Rising Stars: Meet Caroline Morahan of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Morahan.

Hi Caroline, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m an Irish actress and television host. 

My move to Los Angeles was practically overnight.  My boyfriend (now husband) invited me over for a long weekend to support a friend’s movie premiere.

Six months later I had packed up my life in Ireland and moved.  You could say it was a rash decision. But sometimes you just have to go with your gut!

Before the move to LA, I was on my sixth season hosting a fashion makeover show on Irish TV. I was ready for a different creative challenge.  I felt a huge draw to go back to acting which was something I’d loved but hadn’t been doing for years. It was a secret wish I hadn’t voiced out loud.

After an award show in Dublin where my show was nominated, Jim Sheridan the Oscar winning director, requested a meeting with me. It was out of the blue for me and I was so excited that he wanted a face-to-face. He told me he’d been watching my career and said I ought to be acting. It was quite a surreal experience. I shared that I’d been quietly feeling that. But hadn’t even really admitted it to myself. He told me I should move to LA. He may as well have said I should move to Mars. Leaving Ireland was not on my radar at all.

A few months later I was a judge on a TV talent show coincidentally alongside Jim’s brother Peter who is an incredible theatre director and playwright. He too asked me if I acted. At that point I had started listening to my inner voice and was doing private coaching with the late, great Conal Kearney a wonderful Irish acting coach who did a lot of work with Colin Farrell.

Peter put me forward for a play that was casting at the time. I hadn’t done an acting audition in eons and was a total fish out of water. Also there was the added layer that it was a musical and I hadn’t sung professionally before. I had a couple of big solos so it was a frightening prospect! I was bowled over when I booked the role. The first day of rehearsals crystalized for me it was what I wanted to do.

Life is so unexpected! A week after the national tour of the show ended I found myself unexpectedly in LA for the weekend. And that was that! It was where I belonged.

My love of acting began early. My parents recognized it and put me in drama school from a young age.

At drama school, quite a few of my class mates were working on big films and shows but my parents weren’t keen for me to be in a professional, adult environment so young. I respect their instinct to protect me. The first job they allowed me to do was on an Irish soap when I was 15.

The part was supposed to be one scene, but the writers and producers thought the character had legs, so they wrote her in as a series regular.

The show offered me a three year contract. My parents counseled me to keep my options open but I’d already decided myself, instead of signing, I focused on graduating high-school.  I had missed a lot of school while being on the show and although an incredible learning experience, it was disruptive in many ways. 

I think at the forefront of my mind were my mother’s words that acting is such a tough life. You have to be really sure it’s what you want.  At that young age, I didn’t know what I wanted.

Also, I really didn’t enjoy the fame part of being on television. I was a self-conscious teenager and people would make comments and stare, which was really terrifying to me.  Especially as with soaps, people feel like they know you and my character was a nasty piece of work! Her accent, behavior, M.O. – none of it bore any resemblance to me. The character was a 19 year old working woman and I was a school uniform-wearing child.  I’m delighted I grew up before social media. At least the bullies had a limited reach!
 
So instead of a theatre degree, I studied Communications.  While there, a friend asked me to help out on a pilot for an entertainment show.  With no experience and no clue what I was doing I ended up hosting the pilot.  I was physically sick with nerves but once the red light went on, I found live television so thrilling.  The pilot didn’t get picked up, but it definitely sowed a seed within me. Although I was pursuing other avenues – I went into journalism after college and had a column in a national newspaper – performing in some form kept on pulling me back.

It was while doing my newspaper column “Caroline in the City” (what a riot that was!!) that my sister encouraged me to audition for a new quiz show. The Irish national broadcaster RTE wanted a total unknown. They launched a nationwide campaign to find a new face and built a show around the search. 2000 were invited to audition.

I was lucky enough to book the job. Next thing I knew I was hosting a show in front of a live audience. It was a baptism of fire. The show was a big hit and ran for 5 seasons. That really launched my career as a host in Ireland.  Plus It launched my sister’s business in entertainment management. She managed my career and many other entertainment personalities. From that, I went on to hosting the fashion makeover show which was the holy Grail of television viewing for women and their daughters at that time. It was a real honor to host that for six seasons. 

I made delivering a positive message to women my goal.  There were other shows at the time that for dramatic effect and ratings, shamed women about how they looked. Underneath the big transformations I felt the message was “You’re not enough”. 

I made it my mission to help women develop their own natural confidence and be the best version of themselves without kowtowing to other peoples ideals.

I fronted all manner of television from big live televised events with 100,000 people in attendance “O2 in the Park” to late night comedy and prime time talent shows. I hosted a late night comedy show with “Podge and Rodge” who are comic icons in Ireland. They are puppets!! Imagine Statler and Waldorf, the curmudgeonly muppets who sit in the balcony in the Muppet Show, only with adult humor and a potty mouth. They got away with saying things to our celebrity guests no human host could ever say!! I would regularly have to wipe tears away I was laughing so much.

On the other side of the TV spectrum, I’ve hosted day time chat shows – “The Afternoon Show”, mentored young people on a much loved series as the tried their hand at TV hosting – “It’s my Show”. I had a blast hosting “Chance to dance” where Ireland’s top dancers battled it out for a lucrative dance contract and the chance to perform on Kylie Minogue’s tour.

One of the most nerve-racking hosting experiences for me was when I hosted the Irish Academy Awards The IFTAs, which is the equivalent of The Oscars.  Presiding over a room full of my peers – actors I really admire, brilliant directors – it was daunting! It feels really good years later to be on the other side: a guest at the IFTAs because of my acting work.

I fell for Los Angeles because of the boundless possibilities it represented.  I found myself immersed in a place where so many people were following their creative passions. That was so inspiring to me.

I felt people in the industry back home would pigeonhole me only as a host. In LA I could change direction with no commentary. So I moved with no plan, no connections and started from the beginning. It was a really tough move, but a magical process of learning and discovery.

I knew it was a huge risk going from the big fish small pond situation to starting over. The opinion of the press at the time was divided. There was much commentary applauding me for the bold move and equally as many naysayers who thought I was crazy to leave a big career.

But it just felt like something I needed to do for myself.  Luckily for me, my other half was up for the adventure too!

That initial time was lonely.  It took time to get a footing.  I studied with some great teachers here who all had different approaches. Eventually I started to find what worked for me. A big turning point for me was when I booked my first TV pilot in LA.  I played a posh Brit on a cop show with Greg Grunberg and Ken Leung. That gave me such a boost of confidence as I really felt finally, I belonged in the room as an actor.  I had such imposter syndrome as my career prior had been as a host and writer.  It took a long time for me to follow my own instincts and trust my process.

Gradually I booked more roles and got to travel all over with different projects and work with some actors I’ve admired for years. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Who’s road is ever smooth!?

My mother was so right. This is such a tough career! The disappointments along the way have been bitter. I wasn’t used to that in my 20s in Ireland when things fell so easily into my lap. Here it’s much more of a graft and there’s so much luck involved.  Talent and hard work are not enough.

The challenges have been many. I think my experience mirrors that of any LA actor right now. The lack of face to face connection thanks to self taping has been really tough. I miss the in room energy you get with casting, collaborating with a director in the room, feeling them leaning in. Sending tapes into the abyss feels sterile.

But even before all that changed – this business punches you in the stomach on the regular!

The biggest challenge is to stay positive and not take things personally. Easier said than done, right? The wins are so magical but the let downs can be crushing.

A great antidote to that has been the work I’ve done with my theatre company her in LA – InHouse Theatre Company. I was welcomed into a great community of actors when they approached me for the role of Valerie in Conor McPherson’s compelling piece “The Weir”. Together we’ve built our immersive, site specific company. It’s been a wonderful source of fulfillment as when the lack of control over booking roles gets me down, creating my own work renews me. Also, I’ve been offered many roles off the back of someone seeing me perform with InHouse so that’s been an amazing bonus!

As I’ve matured, I cope way better with the rejection part of the industry. Especially now that I’ve become a mother. That has really put things into perspective for me.  We have two children – Irish twins ; ) Our youngest just started kindergarten. I don’t have time to pout if I’m down to the last two and not chosen.   Having little ones that are growing so fast before my very eyes forces me to stay present to their needs.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
What work am I most proud of? I have feature coming out later this year I’m really proud of. A dark psychological thriller “I Hope We Can Still Be Friends” directed by Aisha Tyler.

You never know when your starting a project how it’s all going to turn out. On this one, everything just clicked. I’m am really proud of it. I would follow Aisha into a burning building. What an utter joy it was to work with her. She really knows how to run a set and get the best from everyone. It was such a welcoming, collaborative space.

It’s the first feature I did since becoming a parent. The early days of motherhood was so intense, there was no room for anything else. You begin to wonder will I ever get back out there. I know a lot of new mom’s feel the same way. It can be quite isolating and anxiety inducing. But it’s so gratifying to get back creating and have something of my own. The film was a heavy lift as there are just two characters played by me and the film’s writer and fabulous human Emmett Hughes. The response to the film is so exhilarating! Plus it premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland so all my friends and family were there. I’m so known back home for more glamorous roles. This film gave me an opportunity to show my range. It was a gritty, dark piece. The biggest compliment I got was people forgot it was me they got so swept up in the story.

Other career highlights include working with Kathy Bates on her Netflix sitcom Disjointed.  I hadn’t done a sitcom before and it’s the closest thing to theatre I’ve experienced on camera. She was so gracious and tuned in to everyone. That show was very demanding for her but still she made time to really connect and make me feel so comfortable on set.

When I was offered the titular  ”she” in “She Stoops to Conquer” at Ireland’s National Theatre – The Abbey – that was huge cause for celebration.  That is such an historic space and is of major cultural significance.  The show was mounted as part of the centenery celebration of the theatre. It was a proud moment for my family.  Living so far away it was wonderful being able to be back in Dublin and share that experience with them.  Also as it was such a big deal, family flew in from New York, UK and all over to see it. It was very special.

The Abbey Theatre also mounted a special performance in Washington DC to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising when Irish people fought for independence from Britain. I was a privilege to perform works from Ireland’s literary greats and to sing rebel songs for an audience of US and Irish dignitaries including the Taoiseach (Irish Head of State) Enda Kenny.

I put my TV talent judging shoes back on for The World’s Best, a CBS talent show similar to America’s Got Talent except the contestants were from all over the world. I was chosen among the European judges alongside Drew Barrymore, RuPaul and Faith Hill who comprised the US Judging panel. James Cordon hosted. That premiered right after the Superbowl on CBS so my phone was hopping with friends and family all over the country who were tuning in!

People often ask do I prefer TV, film or theatre. I love it all for different reasons. In LA, when I have the opportunity to work with incredible actors I’ve long admired, it’s such a thrill. I adore Bradley Whitford so I had a ball working with him, Busy Phillips and Casey Rose Wilson on a pilot Tina Fey produced.  I’m glued to him on The Diplomat!

My dad was tickled when I worked with Kelsey Grammer on The Last Tycoon.  We grew up watching Cheers! What a gent he is.

My nieces back home were beside themselves when I played Queen Elinor on Once Upon a Time. They were obsessed with the show at the time.  Also I love great costuming. So I was in heaven wearing the incredible regal gowns of my character. I spent lots of time wandering the acres of wardrobe when I had down time on set. It was like being in a fashion museum!!

As I mentioned, a group of actor friends and I have built a theater company InHouse Theater here in LA over the last 10 years.  We specialize in immersive, site-specific work.  The audience is treated to intimate performances where they feel like a fly on the wall with all the action happening around them. It’s deeply impactful and it’s a buzz like no other for actors and audience members alike.  That’s been a nourishing and fertile playground for me as an artist as we decide the stories we want to tell and the roles we want to play. Great things always happen when we get together! Like me being cast in the Tribeca Award winning BBC Drama The Skies are Watching after I was spotted performing a piece my sister Olivia Morahan wrote “The Homecoming”.

We’re mounting the rolling world premiere of Bobby Robotowitz by Matt Schatz this winter.   It’s a co-production with IAMA in Los Angeles so we’re excited about sharing that.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Do you mean career or life? Career success for me is getting to do what I love, impacting others in a positive way and getting paid good money to do that!

Success in life is having nurturing relationships and fun with my family and friends and work that is fulfilling.

I’m ambitious and like most actors I would love to have more regular, consistent work. But I don’t view success as being number one on the call sheet.

It may sound corny, but the role of mother has been the most important one of my life. I will always carve out time for my career but while they’re this young and needy, it’s family first for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.inhousetheatre.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinemorahan/

Image Credits
Names to be credited listed on individual jpegs. Barry McCall Steve Humphreys