We recently connected with Caroline Lawless and have shared our conversation below.

Caroline, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

This is a question that I get asked a lot as a thirtysomething actor. When I first began this journey, I had moments where I’d come home from a studio taping session and think, “Dang, I really wish I had started acting professionally when I was a kid because I’d be so much further along by now!” That thought still crosses my mind occasionally, if I’m being honest. However, I recognize that finding my way back to this career path after having spent a decade trying to find my niche in other industries is a huge gift. None of the years I spent searching for my “calling” were wasted, because those years of struggling, learning, growing and healing prepared me in some way for the life I’m living now. I can deal more effectively with the constant, never-ending rejection; the quick turnaround times for self-tapes; the I-don’t-know-where-my-next-paycheck-is-coming-from of it all; and everything in between. My journey has been long, complicated and full of more twists and turns that I care to recount, but it’s mine, and I’m grateful for every step.

Caroline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born in a small town in Virginia mostly known for NASCAR and these little red hot dogs that I still can’t believe I used to eat as a child. Although I spent a lot of time forcing my younger brother to perform alongside me in self-written and -directed scenes (much to his horror), I wasn’t formally introduced to the magic of the stage and screen until my freshman year of high school when I joined the Drama Club.

After spending nearly a decade behind the camera working as a graphic designer and commercial photographer, I made the decision to pursue my childhood dream of becoming an actor in 2019 after signing with my incredible agents. I now work as a SAG-E actor in the Southeastern market. I’m a character actress at heart, and I’m drawn to roles that are wild, fearless, heartbreakingly vulnerable and just a little chaotic. If you’re looking to cast the “quirky girl next door” or the slightly silly BFF of your romantic lead, I’m your gal! (I also look pretty darn good in period costumes.)

My work is influenced by the teachings of Uta Hagen, Warner Loughlin and Sanford Meisner (to name a few). I have experience in improv, physical comedy, industrial, commercial, film, new media and theatrical productions. My extensive training has given me a unique insight into the craft of creating fully-realized, grounded characters on film, television and the stage. Let’s work together, okay? I promise it’ll be a blast.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

All actors dream of booking their first SAG feature film. When that moment happened for me, I accidentally woke my then-fiancé (now husband) up from a deep sleep by screaming at such a high decibel that he thought the world was ending or something. I laughed, I cried, I hugged my cat, I called my parents … I allowed myself to celebrate a massive accomplishment I’d been working towards for more than four years.

A month or so later, I found myself on my first major union set sitting beside an actor I’ve admired since I was a teenager in high school dreaming of seeing my name on a marquee. I got to spend an entire day doing the thing I love most, and I enjoyed every single second of it. I showed up, I offered up a performance straight from the heart and I left with the words of the director buzzing in my ears: “You did such beautiful work.” I couldn’t think of a greater compliment than that.

Fast-forward to a year later: I received the devastating news that the portion of the scene I poured my heart and soul into was cut in post-production. I felt as if someone had literally punched me in the gut. I spent weeks questioning my worth, my talent, my dreams … all of it, all at once. I vividly remember curling up in the middle of the living room floor and sobbing so hard my body started shaking. I couldn’t see a point in moving forward, in continuing to keep pushing myself day and night to build up a body of work only for it all to be erased, essentially, by the stroke of a pen.

I can’t say I got over this first major disappointment quickly, but I did eventually move past it. What helped? The knowledge that my journey isn’t over until and unless I decide to quit, and quitting just isn’t in my nature. Since then, I’ve auditioned for a lot of other incredible roles, and I’ve starred in two incredible short films, both of which will (hopefully) be hitting the festival circuits later this year.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest challenges I’ve had to overcome as an actor is dismantling the belief that I’m not _____ enough to book certain roles. (So many descriptors could fill in that blank, but they’re usually “pretty” or “talented.”) Growing up, I was bullied for being tall, for having slightly crooked teeth, for being too skinny, for being too poor, for not wearing the “right” clothes, for being shy. Nothing I did was ever “enough” for anyone, it seemed, and that didn’t change with age. For most of my life, my peers and instructors made me believe that my life was pointless, that nothing I did would ever matter. I heard those words repeated so often that that became my truth.

It wasn’t until I began pursuing a career as a professional actor—something I had abandoned after high school when I was told one too many times that I’d “never make it” on the stage or the screen because I was just “too ugly”—and found an incredible mentor to train alongside that my self-perception began to change. In a line-up at a casting session, am I going to be the most gorgeous brunette in the room? Probably not by a long shot. But what I bring to the table is more than just good looks or a decent resume—I bring every single part of myself, every single time. To quote the incredible Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “For so long I always wanted to be different, and now I realize I just need to be myself.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carolinelawless.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolawless
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolinelawlessactor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinelawless/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/caro_lawless

Image Credits
1.) Violet Worzella 2.) Tanya Young 3.) Emily Lyons-Wood 4.) Emily Lyons-Wood 5.) Jennifer Hall