“I’d love to start a movement to support charities for animals, underprivileged kids, and kids with cancer” With Kate Tomlinson
You need to have another life. (I got told this a couple weeks ago by someone I look up to. I just wish I had heard it years ago. You can’t have a life that only revolves around acting. You need to have regular life experiences to be a good actor and to stay happy. Scripts usually revolve around things that happen in most people’s lives. If you can’t connect with that, then you will have a much harder time being the character. You have to live and be a normal person too.)
I had the pleasure of interviewing: Kate Tomlinson. Kate is an actress and singer. Originally, from Wyoming, Kate currently lives in Los Angeles. She is best known for Hannah on Stuck in the Middle and Heather on the Thundermans.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I always wanted to be an actress. When I was little, I would sit in front of the TV and pretend I was in the show I was watching. I lived in a very small town in Wyoming and never really thought that I could make it to Hollywood. In a small town there are not a lot of opportunities for acting. I loved theater and did several local musicals but never had done film. My mom saw a Facebook ad for acting classes through Seattle Talent. The classes were in Idaho Falls. I drove two hours over a mountain to get to my classes every Sunday but it was worth it. I had so much fun. At the end of the classes we had a showcase where I met Karla Huff from Dream Talent Management. Karla believed in me and encouraged me to go for it.
Now I am in LA doing what I love!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?
I worked on Nickelodeon’s The Thundermans at a sound studio on the Paramount lot. Paramount is one of my favorite places to work. My great aunt was in town and so was my dad. I had one of the Star Waggons with my name outside. My dad thought it was the coolest thing. While I was working, my dad and aunt took the studio tour. The tour passed by my trailer. When my dad saw it, he pointed it.
Everyone on the tour, including the guide, were in shock and awe. The tour guide even stopped the tour so everyone could get off and take pictures of my honey wagon. It was so amazing for me because I realized how lucky I am to be able to do this job.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
My second audition was for Nickelodeon. I hadn’t even moved to LA when I got this audition. I was just visiting. My manager somehow got me two audition in the week I was down in LA. I didn’t even have an agent yet. Anyways, I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know how to film act and I didn’t know what a slate was. I also had no confidence when I walked into the room. I had never done this before. So the casting director asks me to slate. I had to ask her what that was and she looked at me like I was crazy. Which made me even more nervous. So then when I started the scene, I messed up all of my lines and had to restart like 6 times. Now I look back and laugh but at the time it was so embarrassing. I learned that I need to be confident. My entire audition would have run much smoother if I just believed in myself. In fact, every audition runs smoothly for me when I have confidence in my talent and myself.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I haven’t been working on much lately. I am back in the auditioning process. I hope to work soon though and I have gotten so many amazing opportunities lately. In the mean time I am taking acting and improv classes so I will be ready when the next big opportunity hits.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
Honestly, everyone in this industry is super interesting and fun. There is something about acting that all actors can connect on. You almost always have something in common with another actor. I got to work with Minnie Driver on Speechless. She is so cool. I was starstruck when I met her.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
You have to love it. This industry is great but there are a lot of downs. You get rejected constantly and you will be disappointed but if you love it, you’ll want to keep going. Just make sure you truly want this because if you don’t, you won’t enjoy it.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would support charities for animals, underprivileged kids, kids with cancer, and kids with mental or physical disabilities. Those are things I am passionate about. Because of acting, I have been lucky enough to volunteer with the Children’s Cerebral Palsy Movement, the Special Olympics, and Big Sunday. I plan to go on mission trips someday when I am older and help other countries but I am also very passionate about helping kids in the United States.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. It’s hard. ( I mean, no one told me it was easy but watching TV is much different than being on TV.)
2. You’re not going to like it at times. (That is the hard truth. You may love it but you will not like it every single day. You will get rejected and disappointed and you will feel like giving up. You have to remember that tomorrow is going to be a whole new day and you will love every bit of it.)
3. You need to have another life. (I got told this a couple weeks ago by someone I look up to. I just wish I had heard it years ago. You can’t have a life that only revolves around acting. You need to have regular life experiences to be a good actor and to stay happy. Scripts usually revolve around things that happen in most people’s lives. If you can’t connect with that, then you will have a much harder time being the character. You have to live and be a normal person too.)
4. You have to be able to go with the flow especially in auditions. (Every single casting director is different. Every single audition will be different. Some obstacles in the audition will be harder than others. For instance, a bad reader is always hard because you can’t connect with the person. You just have to go with the flow and do your best.)
5. You have to accept that you may lose the part because of something other than your talent. What is meant to be will be. (You can’t force someone that doesn’t fit the role into the role. Losing the role most of the time has nothing to do with talent. They could just want a different look or essence. There are a lot of factors that go into booking the role like your look, essence, who you know, or how many followers you have.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”- Audrey Hepburn.
Audrey Hepburn is my favorite. If I could go back in time, I would go back to the 50’s and 60’s and meet her. This quote is very empowering to everyone but mostly women. It is a great life lesson and guide to life. It really makes you want to work harder, be happier, and live better.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Well, everyone really. I have so many people to be grateful for. My parents are amazing; they moved down to LA just for me. My manager, who gave a small town girl a chance. My acting coach, I love her. She is inspiring and empowering. My friends, who truly support me in everything. And, my haters (YUP!) I love you too because you just push me to work harder. Everyone I have ever met has had an impact on my life. Some of them may have hurt me in some way but I learned from that. Every single person pushes me to be better than I was the day before and I am forever grateful for that.
Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂
I would love to meet Laura Verallo de Bertotto from VMV Hypoallergenics and Susie Wang from 100% Pure. These women are both founders of hypoallergenic makeup lines. I have horrible skin allergies. I’ve reacted so many times on set that I now bring my own makeup. I use products from both of their lines. I want to do my own makeup line when I am old enough and make it something that everyone with allergies or no allergies will want to use.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
My instagram is @katemarietomlinson My Facebook is Katetomlinsonactress My twitter is Katetomlinson