that she and Blyth, who had already been cast as Alex, had that undeniable chemistry. The two met for the first time via Zoom with everyone—Haley, the producers, the casting director, and even Henry—on the call. “The presence was felt,” Bader says with a laugh. “It was really just ‘I better not screw this up.’” A chemistry read over Zoom is not ideal, but as Bader tells me, “you just really try to reach through the camera the best you can and pray that your Wi-Fi doesn’t absolutely ruin the opportunity for you.” It was over after an hour, and then the dreaded waiting game started. But Bader had a good feeling coming out of it. “I really felt it worked so well with Tom, with Brett, with everyone, so I was having a hard time letting go,” she tells me. Luckily, the stars aligned—pretty quickly at that.

Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature. Top image: She is seen leaning up against a floral print wall putting on her shoe. Bottom image: She is sitting on the floor up against the wall. In both images she is wearing a blazer jacket over a printed blouse and brown shorts.Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature. Top image: She is seen leaning up against a floral print wall putting on her shoe. Bottom image: She is sitting on the floor up against the wall. In both images she is wearing a blazer jacket over a printed blouse and brown shorts.

(Image credit: Alex Harper; Wardrobe: Fendi jacket, shirt, and shorts; vintage Boujee shoes)

Back at the New Orleans fan screening, Haley spoke onstage about the current state of rom-coms and his belief that the genre should be considered cinema. I asked Bader a similar question, and she doubled down on the director’s sentiment, saying, “There’s an energy in the air of people really wanting more of the classic rom-com.” Bader is adamant that rom-coms have a serious place in an audience’s mind, and for that reason, we can and should ask more from them. She continues, “I think character-driven slice-of-life, romantic movies will always be loved and are having a resurgence, and a little more attention is coming back to them. They’re not always going to be on the ‘Letterboxd four,’ but if we’re being honest with ourselves, they’re the movies we’re watching the most. … Every year, you sit down with your loved ones, and it’s like, ‘Oh, that movie is on halfway through. I’m putting it on immediately.’”

Among Bader’s favorites are French Kiss with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, Overboard with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, and Pretty Woman. “I can’t even say When Harry Met Sally,” she sighs, “because it’s Tom’s absolute favorite movie. He’s claimed it.”

Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature sitting on the front porch of a house. She is looking off camera holding up her legs wearing a white blouse with ruffle shorts.Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature sitting on the front porch of a house. She is looking off camera holding up her legs wearing a white blouse with ruffle shorts.

(Image credit: Alex Harper; Wardrobe: Rebecca Taylor sweater; Outcast shorts)

Already, 2026 is shaping up to be a big year for Bader. People We Meet on Vacation kicks things off on a high note, and she tells me she has a few projects that she can’t quite speak on yet that will hopefully be landing soon. Come November, she will turn 30. I bring up the big birthday, and she rolls her eyes, explaining her disdain for birthdays in general. That said, she tells me she is actually excited for her 30s and what this next decade will bring.

Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature sitting on the front steps of a house. With her chin resting on her right hand, she is wearing a white sweater with white ruffle shorts and pink heels. Next to the image is a pull quote that reads, "The reason I love this job is because there's no ceiling that exists, and it always feels like I'm just at the beginning of everything."Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature sitting on the front steps of a house. With her chin resting on her right hand, she is wearing a white sweater with white ruffle shorts and pink heels. Next to the image is a pull quote that reads, "The reason I love this job is because there's no ceiling that exists, and it always feels like I'm just at the beginning of everything."

(Image credit: Alex Harper; Wardrobe: Rebecca Taylor sweater; Outcast shorts; Steve Madden shoes)

For as long as Bader can remember, acting has always been her number one priority. She never imagined doing anything else when she was young. While most kids play doctor and teacher or dream of being a zoologist or astronaut, Bader was pretending to be characters from Hayao Miyazaki films. “All of his films have these really dynamic young female leads. I would just watch those movies on repeat,” she says. Though she says she had no reason to think she could be an actor at all (“I had always done community theater poorly”), it felt like there was no other option for her. Her parents were supportive as long as she was 18, and from that moment on, it was never a second thought.

Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature lying on a wire frame bed with floral bedding. She is wearing a striped tank top with brocade briefs and white heels.Emily Bader is photographed for Who What Wear's In Focus feature lying on a wire frame bed with floral bedding. She is wearing a striped tank top with brocade briefs and white heels.

(Image credit: Alex Harper; Wardrobe: Rachel Comey top and shorts; Malone Souliers shoes)

“I love acting more than anything when it comes to how I want to spend my time,” she says. As she prepares to enter her 30s, Bader is looking forward to being terrified and doesn’t want to find herself getting comfortable. “The reason I love this job is because there’s no ceiling that exists, and it always feels like I’m just at the beginning of everything,” she explains. “It always feels like a new chapter is opening. … I want to dive headfirst into whatever this world has to offer me.”

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