To Mark Her Recent 30th Birthday, Ayo Edebiri Answers 30 of Our Most Pressing Questions

If you can’t travel to Italy right now, watching Ayo Edebiri explore the beautiful landscape there—which includes a luxurious hotel room and an incredible garden—serves as a delightful substitute.

To celebrate Edebiri’s recent milestone of turning 30 (we adore a Libran queen!) and her debut on the cover of Vogue, we had the pleasure of chatting with the After the Hunt actress. The experience included surprising her with A) an extravagant birthday cake and B) a fun scavenger hunt featuring 30 questions sprinkled throughout the scenic grounds of her Italian hotel. Just a heads up: Her replies are, as expected, hysterically entertaining.

After recommending three must-see films before reaching 30 (13 Going on 30 was a given, plus Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky and Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman), and indulging in her cake, she shares thoughts on Midsomer Murders; her mom’s beloved mac and cheese; the North End of Boston; her fictional dog, Dogue, Gromit, and how he might speak; and her parents’ supportive but cautious reaction upon learning of her comedy aspirations (“In the end, they wished me well but reminded me they wouldn’t be offering financial help”).

Next, Edebiri joins us for a stroll through the garden and then climbs aboard a water taxi, ready to make her way to the birthday bash of her dreams. With a stylish “Grazie,” she hops on and soon takes command, speeding away toward her celebration.

Director: Posy Dixon
Director Of Photography: Malgorzata Rabczuk
Editor: Katie Wolford
Producer, C41: Pietro Mari
Producer: Rashida Josiah
Creative Production Coordinators: Sofia Setti, Anisa Kennar
Assistant Camera: Nicolas De Luigi
Gaffer: Hanoi De La Paz
Audio: Kevin Granahan
Production Assistant: Marco Dal Borgo
Stylist: Danielle Goldberg
Hairstylist: Jacob Aaron Dillon
Makeup Artist: Ernesto Casillas
Production Coordinator: Tanía Jones
Production Manager: Kristen Helmick
Line Producer: Natasha Soto-Albors
Assistant Editor: Fynn Lithgow
Art & Graphics Lead: Léa Kichler
Post Production Coordinator: Holly Frew
Supervising Editor: Kameron Key
Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Entertainment Director: Sergio Kletnoy
Executive Producers: Rahel Gebreyes, Barbara Guieu
Senior Director, Digital Video: Romy van den Broeke
Head of Video, Italy: Iacopo Caravaggi
Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson
VP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri
Filmed on Location: Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, Venice