Katherine Langford calls “13 Reasons Why” the best first show she could have done, and we totally agree

Katherine Langford is one of her generation’s most visible actresses, and it all comes from her first role. Langford, who stars on Netflix’s smash-hit 13 Reasons Why, brought viewers to tears as Hannah Baker. And Hannah will remain in the spotlight in Season 2, with Langford reprising her role.

It’s no surprise that she feels strongly about the show, and she sings its praises in a new interview with Deadline.

As far as first jobs go, 13 Reasons Why was the best thing for Langford:

"The more I talk about it, the more I love the show, and the fact that I got to be a part of it. 13 Reasons Why was the first real job that I’ve had, and I think it was the best first show I could have ever done, but also, in a lot of ways, the hardest — purely because of the journey that Hannah goes through, and the magnitude of the show itself. Being a lead for the first time, and moving overseas, and overcoming those hurdles."

Another highlight? Getting to work with co-star Dylan Minnette:

"Off the bat, I think Dylan’s one of the most talented and generous and wonderful people you could ever work with. He’s a really dear friend, but the start of our friendship was kind of bizarre for the chemistry of the show because so much of the show was based on the chemistry between Hannah and Clay.

She added that she didn’t meet Minnette until a week before shooting, but that they got on really well when they spoke for the first time over Skype. “We had a really good conversation and hopping off that call, I felt immediately that he was an awesome person I was really excited to work with.”

Then, there’s the no small feat of having an Oscar-winning director (Tom McCarthy) direct you in your first scenes:

"Tom McCarthy was really helpful — he’s so intelligent, and has excellent ideas and a wonderful vision for the work that we did. A lot of the advice that he gave me after Episodes 1 and 2, I found myself carrying throughout the entire season. 'Keep it light, because there’s a long way to go' was one thing he said, and that really did stick with me throughout the course of the season, in telling Hannah’s story."

Sounds like she’s learning a lot from the show, and that she’s as excited for Season 2 as we are.