We were lucky to catch up with Kayden Tokarski recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kayden , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have wanted to be an actress since I was four years old and watched the Disney shows “Good Luck Charlie” and “Shake it Up.” I was inspired by Bridgit Mendler and Zendaya and knew even at that young age that acting was a career path I wanted to pursue for life. My parents thought I was way too young, but I kept asking them if I could try acting for years until they saw me in a musical performance when I was in the fourth grade. I had to audition for the school production and got a lead role. My parents came to see me perform and their mindset changed after that, fortunately!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

In the 3.5 years I have been acting, I have been incredibly blessed with 15 best acting awards from different film festivals around the world for independent films and was just nominated for two more awards by the Young Artists Academy. I am grateful beyond words and still cannot believe I have had the tremendous honors. It’s so insane to me and a huge blessing! I was also honored to play a 13-year-old Julia Roberts’ character in the TV series “Gaslit” and just finished wrapping a TV movie called “Sparks” as well as a thriller movie called “Mama Bear.” I also play a mean girl in the upcoming sci-fi feature film “Roswell Delirium” with Anthony Michael Hall, Reginald Veljohnson, Dee Wallace, Lisa Whelchel, Sam Jones and other iconic actors from the 1980s. The movie was written and directed by the insanely talented Richard Bakewell and stars my dear friend Kylee Levien. I also play a lead role in “My Melancholy Baby” on Amazon Prime, and you can catch me in 10 episodes of the Dhar Mann web series. I count my blessings every single day for every opportunity and never take anything for granted. This is a really tough industry, and you experience a lot of rejection, so I think it’s important to be grateful for every audition, callback, booking and even rejection. It all helps to build character, skills and hopefully keep you humble.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I am very blessed to have a wonderful talent agent Sueanne Edan of Tangerine Talent. She took a chance on me when I had no experience and has been incredibly supportive and amazing ever since. I could not be more grateful for all she does as well as the other wonderful people on my team. I think it’s really important for people to understand just how difficult this industry is. There is so much competition and rejection, You can audition for 20 roles and not get one. It takes a lot of work and perseverance to be an actor. It also takes training. I am always training with my amazing acting coach and mentor Michelle Tomlinson and am in acting classes with Jillian Reed of Cynthia Bain Acting Studio. I don’t personally think that you ever stop learning your craft whether you are 13 or 73. I have friends who think acting is glamorous and easy, but it’s just the opposite. I just tell myself that after I audition for a role, I need to forget about it. If it’s meant to be mine, it will be and if not, that’s OK. Just keep moving forward and be thankful for every single opportunity – big or small.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect to me is meeting new people – producers, directors, actors, cinematographers, and crew members. I have made lifelong friends from sets I’ve been blessed to be on. I also learn from other actors and creatives, which I am really grateful for. I also think as a creative, it’s not just about what you create but about giving back. I love to support causes like “Walk Against Drugs,” where I served as the keynote speaker in 2021 to encourage kids and teens to say no to drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vaping. I also was honored to be a speaker for Red Cross LA’s fundraiser and it was so rewarding to be able to promote an organization that does so much good for so many people. The organization that really sparked my interest in acting is The Joyful Child Foundation. I did some work on founder Erin Runnion’s “Be Brave” pilot that was designed to keep kids safe from predators. Erin and her organization do incredible work to protect kids. Being a small part of those efforts is immensely rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/KaydenTokarski
• Instagram: @kaydentokarski
• Linkedin: @kaydentokarski
• Twitter: @kaydentokarski
• Youtube: @kaydentokarski
• TikTok: @kkaydentokarski

Image Credits
Rachelle Shank Photography (headshots) and Ava Cantrell (lifestyle shots)