Cary Fukunaga told Insider Emma Stone was against playing an elf because she didn’t want to portray anything that’s not based in reality.
Which might have led to a completely different outcome had the elf role gone on for more than one episode.
Unfortunately, the experience doesn’t seem to have changed her thoughts on fantasy roles all that much, so viewers should embrace her role as Annia for all its worth.
Looking across her career in Hollywood, one can see this isn’t a decision she made specifically for Maniac, since her roles in Zombieland and The Amazing Spider-man films also indicate she didn’t want to play fantastical characters there either.