and clearly I'm not giving tennis pro, right?

Yet.

Hey, I'm Zendaya,

and today I'm going to let "ELLE" ask me anything.

But before we get started,

make sure you check out my cover for "ELLE", out now.

(mellow music)

If I weren't acting, I'd be,

I don't know, I think within the industry

I would be a director,

which is something I hope to do one day.

And I think outside, I feel like I would have

probably followed in the footsteps of my parents

and become a teacher.

I love kids.

I love learning, and I love teaching.

I would love to play a villain of sorts.

Tap into the evil, supervillian vibes.

Whatever that manifests in.

I don't think necessarily in a superhero sense,

I just mean in like a emotional sense.

I feel like I usually play the good guy,

so I'd like to play the bad guy.

My earliest memory of performing was

there was like a school play I auditioned for.

I was incredibly shy, so I'm proud of myself

for even trying to audition.

I must've been like seven or eight years old.

It was "James and the Giant Peach".

I got a non-speaking role.

I was the silk worm, which means that I literally

laid on the stage and did absolutely nothing,

because the silkworm doesn't speak.

But, you know, I feel very proud of that still to this day.

So that was my first role.

You know, listen, no such thing as as small parts.

A memory I could relive over and over.

I'm trying to think of ones I can share

that aren't as personal, you know what I mean?

Because some things, you know, they're my memories.

I like to keep those myself.

I would say the "Emmy" night

that I got to be with my family,

and like go through that with everyone in my home

was really special.

I think I was really stressed,

so I would like to go through it, but not as myself.

More as like maybe like the fly on the wall.

You know, I'd like to watch

from an outside perspective what happened,

and watch my family all there and react.

There was just so much love in the room.

I am the most proud of?

This is some deep questions, guys.

Wait a minute, now.

What am I the most proud of?

I am proud of myself, in general.

I think it's important,

and it's not a bad thing to like pat yourself on the back

and say, "You know what, you did a good job."

I think sometimes that's not always an easy thing to do.

I mean, I struggle with it.

Sometimes I'm so focused, like, "What's the next thing?"

Or being so self-critical that I forget to go,

"You know what, actually, dude, you did a good job.

Like, it's okay."

Best industry advice I've ever received.

I don't know if I've received it so much

as I had to learn it over time.

You can get taken advantage of.

So I try my best, especially in business,

to be involved in the boring conversations

and listen to it, and try to like absorb as much as I can

so I can really know what's going on.

The last show I binge watched?

So, I'm rewatching "Succession"

because I started the first season,

and then for some reason I stopped.

And I was like, "Wait a minute, why did I-"

I was watching that,

and then, I don't know if I got busy or something,

but I fell off.

And so now I'm rewatching it starting from the beginning.

I'll let you know how it goes.

No spoilers!

My favorite look,

I can't pick my favorite look.

That's like picking your favorite child,

you know what I mean?

It's impossible.

I love clothes, I love playing in them,

I love experimenting with them.

I feel like with every red carpet

it's like the development of a new character.

My fashion icon is Law Roach.

I mean, we've been working together

since I was like 14 years old.

He's my first one and only stylist.

When I met him, he owned a vintage store in Chicago.

I was a 14 year old that, up until that point,

had tried to dress myself, and it was tough.

We immediately connected,

and we've grown up so much together.

It's been an evolution,

and we've been able to experiment together,

and I've learned so much from him in the process.

My prized possession?

It sounds weird calling my dog a possession,

but, like, he was a gift to me literally on Christmas,

and like, he's the greatest gift.

I mean, it's my son, you know, it's my child.

I love him very, very much.

He's been here all day rocking out with us.

He brings so much joy, I think, to every set.

Dogs are the best.

Favorite memory on set?

From "Challengers" I think the best part was, I, you know,

my fans know this about me,

I'm not the hugest fan of having to work out.

I don't necessarily look forward to it, but I had to

because my character's supposed to be a tennis pro,

and clearly I'm not giving tennis pro, right?

Yet.

We had an incredible team of people

that we got to learn from.

But I was with Josh and Mike every day,

and they were the reason that I was able to

smile and laugh through our workout sessions.

It was a good time.

I think we all really needed to lean on each other

in those moments.

My favorite comfort meal is In-N-Out.

And so every time I'm home, I'm always like,

I always go get my grilled cheese.

Because I know people are like,

"Wait, aren't you a vegetarian?"

Grilled cheese, okay.

They're bomb, right?

Grilled cheese, excess spread, grilled onions.

Thank me later.

What's on my bucket list?

To direct one day.

I would love to direct a film.

Hopefully just more than one, but, you know,

just doing it.

The first step to actually doing something yourself

is not an easy step to take.

So, hopefully I can get over the fear.

Normally people would say, like, jumping outta a plane.

I don't wanna do that.

My mom wants to do that,

and she keeps trying to peer pressure me into doing that.

But I've told her, "No, no thank you."

The story behind my first major splurge

was like a very, like, this really cute little tiny

Louis Vuitton purse. (giggles)

It was my first time being in Paris,

and I was doing my first press tour.

And I was like, "You know what?

I make a little bit of money now.

Like, I'm on a Disney show."

And, yeah, I still have it to this day,

and it's very, very cute.

Might have to whip it out again,

'cause since the small bags are in, you know?

Three beauty products I can't live without.

Hopefully I can live without all of them.

You gotta have a good SPF, you know.

Listen, SPF, everyone, every day.

Wear your SPF, protect your skin.

Gel nail polish, like, sometimes I do them myself

sometimes I get them done.

And then when you see them

and they look like they don't have anything on it,

it's a matte clear gel, okay?

They always get, there's always something, right?

And clear gloss.

Clear lip gloss.

Looks great on everyone, very versatile.

You can put it over a color, or just by itself.

Clear gloss.

Thank you, guys, so much for hanging out

with me and "ELLE" today.

I hope you enjoy "Challengers",

and make sure you subscribe to ELLE'S channel

so that you can watch more.

It sounds like we're friends, right?

Like, me and "ELLE".

My girl, "ELLE". (giggles)

(mellow music)