Bosch’s Madison Lintz Is Still Figuring It All Out

For W’s second annual TV Portfolio, we asked 26 of the most sought-after names in television to pay homage to their favorite small-screen characters by stepping into their shoes.

Before Madison Lintz officially moved to Los Angeles to make it as a Hollywood actress, she spent her teen years traveling between her hometown, in Georgia, and the West Coast with her mother and siblings to audition for various acting parts. Now, with seven seasons of the Amazon Prime procedural Bosch under her belt, the 22-year-old is planning to reprise her role as the detective’s daughter in a spin-off produced by Amazon Studios for IMDb TV. Until then, though, she’s still figuring life out—and looking to shows like Fleabag for lessons in sisterhood and keeping the faith, and acting tips from Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

What was your impression of Fleabag when you first saw it?

Brilliant acting, brilliant storyline; it’s suspenseful and funny. In a lot of ways, it’s a train wreck that you just have to watch. I love that the main character doesn’t have a name, her name is Fleabag. I love the sister relationship—it’s such an accurate representation of what it’s like to have a sister. I have an older sister, and so I thoroughly enjoyed that. And, of course, I love Andrew Scott; he played the priest.

What are some ways you feel like you relate to Fleabag, the character?

She’s trying really hard. I don’t think I’m that big of a screwup—I really don’t, by no means. She just seems so lost in the world, and living in L.A., it’s so easy to feel like that. There’s a lot of disconnection there, and it was so interesting to watch her navigate those missed connections and issues and problems she got herself into. But she’s doing well; she’s trying. Her guinea pig café is doing well. There are things that are going good in her life, there’s just still that thing that she’s missing. I think, in a lot of ways, every human has that journey.

You’ve been on Bosch since 2015. What is the number one thing you learned about yourself from playing a detective’s daughter for seven seasons?

So much has happened in that time. I started on the show when I was 15, and I couldn’t drive. Now I’m 22, and I have my own apartment, I can drink, I can drive. I’ve become an adult in that time, so what haven’t I learned? I guess the main thing I learned is that it is possible to be able to work with passionate artists, and I can do this. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

What can you say about the new Bosch spin-off that you’re starring in now? Will you be returning as Maddie Bosch?

Yes, I’m reprising my role. If you watch season 7, there are definitely some decisions that my character, Maddie—which is weird. It was confusing, because everybody just calls me Maddie on set, and sometimes actors think I’m being method in introducing myself as my character. But that’s fine, it’s my name, but there was a lot of confusion. Maddie is definitely going through it. She has some decisions she will have to make, and you might be able to see her make those on this new season, if you choose to watch.