Another prominent figure in your life: Hillary Clinton.
I met Hillary when I was about 17. I had always been a fan of her as a speaker, as a person, and as an inspiration to young women, a woman who’s blazing a trail for all of us. I was really blessed that she asked me to speak at the DNC. I had already been campaigning for her pretty hard. I was in Nevada. I went to Michigan. I went to colleges and talked to teens and young 20-year-olds about the importance of getting the vote out. The DNC was the craziest experience ever.
You’ve been vocal about hot-button issues, like homophobia, from a young age. Where did that political interest take root?
I come from having two gay brothers. I was, without even questioning it, an advocate for the LGBTQ community. I was inherently up on their rights and the fact that, when I was younger, they couldn’t get married if they wanted to. On top of that, I grew up with a single parent. My mom was a really strong person and pushed that into me. She, along with my brothers, taught me to love and respect self-education — reading and keeping yourself abreast on the issues that you want to care about. When Obama won, I was fairly young, but I remember seeing all of my family watching the debate and finding out at age 8 or 9 what democracy was and what our system was.
Should we expect to see the name “Chloë Grace Moretz” pop up on a future ballot?
[Laughs] Yeah, yeah, I know. I thought about, when I’m older, potentially being part of Congress or the Senate and doing something like that. In 2020 I’m already looking at candidates, from Gillibrand to Booker to Sanders to Elizabeth Warren. I’m listening and I’m watching. My generation, hopefully, will finally put their money where their mouths are and get out there and vote and actually trailblaze, as opposed to sitting back like, “I’m unhappy, but I’m not gonna do anything about it.”
What’s your message to the next wave of voters?
My biggest thing is: Whatever you’re voting for, state legislature [or] a president, educate yourself — and, also, just have an opinion. Figure out what your opinion is and have a stance and listen and educate yourself.
And what’s your life motto?
Never lose sight of what your true passion is, and don’t get caught up in the good or the bad. Stick to yourself. If you go to bed at night and your conscience is clear and your heart is open, that’s the only thing you can really hope for in this world.