We were lucky to catch up with Kamden Andrews recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kamden, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I think that is a question lots of artists and creatives deal with. I think people who were child stars wished they may have started later so they could have more creative control and not just be told what to do without having their input considered. Or, sometimes I notice child stars have their life already paved out for them when they didn’t have a single adult even consider what they may have wanted or even if they wanted be in a creative career with so much pressure at such a young age. But, for me, I was not a child star. I am a 21-year-old actress from Austin, Texas who dreamt of being a child actor but didn’t have the resources and I didn’t grow up in an industry hot spot like where I live now, Los Angeles. I got into acting very young, I was raised in the southern Baptist church and would do plays at my church. We would do puppet shows and my first play I did where I did not have a puppet was my church’s youth Christmas show where I played The Virgin Mary. It makes me laugh to say that now as an adult that I was seven years old playing The Virgin Mary, but that very much did happen. I was holding a babydoll that was supposed to be baby Jesus. I got a lot of laughs and I really enjoyed it so, my mom put me in acting classes with The Kids Acting School in Austin. I would do acting camps and two month sessions with The Kids Acting Studio and I really enjoyed it. I played a female version of Simba in a little kid version of The Lion King, the musical. I also grew up during the era where Disney Channel was at its prime. We had Hannah Montana, High School Musical, The Cheetah Girls, Thats so Raven, all shows that were the Golden Age of Disney so, I believe that played a huge part in me wanting to be a child actress so much. When I was 10 my mom had gotten remarried, and her husband at the time owned his own sports recruiting business, similar to what the NCAA does to help recruit high school athletes wanting to play on the collegiate level. My mom’s husband at the time made a commercial for his business and he knew I wanted to act so, he featured me in the commercial, I guess I could say it was my first speaking role ever but, I do not take it seriously as I was so young and I didn’t audition for the role it was just given to me by family. I really wanted to dive deeper into Acting and my mom’s husband at the time, now ex-husband, had a few business partners and investors in his business who were local Atlanta, Georgia rappers and a few of his business partners had romantic relationships with women who owned talent agencies for kids. So, through them, when I was 10, I got to audition for a few agencies who wanted to sign me. I had two agencies that I auditioned for that wanted to sign me but, my mom felt very nervous to put her young daughter in an industry that sometimes does not protect or care about the safety physically and emotionally of kids, so she didn’t allow me to get signed. I was really sad, and I remember telling my mom she was ruining my life, and I felt at the time, with my ten-year-old brain who couldn’t understand her very valid concerns she was trying to sabotage me. I just want to be clear as an adult now I get it. I understand why my mom was so nervous. If I were a parent, I would allow my kid to purse their dreams but, I would keep a very very close eye on them and the people around, because my mom was right. I ended up basically walking away from acting completely until I was 15 and watched La La Land Directed by Damien Chazelle, who to this day is my favorite director and I want to star in a movie directed by him. But, it made me want to get back to acting again. So, I signed up for my high school’s theatre program and took it my junior and senior year for high school. Fast forward to now I graduated a year early from one of the top ranked Performing Arts Colleges in the country, I have representation theatrically and commercially, and I did a commercial for Snapchat, and a few other cool projects like a music video for The Rolling Stones. But, with that success it hasn’t been easy. And it often makes me wonder if I started earlier would I have had an easier path. Like, if my mom allowed me to get signed as a child would I have done some big things as a kid that would’ve for me now at 21 allowed me to do bigger things. Because this industry is very hard and while I see a lots of cons to child acting I also from an outside perspective I see many benefits. I see some actors and actresses have bigger careers at 21 because there struggle in this industry was when they 10 so, it seems pretty smooth sailing for them in their twenties. I understand everything is not what it seems and there is no guarantee that if I started so young I would have a big career now or even it I would still be wanting to purse acting now. Or, maybe there was something I needed to learn or experience or go through before getting my big break so, I will well be prepared for when that time comes.

Kamden, 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?

One big thing about me that kind of speaks for itself I don’t necessarily have to say is I’m a huge hustler. I will do anything within my means possible to reach my goals, obviously on a ethical level.. I can say this now because I graduated from college. But my performing arts college despite being one of the top ranked performing arts colleges in the country and having the most alumni on Broadway, they do not allow you to audition for projects or even book work unless you were in your senior year of college. And I nevered follow those rules. I always thought that those rules were just stupid and if you comply to those rules they would limit you. I always felt like we live in Los Angeles, a place full of opportunities to have so many around you and to not take them would just be idiotic. So, I would book Work while in school. The first few things I did in school were through Central casting. Central casting is kind of like a talent agency, but it specifies in background. I had a friend who had done years of background work on Cobra Kai through Central casting so, she introduced me to the one in Los Angeles and we went to Burbank and I signed up for it. I got to do background on Grown-ish and I also got to do background on a show starring Jessica Simpson and John Stamos. When I did the show starring Jessica Simpson and John Stamos, I had an amazing time on set. I really really love the busy fast-paced environment and I just felt at home being on that set. It also instilled in me that I’m doing the right thing and this is something that I can’ do and can achieve. While on the set for the show starring Jessica Simpson and John Stamos, the director really liked my look so he remembered my name so fast, the first time I told him my name immediately remembered it, and he used me as a featured background. Any shot that had the series regulars in he wanted me right next to them. He also ended up giving me one line to the main lead of the show and it was such a nice experience for me because it motivated me and reminded me that I am doing the right thing and I am on the right path and even if I haven’t had my big break yet there are people who see me and know what I have to offer. This all happened my sophomore year of college and it made me want to get on more sets, not just as featured background, but as a principal. So, I began to look for agents I had found many agents and agencies and I sent 70 emails to these agencies. I only had three get back to me one of which only got back to me because of a referral through my boyfriend and that Agent still said no. But, one of the three agents that did get back to me did sign me and was my first agent ever. Within one week of being signed, I booked my first speaking role ever which was a commercial for Snapchat that was being used for New York 2023 fashion week. I was so excited and at that time I did not know that if you were not in your senior year at my college , you are not allowed to audition or book work. So I unknowingly emailed my teacher, letting him know that I had booked a commercial and that I would be out of his class for the entire week, my teacher emailed me back, saying that students are not allowed to audition or bookwork while in school and that if I didn’t show up that week because of filming, even though I had perfect attendance and turned in every assignment on time, he would fail me because we are not allowed to book work or audition for projects in school. I was a little bit stressed out because obviously this is a big opportunity and I’m not just going to let it pass me by but, at the same time I do really care about my education. I do not want to fail a class. So, I tried the best I could to navigate the situation. I would go to this teacher’s class and sit in the classroom for the first 20 minutes and then leave and rush to set. I did this the entire week just to show him that I do care about this class and even though we’re not allowed to audition for projects or book work in school, I still care about both and if I can find a way to balance both I will. Long story short my teacher ended up, not failing me and I actually got an A in the class. To this day, I always wonder did he send me that email to save face so the school didn’t get upset with him., Or, was he really intending on failing me but he appreciated the big effort. I was making to show up and decided to give me full credit. I will never know, but I am extremely grateful that he did that for me.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Something driving my creative journey is me wanting to make audiences feel. Whether it is making someone cry or laugh I think the best part of art and creativity is to make a stranger feel their emotions very passionately and like you know them when you don’t.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am actually making a pivot currently. I was in the process of working on a SAG-AFTRA New Media agreement film with my best friend and business partner. But, it is a learning process and making your first help is very difficult without the funding so, we have had to pivot, stop, post pone, put things on pause and re-evaluate our plan and sometimes go back tot he drawing board even though it still is a work progress and we haven’t hit certain marks when we wanted too. But, because of the post pining of our film while we go back to the drawing board, I have been focused on theatre. I wrote a play summer of 2024 and I recently submitted it for the 2025 Hollywood Fringe Festival. And great news . . . it got approved so, we are officially registered and will performing a few shows in the Hollywood Fringe Festival. While we focus on this short term goal, it is somewhat what of a creative pivot but, it is giving us time to come up with our funding for our film and re-evaluate how to better pitch our film.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/heyitskamden

Image Credits

Molly Pan Photography Headshots
Leo Foti Acting Reel Stills