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Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) is a young writer for legendary stand-up comic Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) in Hacks . HBO Max/HBO Max hide caption When Hacks star Hannah Einbinder was in college, comedian Nicole Byer came to her campus and asked the improv team if any of their members wanted to open for her. Einbinder volunteered — and the experience was life changing.

“This was at a time in my life where I didn't really feel good, and [performing] was this eight- to 10-minute relief from the very bad feeling,” Einbinder says. “And I just became obsessed and started to chase that.” Einbinder says her experience on the competitive cheer team in middle school taught her extreme discipline and focus — which she then put toward comedy.



After that first stand-up routine, she began memorizing comedy albums and driving all over the city to attend open mic nights: “I really never looked back. It just felt so good,” she says. Einbinder grew up in a comedic family — her mother is Laraine Newman , one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live .

She says being funny was “the main currency in our home.” “ It was a love language for sure,” she says. “My parents are both tough laughs, so I had to do a lot to .

.. get a big response from them.

” In the HBO Max series Hacks , now in its third season, Einbinder plays a young comedy writer in a love/hate relationship with her boss, a veteran comedian played by Jean Smart . She says working with Smart has been.

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