Rebecca Dayan on Being the Muse of Ryan Murphy’s ‘Halston’

While New York might offer more freedom, Dayan’s about to get a lot more recognizable with the launch of Halston. So what was her audition like? How did she prep for the role? And what magic potion does she swear by for that luminous glow? Get to know Rebecca Dayan better, below, in Glamour’s New Here column.

Glamour: What was your idea of what it meant to be a successful actor when you were a kid?

Rebecca Dayan: I imagined working with people, playing different parts, wearing different types of clothes, getting immersed in different time periods, and working with different directors and actors. I don’t think I had any concept of what the day-to-day would be. That was a surprise.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known then?

The resilience that you have to have, because sometimes you’re not working for long periods of time. Being able to continue to believe in your passion and yourself is always very challenging. It’s hard to have faith when you’re constantly facing rejection.

Which actor or director have you always wanted to work with?

David Lynch. I loved Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive.

What would we be surprised to know about your audition for Halston?

Originally I was going in for another part, but my manager said, “Wait a minute, there’s this role that I think you’re better for.” That role was Elsa. The role I was supposed to go in for doesn’t exist anymore because there were rewrites, so kudos to my manager for this one.

How did you celebrate when you got the role?

It was December 2019, and I was on a plane from New York to Nicaragua, where I was going to meet my family for Christmas and New Year’s. My manager kept calling me, but I couldn’t answer because I was on the plane, so I found out when I landed. But I was by myself because everyone else didn’t arrive until the next day, so I celebrated at the hotel, sitting by the pool and having a drink by myself. [Laughs.]