Heartbreak High Star Chloe Hayden Shares Her Favourite Ways to Unwind
She’s one of the first autistic actors to portray an autistic character on Australian TV, in Heartbreak High, and now, with her memoir, Different, Not Less: A Neurodivergent’s Guide to Embracing Your True Self and Finding Your Happily Ever After, Chloé Hayden is busier than ever. Here’s how she unwinds.
Right now I’m watching…
Bluey. I’m convinced it’s the best show ever created. When I’m tired or burnt out and I just need to rest, it’s such a nice, easy show. It’s a really gentle, lovely perspective on Australian life and culture. And I mean, I’m not a parent but I think it’s a beautiful representation of parenting and dogs.
I’m listening to…
One Direction. I love listening to Dixieland jazz but my favourite band of all time is One Direction and I’ll die on that hill. I was 14 when they formed and I wasn’t even a One Direction person. I thought, “That’s gross, I’m not into boy bands”, but then I was on Tumblr, I saw this picture of Louis Tomlinson and I was like, “Who is that?” and it was all downhill from there.
The movie I love is…
Okay, so Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is my favourite because it was the first time I ever saw autism represented on screen. None of the characters are specifically, canonically autistic but they showcase all aspects of the autism spectrum in such a beautiful way. It’s a great representation of neurodiversity and the importance of different types of people.
The app I use the most is…
Spotify. I have different playlists for different things. I have my happy playlist. And my sad playlist. And then the playlist that I use when I’m home by myself and I can scream out musical theatre songs when no-one can hear me. I love Matilda the Musical so much, it’s not even funny. I reckon it will probably be in top place of my Spotify wraps this year.
The book I’m reading is…
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevon. My partner, Dylan, who’s a data scientist, picked it up for me because the cover of it is iridescent and sparkly and he’s like, “I don’t even know what this is but she likes sparkles.” It’s a very cleverly written book about two game designers whose lives intersect. They meet as kids and work together as adults. The main character is disabled [after being injured in a car crash] and I think the representation of disability in the book is just really cool.
