Carolyn Michelle

Carolyn Michelle is an actress, producer, educator, and entrepreneur. Her credits include: "Brilliant Minds", "And Just Like That", "The Chi", "Russian Doll", "House of Cards", and the role of Vanessa, opposite Kathleen Chalfant's Ruth, in Sarah Friedland's celebrated indie film "Familiar Touch." On this episode she talks about her deeps roots with that project, and what she told Friendland she needed to bring that character to life. She takes us back to her earliest days as an actor, and the mentor whose influence is still felt today. Carolyn has served as Co-Director of Lena Waithe's Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab, and is a former visiting lecturer at Cornell University and Fordham University. She talks about how teaching feeds her acting, the power of sound frequencies in prep work, the importance of empowering the actor, why great production design and being able to stay in character on set are so important to her, plus much more! Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine . In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft. Follow Back To One on Instagram

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Carolyn Michelle is an episode from Back To One by Filmmaker Magazine.

This episode is 56:01 long.

This episode was published on Jan 13, 2026.

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