Carly Chaikin

The Power of Self-Belief
What Can Happen When You Ignore the Doubters

“If [acting is] truly your passion, then do it. Give yourself the chance to fail to succeed. Otherwise you’ll never know…For me, it was having no fear and not caring…about the rejection or about people not believing in me. I just, for no reason, believed in myself. If you don’t try, you’ll never know…go for it.”

Carly Chaikin grew up playing sports, outwardly showing almost no interest in an acting career. However, she knew from an early age that she would become an actress. On revealing her plans to family and friends, she was met with numerous doubts and many people who did not take her seriously. The high school student refused to let this bother her, having no doubt that this was what she was meant to do with her life. In this episode, she discusses her unusual path to pursuing her acting career and the incredible success that she has achieved.

Carly found her first success in 2009. She was just one year out of high school when she starred alongside Miley Cyrus in the film, The Last Song. Her breakout role was two years later when she co-starred as Dalia Royce in the ABC sitcom, Suburgatory. Shortly after this highly successful series ended, she began playing Darlene in the thriller drama series, Mr. Robot. Along with other television and film roles, she is also a painter and a writer. She is involved with the charitable organization National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), which conducts research and support for people and their families impacted by mental illness.

What You’ll Learn from This Episode:

  • Chaikin’s school journey and lack of acting experience
  • The ultimatum her father gave her when she chose acting over college
  • What happened one year after high school and how it changed her life forever
  • Her biggest lessons when finally landing her first role
  • The amazing story of how she got the role of Darlene in Mr. Robot
  • Her favorite role to date, and why
  • The complexities of shooting episodic TV with one director
  • Why Chaikin would love to do a short run play
  • A glimpse into Chaikin’s love of words and the unusual and creative ways in which she expresses it
  • Her muse for paintings
  • The thought-provoking concept behind her art show called Noun
  • Why she never pursued a career in fine arts despite her obvious talent
  • The significance of her first tattoo
  • Why art is so important and in particular, why it is “dangerous” to take it away from children

Featured on the Show:
Art Website | IMBd | NAMI | Twitter | Instagram