Why Liza Koshy Left Her YouTube Comedy Empire for the Big Screen

In 2018, Liza Koshy, one of the biggest internet stars of all time, disappeared. 

Well, not quite. She just stopped posting, a move that seems small but sent her 16 million subscribers into a panic. For the four years prior, Koshy had been one of the most popular and fastest-growing YouTube stars of all time — hitting the 10 million subscriber mark in less than two years. She interviewed former President Barack Obama around the 2016 election, won four Streamys, and became a staple Met Gala red carpet host. To her fans and followers, she was in the prime of her life. But to Koshy, she was drowning. 

“There were so many really cool opportunities that I wanted to give 100 percent to instead of diverting my attention to doing the cinnamon challenge for the 18th time on YouTube, respectfully,” Koshy tells Rolling Stone. “But I was fully living in fear. [Will] me as a human — not a character, not a little dude with a bowl cut, or this little woman with a can’t-place-her-accent — will I be seen? Will I be understood? I was having the identity crisis everybody has in their early twenties, and I knew I needed to go live life and not ‘Go Live’ about it.” It took six months for Koshy to get to a place where she felt comfortable sharing. When she did, she returned to the platform with a brand new video: one announcing she’d be leaving her regular posting schedule indefinitely to pursue her dream of acting full-time. Now with the release of her latest film A Family Affair, Koshy says she’s moving closer to her goal of starring as the lead in a film and hopefully creating a blueprint for other creators who want to try something new but don’t know how. 

Koshy understands that her choice has been heavily debated online, especially since her career was moving fast when she quit. But she notes that a big part of her decision came from the fact that she’d only experienced growing up through the lens of the internet — and moving on to bigger projects gave her something she never realized she wanted: true collaborators. “Online, I was already being a writer, a producer, an editor, the DP, the director of my own characters and storylines,” Koshy says. “And I didn’t realize until I stepped foot onto a set [that] it felt so good to [make things] with others and collaborate and relinquish control. I don’t have to edit. They got it and I’ll see it two years from now. I just got bit by the bug of working with other people instead of in a vacuum, in an echo chamber of my own thoughts at home.” 

A Houston native, Koshy has spent the past six years since leaving YouTube full-time building a career in film, through supporting roles in movies like Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken, Cat Person, Players, and the upcoming Summer of 69. Some of her longtime collaborators and friends now include fellow Family Affair actress Joey King and pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter. “[Sabrina] is a good cookie,” Koshy says. “It’s fun to see good cookies rise, people who are so disciplined and also have the talent to couple that motivation and drive. No wonder she’s experiencing the most success.”

In A Family Affair, she stars as Eugenie, best friend to aspiring producer Zara (King). When Zara finds out her mother and frustrating, all-demanding boss are entangled in a secret relationship, the stress bleeds over into every aspect of her life — forcing Eugenie to finally acknowledge their friendship is close to breaking. For Koshy, who was experiencing her own friend break-up — or “heart-crack” as she calls it — while filming, Eugenie’s link to her real-life experiences really helped her dive into the role. 

“It’s somehow healing, because I’m going through this as a parallel experience in my real human life and in this character’s life,” Koshy says. “You’re going to experience conflict with your friends. They’re not going to always be on your side. In fact, sometimes they’re going to challenge you and tell you, ‘Hey, get your head out of your ass, look me in the eye. I’m also a human going through it too, and I need you to be here for me.’” 

Koshy has become a go-to addition to ensemble casts, adding her signature sharp facial expressions, witty one-liners, and voice-acting chops to dozens of films and TV projects. She’s often called a “scene-stealer,” a characterization she appreciates, but notes she’s never trying to earn. “Won’t lie, that boosts the ego for sure,” she says. “At the same time, I’d rather be a scene sharer and really own the stage together. I don’t want to ever take away from the story.” 

Koshy’s resume is already impressive — she’s done Vine, YouTube, hosting, creating, and being the comic relief. Now, she says, she’s ready to be the star. “I’m ready for the lead. I’m so ready for it,” she says. “I gave my all to YouTube and saw how that turned out. So, I’m interested to see what happens when I give my all to the lead of a film. I’m so grateful I gave myself that break. And hopefully, those kids or those adults or whoever was watching understand that they can be honest with themselves too, and move on from something that was so lovely, wonderful and so fulfilling, but is no longer for them.”