Jena Malone Faces Her 'Number One Fear' as She Marks Her 'First Real Show' as a Stand-Up Comedian

The actress tweeted Wednesday that she would be performing her first-ever stand-up show that night at a bar in North Hollywood

Jena Malone attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Adopting Audrey" at Brain Dead Studios LA on August 22, 2022
Jena Malone attends the Los Angeles premiere of Adopting Audrey on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo:

Michael Tullberg/Getty 

Jena Malone is branching out.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire actress, 38, shared Wednesday on social media that she would be taking the stage for her first-ever stand-up comedy routine that night.

"I’ve been in bucket list mode and stand up comedy has been my number one fear for a good long time. I wasn’t gonna tell any one yet," Malone wrote. "But here I go 730pm at the federal bar in north Hollywood tonight. My first real show ❤️❤️."

Fans left various notes of support in the actress's replies, including one who encouraged her, "You got this, Jena!!"

"Good luck Jena. I’m sure you will do great," another fan said.

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Malone's new artistic venture comes just under a year after she said on Instagram that she has been "finding words that feel more right to explore" her sexuality, going on to write the words "pansexuality," "sapiosexuality" and "polyamory."

In August 2022, Malone told The Hollywood Reporter she had been thinking about her sexuality "for a while," while sharing that it "felt so nice" to share the post with her followers.

"The sexual journey is so beautiful," said the Donnie Darko actress. "I mean, all of the identity journeys are so cool. I feel like I'm a little bit late to the game in being able to have less shame. I've been loving the process of learning more about myself and others through different terms that open windows, those windows then turns into doors, and then I arrive at a place to find all this cool stuff out there."

"It's a part of humanity now to have all these ceremonies of exclamation around coming out and renouncing [an identity] and celebrating that space for yourself," she added. "It's a really sweet, human experience. I love getting to learn more about myself no matter the age or my experience."

Jena Malone attends the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 24, 2019
Jena Malone at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 2019.

George Pimentel/Getty

Aside from her storied career — during which she has also made memorable turns in Stepmom (1998), Saved! (2004), Sucker Punch (2011) and the two Hunger Games: Mockingjay films, among others — Malone is also a mom to son Ode, 7.

Back in March, the actress posted a rare photo of her only child, sharing a sweet embrace with a puppy as others lay nearby.

"Just this. Deep hugs. Cuddle piles in a puppy den. The deep intelligence of a child knowing how to get their needs met," Malone wrote in her caption. "How to unabashedly love what they love. I still reach for this ancient want to remedy life’s aches."

"But now my cuddle pile is filled with our two cats and a 6 year old," added the actress. "Sometimes it’s my with my besties and sometimes it’s just my own body, limbs outstretched and tender. Blankets forming a border of what I allow and what I end."

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