We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caleb Lowell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Caleb thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Thats a great question, one that I’m still figuring out myself honestly. I think there’s always been the kid in me who loved to “play pretend” and I learn a lot from him still. Nothing mattered to him he simply created elaborate fantasies in his back yard, he played. He didn’t over analyze if what he was pretending was good or not. or if the message came across or how it looked when he used tin cans as gauntlets and stick for swords, or if he’d ever “make it”. Learning to do what I do has come from letting go of everything I assume to. know each time action is called and just playing like I did when I was a kid.

When. it comes to the learning process I like to take the context of time out of it. Sure I could be a lot further ahead if id just get out of my own way and trust that I am enough some days but ahead of what? Ahead of who? I can only do my best to be as present with where I am as possible. Just like what I strive for on set, or sitting with a sheet behind me screaming lines to the selfie mode on my phone.

What skills do I think are most essential? I think as an artist/actor the essential skill is a curiosity about life and humanity, yes technique is important, my toolbox as an actor is important, the endless hours of class I’ve taken are everything but without that spark, without that endless search, they’re all just a perfect set of blueprints with no one to build the cathedral.

What obstacles stood in the way of learning more? Short answer: me. Life’s thrown a lot at me. But the more I let go of trying to control, trying to figure out everything, I become a student of life again. I’d like to have it all figured out and sometimes I tell myself that I do but thats exactly when I stop learning. Somebody once said that most people go for the “live every day as if it where your last” advice but what if I were to live everyday as if it where my first! How different would that be!? Every audition, every role, everything I set my heart to achieving would become this beautiful brand new experience with zero doubt and no self flagellation. I would be that child at play again, smiling with every fiber in my body at each discovery, making mudpies with life.

Caleb, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Sure! I do a little bit of everything creatively, I act, I sing and write my own music as well as produce, I’m a closeted screenwriter, I’m a painter after 12am, and sometimes I dance in the bathroom mirror.

I came out to LA to act when I was fresh out of highschool after a talent manager found me and convinced me to follow my dreams, over the last couple years I’ve gotten to live my wildest dreams.

When my acting union went on strike for the. better part of a year I didn’t know what to do. How do I articulate everything I feel so deeply and channel all this crazy going on upstairs? I fell in love with music again and released my first single Who Are We on all music platforms. It opened another part of me I’d forgotten and I’ve been writing music and singing ever since, Im actually about to go into the studio now to get some more music out by the fall hopefully.

What am I most proud of? My first answer is landing a role on SAINT X a Hulu Show. I was a Series Regular for 8 episodes. But honestly? I’m really proud of the fact that I haven’t ever been able to give up, I’m stubborn, Taurus moon here. The little kid from middle of nowhere Texas is still here and still alive, living the life he’s always wanted and I’m not giving up on pushing ahead ever!!

I’ve actually been giving a lot of thought to “my brand” recently so thats a great question. Ummmm. Still figuring that out. One thing I do know is authenticity in EVERYTHING. If I feel like I’m not being honest in a character I have a hard time with that. If my lyrics aren’t articulating something real and raw I want to say or an image I paint into canvas doesn’t provoke a thought or I’m working on choreo and not feeling every single muscle vibrate with intention and expression? Why? What am I even doing? I want to be IN IT saying something HONEST no matter what I’m doing.

My brand is the nitty gritty of humanity, I have the immense privilege of being a voice of my generation something I don’t take lightly. Some people may not like what I have to say or get provoked into judgement but I know there’s someone out there who feels seen, feels held. And if thats the only person to get what I have to say in that moment thats enough for me. Ultimately I want to give people that same grounded, excited about life feeling I get every time I resonate with art. It brings me back to myself all the noise dies away and I’m just a human again falling in love with living out this beautiful mystery.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I mean, I feel like passionate artists thrive no matter what society does. Artists stand as a mirror for society in a way. What is interesting now for me is how the social media age plays into all of this. Art vs content. Maybe both are art in a way because let’s face it art is subjective and something can be said with anything. For me I think society can best “support” artist by being open, listening and observing. One of my favorite things is going to the movie theater, I like to look at all the faces lit up by the screen and watch everyone connect in a profound way as they all share the same experience. Thats where I feel like society is suffering right now and where art can help. As connected as we all are theres so much disconnect and loneliness. Especially post COVID we’re all still learning to trust each other. So society: Have the courage to experience something new something that might feel dangerous, something that someone has created from the depths of their soul and given just to you. Reach out and take the gift look over to your fellow human and realize that for all that we tell ourselves separates us, we all feel the same inside, we all get scared, we all laugh in the same language, and we all cry the same tears.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I live a wild and mathematically impossible life, I get to experience things that are so unique and different, meet so many incredible people and give a big middle finger to “normal”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @thecaleblowell
• Other: Spotify under CALEB LOWELL

Image Credits

Luke Fontana
Alexander Prejan
JCorso
Paloma Allegria