Mia Rodgers: “I would wear the most outrageous shit”

Mia Rodgers splits her acting career into two halves. The first began aged 17 when she met an agent at an art gallery opening. She was signed and landed a couple of jobs before Covid shut the world down. 

Rodgers found work as a prop buyer for film. Her weirdest purchase? The electric shock collars used to train dinosaurs in Jurassic World Dominion. She earned some odd looks from the sellers – who presumably wondered why this seemingly angelic teenager was purchasing electric shock collars and whispered a silent prayer for her poor pony. Don’t worry, guys – it’s for a velociraptor.

Rodgers hadn’t given up on acting. She successfully auditioned for drama school and thus began the second half of her career. A few months after graduation she had a new agent and a major role in hit comedy series The Sex Lives of College Girls – the third season just landed on ITVX.

Still only 24, Rodgers has plenty of career ahead of her. One dream is doing a play at her local theatre, the Almeida – the place she fell in love with acting. “It would be a full circle moment,” she says. I fully expect this vision to be manifested into reality. We met for coffee in Soho to talk vintage clothes, vivid dreams and her inspirational brother Milo.    

Life 

What upcoming projects are you most excited about?

The Sex Lives of College Girls! I graduated drama school in September 2023, got signed in October and then auditioned for it in December. I play Taylor, a British international student from Mayfair, darling! When they told me, I was like, ‘you do realise nobody’s actually from Mayfair?’ But it’s the only place people [in America] will recognise.

She’s very strong-minded, opinionated, doesn’t care about shocking people, but her moral compass is very strong. She’s a recovering alcoholic. She’s also queer – her mum didn’t accept her for that so she has a very tense relationship with her family. She’s experienced a lot from a very young age. She doesn’t think she’s better than others but she thinks she knows better. She means well but she’s very defensive. Over the season that harsher exterior dissipates, you learn she’s a very empathetic girl that wants to have connection with people.

What is your proudest professional accomplishment to date?

Getting signed to my agency. That was amazing. I left my previous one in Covid aged 21 and I was agentless for three years. That entire time all I could think about was getting an agent and working. I’m grateful that it didn’t happen straight away because I’m a much better, more appreciative person for the position I’m in now. 

I invited my agent Alex to see my showcase at drama school. She couldn’t come but sent a very polite email asking to see my reel. I sent it to her and didn’t hear anything. I was feeling a little depleted. What the fuck do I do now? Then she emailed, ‘Hey, do you want to come in?’

I was there for two hours, we had the most amazing conversation. I left, went to the gym. I was in the lift on the way home and she emailed saying she’d love to represent me. I screamed in this lift and the three guys turned to me, like, ‘are you okay?’ It was a tiny lift. It was honestly about the size of a table.

I’m sobbing profusely on the train home and people are offering me tissues, obviously very concerned. I was like, ‘it’s OK guys. Happy tears!’ It was the purest joy ever. Just like when I got this job – it was every rejection and ‘no’ and moment of self-doubt turning on its head and being worth it.

Photography: Pip | Hair: Sophie Sugarman at LMC Worldwide | Makeup: Sara Hill at The Wall Group | Styling: Aimee Crosydill at The Wall Group

If you could change one thing about your career, what would it be?

They don’t do in-person auditions anymore. It’s all self tapes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine: you can try different ways and pick your best take. But you lose the personability of connecting with another person, being able to play in that space. As an actor it’s really important to show that you can adapt. You can’t really do that when you send off one tape. I like going in, putting a face to the name and talking to them. You build a rapport with people.

What do you hope to achieve that you haven’t yet?

So much. I’ve never done film. One of my biggest dreams is to do a play at the Almeida Theatre. It’s my local theatre. I go all the time. My mum and I try to see every production that comes out there. 

Theatre is something that I’m extremely passionate about. That’s how I learned that I wanted to be an actor. I started out singing and then I moved to musical theatre. When I went to drama school, it was practically all theatre. I love the collaboration of theatre and moving in the space. It’s where you learn your craft – that sounds so pretentious but you know what I mean! I did the Almeida’s course when I was 15. It would be a full circle moment.

Outside of your family, who is / was your biggest inspiration?

My brother Milo is my inspiration. He’s on the autistic spectrum. He has overcome everything in his life. Everything the doctors told my mum – he wouldn’t be able to talk, write, work, he overcame all of that. He’s now writing a book. He works in film. He’s a prop maker. 

I’ve got his name last week on my arm. When I showed him it, he freaked out! He was like, ‘that doesn’t mean I have to get yours, does it?’ He was severely bullied in school, completely overcame that. He’s now best friends with his bully. Quite literally everything that he’s faced, he has made that situation better and been more fulfilled from it. 

Career wise, I love Harris Dickinson’s career. If I could have anyone’s career, it would be his. He’s not completely sold out to Hollywood and he still is very much in the indie art house scene. But then the ones he has chosen that are more blockbuster are very tasteful and insightful. I really like his acting. I think he’s brilliant.

Tell us something nobody knows about you…

I have really vivid dreams. Often I will dream about something and it’ll happen to me the next day. It happened last night! I dreamt I met this actor, I woke up and she DMed me on Instagram. It happened to me and my ex-boyfriend. I hadn’t thought of him in the longest time. Dreamt about him, the next day bumped into him in the street.

Style

What’s your favourite item of clothing – and what does it mean to you?

I would say I have two pieces. I wore this seventies white eggshell safari-esque suit for my 21st birthday. Flared, beautiful lapels… It’s impeccable. I got her for 50 quid, fits me like a glove. She’s my most prized possession.

I wore a 1950s gold iridescent big-skirted dress to my prom when I was 16. It has these gorgeous pearls that pull up off it. It’s nuts and it’s amazing and it’s my dream in life to fit back into it. And I’m almost there! I want it to be my first premiere dress or something like that. My mum chose it for me. At the time I was like, mum, I can’t wear a vintage dress to prom, everyone’s going to think it’s so weird. I fucking looked amazing and I loved it.

What’s your favourite accessory – and why is it special to you?

I’ve got a few. All jewellery based. There’s a silver bracelet my dad bought  my mum when she was 25. He has a matching one, like the bigger version. It’s from Tiffany’s. It was that first one of his first big purchases for her. She gave it to me when I was 16 because it’s too chunky for her. So me and my dad now wear them together. 

I have a Claddagh ring. My dad’s Irish, grew up in the Troubles. My mum’s Glaswegian, this tiny little Scottish lady. I’m Celtic through and through: I’m actually not English at all, I just have the accent. I got this ring for my 21st. In Irish tradition, it basically signifies love. If it’s turned down, it means your heart isn’t taken. If it’s turned up, it means it is. In the middle is my birthstone, which is an emerald. And for my baptism, I got a medal and chain, gold guardian angel. I’ve worn it every day since. 

What’s your biggest style disaster?

So many. My parents have always instilled in me not to follow the crowd. Be who you want to be. My mum would say to me, ‘Mia, I just think you’ve lost your sense of style today. You’re following the crowd’.

I would wear the most outrageous shit and feel super confident in it. But it was diabolical. I remember wearing skinny suit trousers. My school shirt, tied, a synthetic pink ladies' bomber jacket, tucked my hair up and wore a grey American baseball cap and tucked all my hair up into it. And I wore a Tatty Devine plastic camera necklace and mini kitty heels. It haunts me to this day, it was so bad. But when I wore it, I felt on top of the world.

Is there an item you threw away – or lost – that you really miss?

I can’t talk about lost items. I had this gorgeous seventies denim halterneck shirt that was structured and sleeveless and backless. I let my best friend wear it to a party at my house, didn’t think anything of it. She went home in it, which is fine. Somehow she lost the top from my house to her house in the taxi. That sounds very ambiguous! No, she was wearing it. She was a little bit tipsy. To this day, we don’t know what happened. It’s not at her house, it wasn’t in the taxi, it wasn’t at my house, it wasn’t outside on the street. It was my favourite shirt but equally, biggest mystery.

What’s next on your shopping list?

I’m trying a new thing. I’m not buying anything. I’ve deterred myself from looking at clothes. I was at this amazing vintage shop called Moth Food in New York. It was full of 1930s to 1950s vintage clothes.

Everything in there was fucking phenomenal. Priced really well. I tried on this jacket. It was gorgeous and in perfect condition but so expensive. I decided to be very good and not buy it. But it still wants me. I’ve DM’d them to ask if it’s still there. 

What would you buy if money was no object?  

[Adopts American accent] World peace. Well, I would if I could. 

What would I buy? I’m not going to lie – a car. Or a beautiful tailored suit from Savile Row. Julia Roberts wore a grey suit to the Golden Globes back in the day. It was oversized and she wore this purple tie and it was fucking phenomenal. I wouldn’t copy that but an androgynous, oversized suit. That’s where I feel super confident. 

The third season of The Sex Lives of College Girls is streaming now on ITVX.