{"id":954,"date":"2023-09-30T09:55:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-30T13:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rickollie.com\/?p=954"},"modified":"2025-05-26T07:17:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T11:17:48","slug":"meet-caroline-harris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickollie.com\/es\/2023\/09\/30\/meet-caroline-harris\/","title":{"rendered":"Caroline Harris: Championing Midwest Values in Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actor, Friend and Midwesterner<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 30, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Caroline
Caroline Harris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Writers Note:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve known ‘Commander Lynch; from Syfy’s Megalodon.’ <\/strong>since the movie’s release in 2018. And if I were to sort through my Instagram Stories<\/strong>, I’d find her as my first upload, in that newly enacted feature back on July 15, 2019. I knew back then Caroline Harris<\/strong> was special. She was different, in a good way. This is ‘Janey from Green River Bend’s’<\/strong> story. – Rick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago Upbringing:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Born and raised in the Chicago<\/strong> Community <\/strong>of Hyde Park <\/strong>and now living in California<\/strong>, I asked, ‘Amy <\/strong>of The Compatibility Report,’ <\/strong>where she calls home. <\/strong>Caroline i<\/strong>nterjected (I will write her responses by her various character roles). “When people ask where I\u2019m from, I say Chicago and I\u2019ll probably say that forever. California does feel like home. I cannot imagine living anywhere else. I\u2019d like to attribute my grounded nature and \u201cstick-to-itiveness\u201d<\/strong> (my middle school gym teacher\u2019s favorite word) to being from the Midwest.”<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

       “Growing up,” adds Kelsey from Perspectives<\/strong>, “my mom wouldn\u2019t allow me or my sisters to quit an activity that we had signed up for until a year had passed, even if we hated it. I loved soccer and started playing soccer at age 4 and played competitively until college, when I decided to focus more on acting (though I still played club soccer at Northwestern). I was a forward, scored a lot of goals and excelled at the sport.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      “Basketball, on the other hand, was a sport I picked up later on, says ‘Katherine<\/strong> of Goodnight.<\/strong>‘ I actually had a really good jump shot so when I tried out for my high school team, I somehow made varsity as a freshman. However, I didn\u2019t play a single minute of game time! I was devastated, I hated going to practice and sitting on the bench. I asked my mom if I could quit mid-season and she said no. So, I stuck it out. Practice every day after school. I worked hard at skill building and supporting my teammates. Looking back, of course I sat on the bench, my game consisted of being able to shoot but not much else. And when Freshman year ended, you bet I didn\u2019t rejoin the team Sophomore year.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     ‘Sarah from Together’<\/strong> jumps in. “Having a mentality of sticking to something you sign up for, even if it doesn\u2019t turn out as you expected, has served me well in adulthood. That being said, the biggest challenge for me in Hollywood<\/strong> has been dealing with rejection.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Caroline
Caroline in Center, with Her Parents and Sisters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

     Caroline chose Northwestern University<\/strong> in Evanston, Illinois, which is about a 45-minute drive from Hyde Park, to attend college and lived all four years on campus. She majored in Theatre<\/strong> and minored in Spanish.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sports:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     <\/strong> I know you enjoy tennis and also running. Did you play other sports either growing up or in college competitively? Were my two follow up questions to ‘Tiffany on Trauma Informed’<\/strong> after the tennis reference above. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     “Big White Sox <\/strong>fan (sorry, Rick)<\/strong>,” Caroline began, knowing I’m a Tigers<\/strong> fan. (I forgive you, Caroline) <\/strong>“Soccer was actually my main sport! My dad taught my sisters and me to play from the time we could walk. My older sister played club soccer at Yale, I played club at Northwestern<\/strong> (sorry, Caroline. Go Blue<\/strong>) and my little sister was a full-scholarship varsity athlete at the University of Michigan. <\/strong>I still play soccer in LA and fun fact is that my little sister joined my team when she moved here about two years ago!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      “Running is something I picked up for the mental benefits and have grown to enjoy it, though I wouldn\u2019t call myself a runner,” said ‘Shook’s, Claire.’<\/strong> “I ran a half marathon in January and plan to run a marathon in the next three years, but I don\u2019t go out and run for fun. I did do a running challenge where I ran one mile a day for a year as a mental health exercise but that ended in June, and I haven\u2019t run consistently since.”  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      “Finally, tennis, my newest love! I picked up tennis during the pandemic. Now, I play 3- 4 times a week and really enjoy it,” voiced ‘American Anthology’s, Ruth Okenowi.’ “<\/strong>But it’s relatively new to me. I guess you could say I played a tiny bit as a kid if you include hitting with my grandpa, who was a college tennis player. He taught me and my sisters how to hold a racket and hit and we did a few local camps as children, but that was the extent of our tennis training!” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hollywood Life<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     <\/strong> “You get one job out of 20 if you\u2019re lucky,” offered up ‘Zara Bell of Ringman.’<\/strong> “You get callbacks and then \u201cghosted.\u201d<\/strong> It\u2019s just the way it goes. My siblings, one of whom is a lawyer and the other in business found it shocking when I told them that in acting, if you don\u2019t hear anything you assume you didn\u2019t get the job. There\u2019s no notice. You take the silence as a no. It hurts but I\u2019ve certainly gotten better at dealing with it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      “I remember in college, an actor who went to Northwestern came back to talk to the theatre majors about auditions and she said that she would always plan something fun for after an audition. That way, she had something to look forward to and anticipate so her excitement didn\u2019t get all wrapped up in the audition,” opined ‘Samantha from Tethered (Trailer Below).’ “<\/strong>I do that sometimes. I\u2019ll go buy myself my favorite fancy coffee after an audition or go play tennis<\/strong>. I have learned with experience to accept that a \u201cno\u201d just means \u201cnot now\u201d instead of \u201cnot ever.\u201d I\u2019ve worked enough to really believe this, but my gosh, it hurts to be close to big jobs and end up not booking.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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