Hannah Einbinder credits Hacks with giving her self-confidence

Hannah Einbinder has credited her debut TV show Hacks with making her feel more confident and empowered.

Despite having no acting credits, the comedian was cast in the HBO series as Ava Daniels, a comedy writer who is hired to revive the career of Jean Smart's stand-up legend Deborah Vance, in 2021.

Reflecting on her personal growth over the show's five seasons, Einbinder told The Guardian that she wouldn't be the person she is today without Hacks.

"I learned so much and I became a person - I became myself. I don't know how I would have become who I am without it," she shared.

"When I was 24 and starting the show, I was just kind of a shell. I didn't advocate for myself. I didn't have boundaries. I was passive in a lot of ways."

The 31-year-old confessed that she had no self-esteem and the idea of loving herself felt impossible - until she went through the experience of Hacks.

"Now I feel incredibly embodied and certain of myself in a way that I never thought was possible. And I do credit a lot of that to my experience working on Hacks," she added.

Hacks came to an end after five seasons in late May, and Einbinder has already filmed two movies - Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and Seekers of Infinite Love, which both premiered at festivals earlier this year.

The stand-up star admitted that leaving behind her Hacks creative family and working with new people felt both exciting and intimidating.

"I was just like: 'F**k, can I do this? Can I do something that isn't the safe environment that raised me, with the people who know exactly how to shape and mould me?'" she said.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which is in U.S. cinemas now, will be released in the U.K. on 21 August.