Miriam Petche Is Trying to Be Less Gen Z
London’s hottest (fictional) banker is Sweetpea Golightly, the TikTok-posting, Bottega-wearing newest Sales and Trading graduate at Pierpoint — and yes, the plot of HBO’s Industry is more real to me than the actual stock market. It may not seem like it at first, but Sweetpea, the new Gen Z hire who’s obsessed with having a ring light on at her desk, is actually one of the more capable employees at the firm.
Miriam Petche was just about to finish drama school in London when she found out she’d landed the role of Sweetpea, and her own experience was in some ways parallel to her character’s — both were adjusting to a new professional environment, although Petche had a bit of a head start. Before entering drama school, she had already dabbled onscreen, playing Esmerelda Hallow, a highly capable star student on Netflix’s The Worst Witch. Petche shares has the self-possessed, quietly confident energy of both characters, although she doesn’t share Sweetpea’s habit of speaking without thinking.
What are the most and least Gen Z things about you?
I’ve grown up completely online. You have this life online and this life of your own. I very much resonate with Sweetpea in that she curates an image of herself, and then she has who she is as a person, and they’re pretty different at times. I think where we differentiate — I’m not trying to belittle myself — she’s extremely intelligent. I think sometimes she’s a little bit ahead of the game.
What was your research process like when you were preparing for the role?
With Sweetpea being very intelligent, I have to know what I’m talking about. There’s a website called Investopedia which I used, and I spoke a lot to the creators, Mickey and Conrad. If I can understand it in the most broad terms, and it feels like she’s getting her point across, that’s good for me—because I will never understand it.
I’m interested in what Sweetpea represents in terms of how workplace culture and etiquette are evolving. Do you feel like your generation is changing expectations at work?
She never feels like she has to blend in, and she never feels that she isn’t allowed to speak her opinion. She obviously will wait for appropriate moments to raise it. Being a young woman in the workplace and feeling confident in your opinions and your boundaries is extremely admirable, and something that I would like to learn from as well.
Sweetpea is, naturally, a TikTok user. Do you have any rules around how you use TikTok?
I have a private account, just things I and my friends find funny. I wouldn’t say I have specific rules with TikTok. I’m creating rules for my phone in general, and it’s having a certain amount of time that I’m on there, and having connections with people in real life and not just online. I respect my time and attention span, so I read, or I engage with things that are slightly longer.
What do you sign your emails with?
I normally go for a good “best wishes.” If it’s someone I’m slightly more personal with, I’ll just say “love.”
What about texting — what’s your style?
That’s constantly changing for me and depends on how excited I am about something. I don’t have much etiquette when it comes to that. If I need to tell you something, I’ll probably send about 15 messages about it.
What is the most recent app you downloaded on your phone?
Yuka, an app where you can scan a barcode of a food item and it’s basically telling you what is good for your body nutrition wise and what is bad for your body nutrition wise. I love it. I use it every time I’m in any supermarket. It works for skin products as well. My best friend showed it to me and I’ve been using it nonstop.
Sweetpea manages to look stylish even with the dress code requirements of a stuffy industry. What’s your No. 1 fashion rule?
Feeling comfortable in what you’re wearing — as in, you feel comfortable in how you’re presenting yourself — is the most important to me. There’s some days that I want to go all out and try new things, or I want to wear heels and boots, and there’s some days I want to be completely trackies, massive hoodie, cap. Give yourself the grace that you know things are going to look good some days and the next day it’s not going to look so great.
What’s your No. 1 rule for sending a gift?
I love gifting things to people. I normally give gifts in person, and I like a little surprise moment.
What is your No. 1 rule for tipping?
Always tip when you can, really. It tends to be included in the bill in the U.K. But I’m all for it. I’ve been a waitress; every little bit helps.
What about your No. 1 rule for dating?
As I’m slowly getting older, I’m leaning toward getting friends to set me up with people. I’m definitely moving away from apps and things online; that’s never really worked for me. So I trust my friends to set me up. I think your chances are higher. If at the end of the day, you just make a new friend, that’s also brilliant.
Do you have an ideal meet-cute?
D’you know what, I will take anything: If it’s in a cafe, if it’s in a library, anywhere. As long as it’s organic, and the person is kind — those are probably my base level things.
Do you think it’s okay to ghost after one date?
No, because I think it’s not that difficult to send a message. If you feel that you really need to, then I guess you can, but sending one line saying “Hey, I had a great time but I don’t think this is going to work out” really doesn’t take much of your day. It’s probably the kindest thing to do.
Your No. 1 rule for ordering food?
Order dips. Because I think whatever happens — if you don’t like your pizza or if you don’t like your burger or if you don’t like your chips — you’ll always have your array of dips that you can rely on. I’ve learned that over time. And they don’t tend to be that expensive, so you can get a few. That’s what saves me if I’m not super happy with the main thing.
Do you have a favorite dip?
I’m a garlicky, aioli girl. Anything garlicky, I’m all over that.
Do you have any rules in your home?
I have two very big golden retrievers in my house. Whatever rule we had has now gone, because they’re allowed on the sofa, they’re allowed upstairs. They’re like huge, fluffy children. I think we’re all doing our best to keep it moderately clean, but they’ve definitely … I mean, you always say they’re never going to end up on the sofa. And then they do, because we love them.
How do you feel about strangers petting your dogs?
Golden retrievers are notoriously quite friendly, so honestly, I don’t really get a say because they’re they’ve already gone over to someone and they’re sitting on their left foot, or they’re leaning on them. If a dog is ever visibly stressed or uncomfortable, let it do its thing. But my dogs, they love attention. They lap it up. So I let them. I think that’s their social media, meeting new people. So I’m like, ‘I’ll let you have your screen time. Go for it.’
That could lead to a meet-cute one day!
This is the thing! The leashes could get tied up, you never know …
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