Meet Erin Kuykendall | Actress

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Kuykendall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
The thing I have learned the most since beginning my acting career is how important it is to surround yourself with like-minded people and friends who inspire and lift you up. When I first moved to LA, I used to be so scared of making connections because I felt guilty, as if people would think I’m using them. Over time, I’ve come to understand that every artist out here is just doing their best to make it and how much people are willing to lend a helping hand. Since changing my mindset, I have gathered such an amazing group of friends and creatives who constantly work to help lift each other up. It takes a village to survive in this industry and most of my success has coming from building this village and tending to it in return.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have always loved acting, since I was 6 years old in my first play as the squirrel in Hansel and Gretel. The stage was my first love, whether it was acting, lighting design or directing. When I was in my junior year of highschool, my good friend and fellow creative, Javier Alatorre, asked me to be in his short film for our school’s short film contest. From there, I knew film was where I wanted to be. I majored in Theatre and Psychology at Loyola Marymount University. My Psych degree has helped me tremendously when it comes to dissecting a character’s motivation. Not only has it made me a better actor, but it has also given me great communication and team-building skills. Understanding other’s perspectives and leading life through empathy allows me to build deep and meaningful connections with my directors, crew and cast members. I think this is a big reason as to why I have the love and support that I am so grateful for today. I have been involved in all sorts of media, from short films to music videos to features and most frequently, vertical series. The vertical world is so new, but I think it has the potential to be something great and has given so many young actors and actresses a chance to lead a feature-length story that we would normally have to wait years for. What I am most excited about coming up in my career is reigniting my love for directing. I have the amazing to opportunity to shadow one of my former directors and be a sponge for how to direct film. The biggest thing I have learned recently is how important it is as an actor to involve yourself in all aspects of film. It can be so hard to submit self-tape after self-tape into the ether and wait months to finally do what I love again. Bringing my skills into other aspects of film allows me to continuously fulfill myself creatively.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If i were to show someone around LA for the first time, I would take them to the farmers market at the grove for breakfast and coffee. Then we would, of course, have to go down to Manhattan Beach and soak in the sun. After that, maybe some shopping on 3rd street and dinner at my favorite sushi spot, Wabi on Rose in Venice. To end the night, we would have to go out dancing at my favorite house music and edm spot, Sound Club and get chocolate chip pancakes from Canter’s Deli at 3:00 am.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my Shoutout to CandyJar, Inkitt Media and all of the amazing people at Purple Cactus Productions, specificially two of my amazing directors, Maria Prieto and Ryan Wagner. The vertical production world can be fast-paced and overwhelming at times, but I am so grateful for CandyJar booking me on first lead role in the vertical series The Billionaire’s Baby and for calling me back to work on Half of My Heart and Coming of Age. The producers and crew are so loyal and kind to their actors and I would not have the successes under my belt today without them taking a chance on me. They are truly the best.

Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12944543/

Instagram: erin_rae02

Facebook: Erin Kuykendall

Other: Management: wilsonmanagement26@gmail.com

Image Credits
Inkitt Media
CandyJar
PurpleCactusProductions
Xingyu Chen and Kuan Cao