Sophie Thatcher in Bathing Suit is Living the Dream

Sophie Thatcher is having a moment—a big one! As one of the breakout stars of the Showtime series Yellowjackets, the 21-year-old Chicagoan plays teen Natalie, a mullet-headed tough who’s more vulnerable than she looks (particularly in adulthood, when she’s ravaged by secrets and addictions, and played by Juliette Lewis). Then over on Disney+, Thatcher plays a “sci-fi Joan Jett” on The Book of Boba Fett; she even gets a space motorcycle. What’s her take on all this Internet fodder—and how does she keep it together? (One way is by taking a mental vacation; this weekend, she posted images of herself in a bathing suit listening to Brian Eno’s “On Some Faraway Beach.”) Read on to see 5 ways Sophie Thatcher is living in the moment and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

1. She Learned a Lot While Filming Yellowjackets During a Pandemic

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“I was a teenager when we shot the Yellowjackets pilot. I was 19. It was pre-Covid; it was pre a lot of stuff. When we came back to shoot the season, we all kind of felt like different people because Covid had hit. Inevitably, people changed and learned a lot, while some changed for the better and some changed for the worse. I’m not saying the cast; I’m just saying in general. But all of us learned a lot through this period of time,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.

2. It Was Overwhelming at First

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“It was a little overwhelming after staying at home, not doing anything, being lazy and a little bit depressed. Then suddenly, I knew that I wouldn’t have any time off, and I didn’t, really. So yes, I shot the Yellowjackets pilot first, Boba Fett second and then season one after Boba Fett,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.

3. Some of the Similarities Between Her and Lewis Were Kismet

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Some of the similarities between her and Lewis are unintentional. "I've dug pretty deep in Reddit, everyone's like, 'Oh, like, my hair looks like her hair in Natural Born Killers,'" Thatcher told Thrillist. "Everyone doesn't know if it's intentional or not. I don't think it was, because I just had that blonde mullet at the time, and decided to go with it, but maybe it is. Honestly, there's so many theories that could be true, I have no idea what's going to happen next."

4. She’s Not Some Antisocial Rebel in Real Life

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Despite playing tough women on The Book of Boba Fett and Yellowjackets, Thatcher reminds you she’s just acting. "I'm so not that," she told Thrillist. "I'm not that at all, but I can act. I got cast into that world pretty quickly, because of my outward appearance, and how I present myself, and my taste. So casting directors immediately thought of me that way. I think that's interesting, but I really don't want to be stuck in that. I just want to explore."

5. She Had to Get Physical on Tatooine

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Her first day on the Boba set, she had to stab a Wookie. “That was my first day on set! I was horrified! I hadn’t had a physical role where I have to show strength within my physicality. So a lot of it was stunt stuff, and I had to get really comfortable with my body. I guess it wasn’t a lot of stunt stuff, but I’m not used to it at all. Even doing a little ducking and moving around and getting the right steps was really stressful for me. I’m not the most coordinated person, so I had to do a lot of physical acting. On the first day, I was like, “I just have to fake this.” I felt silly a lot of the time, but then I got to a point where I was like, ‘If I can fake the confidence, then people will believe me.’ And I haven’t had to push myself to do that in so long. So if I believed I looked cool, then it usually sold. But her cool blade was a nice touch, a nice accessory, and the bikes were insane,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.

6. She Had to Delete Some Social Media During Boba’s Premiere

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“There’s obviously a lot of pressure going into something with the biggest fanbase of all time. So I had to delete Twitter and Reddit because I didn’t want to look at anything… It’s inevitable that people are going to say what they want, but I’m really happy with how it turned out. I play a really cool character. I’ve been getting funny comments as people say I look like Julian Casablancas, Nina Hagen or Joan Jett. Basically, they say I look like anyone with a mullet, which is funny,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.