Meeting Catharine Daddario is like meeting an old friend – her energy is instantly kind, vibrant, and comforting. Her big, blue eyes are immediately friendly, making you immediately believe in this young woman. She’s just finished filming a pilot she wrote with her boyfriend, completed a horror movie, and had a role in a virtual reality movie. Ms. Daddario’s an actress and a model, following in her siblings’ footsteps. Her brother, Matthew, and her sister, Alexandra, are both actors – and successful ones at that. If they’re anything like their youngest sister, they’re good-spirited, poised, hard-working and intelligent.
I sat down with Catharine, and we chatted about her inspirations, her upcoming projects and her acting process.
What’s your process of going for an audition?
“First and foremost, I look at notes specifically for the character, and try and wrap my head around that. Is this a time period thing? What should the vibe be? And, of course, you have to memorize it, so most of the time is spent doing that – reading it aloud over and over again with somebody. There are a million actors, and somebody could just be that person and get the part most of the time. But, if I’m really inspired by something, I might go and spend too many hours working on it.”
Is there any role you’re particularly inspired by?
“I really like fully fleshed out female characters. I think a lot of the time, unless you’re the lead, you’re not really fleshed out. So, getting even a supporting character who has a backstory is really great. But, I’m a little spunky, so I really like getting a character like that. I can relate to that, so I like that. That would probably be my favorite character right now – someone who can turn aggression into laughs.”
Are there any characters in TV now that you would’ve loved to play?
“It’s hard because one of the things that makes them become a favorite for me is that the person is doing it so well. I’ve been watching a lot of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and Rachel Bloom is so great in that. Of course, I would love to play that, but she’s killing it. And I’m obsessed with BoJack Horseman and Evan Rachel Wood in Westworld – every interview with her is amazing, and she’s so good at the part.”
Did you have a favorite movie or TV show growing up?
“Oh man! A million! I really liked animation, so like Spirited Away, Mulan I could watch a million times because she’s female inspiration. I was actually obsessed with older movies as a kid, so like Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes or How to Marry a Millionaire – she has such charm and surprise wit. And Carey Grant and Katherine Hepburn, for example – their physical nature, I could only dream about. Their level of control in every one of their parts is impressive. I mean, Carey Grant came to this country as an acrobat, and you can really see that. The old stuff is really where I think a lot of inspiration for actors has to come from. Because now it’s not so easy for actors to see theater unless you live in New York or one of the bigger cities, so watching those old movies is as close as you can get.”
What about actors today?
“Reese Witherspoon. She’s so amazing and, growing up – I think Legally Blonde was the first movie I saw multiple times in the theater, because I was like female power! Elle Woods is so in control, and Reese Witherspoon did the best job of it. And [in] The Election, she did a great job of playing her character. I should mention my siblings – they’re my favorite actors of all time!”
Did you ever consider moving to LA?
“Yeah, I think it’s in the back of every actor’s mind. I like LA. I would definitely go there, but right now I have too many friends and a momentum going here, but if something takes me there, I’m willing.”
And you do some modelling work as well, right?
“Yeah! I’m doing it to get good at it. Ultimately, it will be necessary. Also, just learning where the cameras are and stuff is helpful. Any way to promote yourself is important.”
How did you find that this was what you wanted to do?
“I had speech apraxia when I was a kid, which basically meant that I couldn’t speak well when I was a kid. It was just pure gibberish. So a lot of what I was doing was motions and listening to their tone to figure out what they were saying. So a lot of it was really theatrical, so I could tell people what I wanted and what I was trying to say, because no one could understand me. So that’s what led me to having a lot of different problems in school. So I joined this theatre group because I was like I have to learn how to speak, and do it very well. So I joined this repertory company, and after doing show after show after show, I was like this is where I’m supposed to be.”
To keep up with Catharine, follow her on Instagram via: @catdaddario
