While chasing his dreams of becoming an actor, Canadian actor Carson MacCormac has established himself in the industry, and has plans to only expand his career as we head into 2022.
Carson can be found starring in East of the Middle West in the role of “Chris.” The film follows “Chris” as he navigates his life following his involvement in a fatal accident that leaves a mother and child dead. Through his interpretation of “Chris” in the film, Carson has been honored with the Best Actor award at the Montreal Independent Film Festival. Moreover, East of the Middle West was the closing film at the Chelsea Film Festival and won Best American Indie at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival.
Carson additionally joined the cast of the withstanding Netflix series Locke and Key for both Season 2 and 3. The series follows the three Locke siblings as they work through their father’s peculiar murder. The siblings seek refuge in their mother’s ancestral home, also known as Keyhouse. Carson takes on the role of “Benjamin Locke,” a vague ancestor of the siblings, whose storyline is set in the 1700s. Season 2 of Locke and Key premiered in October 2021, and Season 3 premieres TBD in 2022.
Notorious for his role in DC Comics superhero movie SHAZAM!, Carson plays “Brett Breyer.” Carson can soon be found in the upcoming Netflix and Lionsgate thriller, Luckiest Girl Alive. 360 MAGAZINE had the opportunity to chat with Carson about his acting career, and what we can expect to see for the future of his career.
When did you know that you wanted to pursue a career in acting?
Before I realized how much work it would take to become one. When I was a kid, I would sit and watch movies and think “I could totally do that.” Little did I know just how much training goes into becoming an actor with even a basic level of competency. However, I knew I would pursue it for a living near the end of high school. Interestingly enough, it was once I started having to seriously work at the craft that I fell I became obsessed. A career is a kind way of putting what I lovingly refer to as an addiction. Once I fell in love with the work my course was kind of set for me.
What is the process that you go through to prep for a new role?
A lot of writing initially. I have a 5-page cheat sheet I made to ensure I always flesh out my characters, but that is only usually the initial prep. The fun work comes in the imagining of who my character is and why. Writing I find helps me organize my thoughts. It also ensures that any fleeting ideas I have to add depth to a role are jotted down for me to refer to later. Physicality is an important one for me, getting a character into my body as at the end of the day, that physical work is the majority of what the camera picks up. When I get my head around a character, get my body into the role and get my lines down, I just let it all go and have fun with it.
What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned from the acting world?
One of my personal favorites is the reminder to stay curious and imaginative through all assets of life. Curiosity of self, of others and of things is, in my opinion, one of the purest forms of purpose humans can have. Acting has forced me to question everything, oftentimes myself included, and plunge into characters with circumstances and motives far removed from my own. That curiosity I find is a stream to the more pleasant qualities of people such as empathy, perspective, and self-reflection.
What is a bucket list goal that you want to accomplish in your career?
I would love to star in something that I wrote. It would have to come down the line, as I still have a lot to learn as a writer, but to take a page out of Good Will Hunting, I think the chance to build-a-bear a role that I could then portray would be incredibly enjoyable. That, to me, is also one of the most terrifying tasks I can think of for myself, which is why I think it excites me so much.
What is your #1 piece of advice for aspiring actors/ actresses?
Number one is to always ask why. Ask it about everything, as curiosity and a questioning mind is what I found helped me grow the most as an actor. Another important one that I found helped me a lot is to not take yourself too seriously. Actors are asked to play make believe for a living, oftentimes in highly emotional situations. The industry and the world is going to be hard enough on you, and so I find it important to be forgiving and understanding with yourself if the industry starts to wear you down. Your instrument will grow much faster in a healthy mindset than in one that is self-deprecating or judgmental.
What was the biggest takeaway from being a part of “East of Middle West?”
Externally, a lot of friends. I wish I could have taken that whole cast and crew home with me back to Canada but alas, airlines have a baggage limit. Personally, East of Middle West helped me learn to trust myself. Our shooting schedule was incredibly fast paced, with emotional scenes and high stakes. With such little prep time, a large part of my process became just letting go and flowing within scenes and seeing what would happen. It was at first, terrifying, but as filming went along, I found it to be an incredibly freeing experience. It forced me to trust myself as our timing constraints allowed for no other choice.
How was your experience joining a withstanding show/ team on “Locke and Key?”
It helped that I could watch season 1 and get a sense for how I fit into the cast but more than anything, I noticed the benefits in how efficiently everything was running. Even with the added pressure that COVID put on the production, the whole set was one giant, well-oiled machine. Outside of the whole ‘acting; part of my job, I find that being on set can often feel like being a toddler sitting at the parents’ dinner table: don’t interject in the adult conversations you barely understand and make sure you stay in your spot and listen carefully to your parents’ direction. Locke and Key made me feel as if that internal child was being spoiled rotten at every step of the way. It was truly a joy to be part of such a talented team.
What role, would you say, pushed you out of your comfort zone the most thus far?
Maybe because it’s still fresh in my memory, but my upcoming role in Luckiest Girl Alive. It is such a far cry from anything I have played before, with stakes higher and more brutal than a lot of my previous work. Not to mention the director, Mike Barker, was incredibly gracious in allowing me to experiment with improvisation in my scenes. Scary at first, but with time thinking about ‘what can I throw into this scene?’ became something I looked forward to every day.
What can we expect from Carson MacCormac in the future?
Luckiest Girl Alive, as I mentioned, is coming out sometime in 2022 and I couldn’t be more excited for audiences to see it. I think this film is necessary, timely, and pushes the industry as a whole in an important direction. It also just happens to be one entertaining ride. I worked on a show premiering in January called Astrid and Lily Save the World and boy oh boy, is it crazy. The show is outrageous, wild, and I’m thrilled to be part of it. I have a few projects coming out in 2022 that I can’t quite talk about just yet… and another feature film being released in 2023 that I am very excited to share…. Stay tuned!
