Carsyn Rose of ‘Amber Brown’: Inside the Strategy to Build an Acting Career from San Francisco to AppleTV+ Star

As a part of my series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Carsyn Rose.

Carsyn Rose is an eleven-year-old American actress who will be starring as the titular character in “Amber Brown,” a new AppleTV+ original about a girl who finds her own voice through art and music in the wake of her parents’ divorce. Amber is an everykid who is going through what many children experience, and making sense of her new family dynamic through her sketches and video diary.

Carsyn began working in entertainment soon after signing with a San Francisco agent at four years old. By the time she was six, it was apparent that her passion and talents were on screen. She booked her first TV job, a recurring role on a Nickelodeon show, that year. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2018, she has been cast on several shows including Big Show Show for Netflix, Dollface for Hulu, and a recurring role on Cousins for Life for Nickelodeon. She is known most recently for her ongoing recurring role spanning multiple seasons on The Rookie (ABC) with Nathan Fillion and Mekia Cox.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

For most of my life I was raised in the SF Bay Area as an only child with one parent. My mom felt that I had a big personality and she wanted to find an outlet for my creativity. I started print and commercial work up there, initially as a hobby. I found that I loved being on camera, and turned to theatrical (tv/film) work when I was five or six years old. My schedule got too busy with auditions and work to travel back and forth, so when I was 7, we moved to LA to be closer to the center of the industry. I auditioned a lot, booked bigger and bigger roles, and now I’m 11 years old and I get to be the star of an AppleTV+ show!

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your entertainment career?

One of my first roles was a speaking role in a Justin Timberlake music video. I remember that the set was in the middle of a downtown LA parking lot. They filled the lot with sand, used cranes to erect huge privacy walls around the lot, and had very large and elaborate props creating a post-apocalyptic world. It was insane! No one outside the lot could have possibly imagined what was going on inside of it.

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?

When we were practicing for one of my first roles, I said the words that are in parentheses on the script. These are just meant to be little notes to the actor, as action cues. For example, it may say “beat” in parentheses which tells the actor to take a beat, or a pause. You aren’t supposed to actually say the word “beat”. But as a little kid, I didn’t know better! Being an actress is harder than you’d think. There is a lot of code language to get used to.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

Right now I’m working on Amber Brown, which is a family comedy show on AppleTV+. It will premiere on July 29th. It’s about a young girl who is struggling with life changes, and is using art and music and her relationships to help her through her troubles. People go through challenging times in life, and I hope that this show can help them through that. If Amber Brown can do it, they can do it. She’s a very strong girl. Growing up, I haven’t seen a lot of people who look like me on TV. Especially strong girls. I hope that I can be that diverse face for people across the world, so that they see themselves represented on screen in a strong, smart character.

Most young people your age don’t have to balance work and school. Can you tell us how you manage to balance your schoolwork, auditions, and time on set?

Even though I fell in love with acting almost instantly, it was hard to miss school. I missed being with my friends. Soon I learned that you can also meet lots of wonderful people acting, so it became much easier. I’ve always been a pretty fast learner academically, so that part wasn’t hard. Time management is key to making any schedule work! Calendaring and being organized help too!

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?

My mom. Definitely. I couldn’t have done any of this without her. When we lived in NorCal, she would drive me down and back in the same day for auditions that I really wanted to do. That’s a lot of time in the car! We are really close. She’s supported me every step of the way, has stood behind me and always makes sure my needs are met. She’s been a big part in my career so far and I know she will be for the rest of it. Thank you, mom!

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s jump to the main part of our interview. 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. There’s a lot more rejection than you’d expect. I’ve gone on countless auditions and faced a lot of disappointment, in addition to the successes. But it’s important to look back and be able to say that I tried my best, and that’s always the most anyone can do.
2. Blocking isn’t an exact science. Blocking refers to the places where your body is supposed to go when you’re acting out a scene. Usually, they are planned by the director. I remember when I first started, I was very mechanical. I would step side to side and follow my marks exactly. I learned quickly that it’s way more flexible than that. On Amber Brown, Bonnie (Hunt) gave us a bit more freedom. We’d get to have a say in what felt natural and what didn’t, so it was more realistic. Acting is all about what we’d do in real life.
3. Kindness is very important, always, but especially on set. I always remember that people have been very kind to me. This made my acting experiences positive. As a main character, I try to do this for other people, so that they feel happy when they leave the set.
4. You aren’t going to get the biggest role early on. I went in expecting it to be easy to get to be a main character on a tv show. I wish I knew right away that you work your way up, and you work hard each step of the way. I started out doing smaller roles. It took a while to get to where I am, and I still have a ways to go. But I am super grateful for the roles I’ve had.
5. There are a lot of people who are a part of making a successful production. When we watch TV, we sometimes don’t realize how many people work behind the screens to make the show successful. Makeup artists, cameramen, assistants, props specialists, and more, all of them work hard and are important to the production. Not just the actors.

You are a person of enormous influence. How do you think you can use social media as a platform to be a positive influence to your fans, and for society at large?

Ever since the beginning of my career, I’ve looked forward to being able to use my platform for positive messaging, and to be a voice for positive change. It’s a chaotic world, and I’m hoping it can make someone feel better to turn on the tv to a show I’m on or to open social media to my page, and get absorbed in a world that makes them feel positive.

If you had the ability to choose to work on any TV show or film, or work alongside any co-star, or with any director, what or who would that be, and why? You never know who might see this article, especially if we tag them. :-)

I’d love to be in a Stephen King horror movie. I love the way the writing plays with your mind. I’ve always wanted to be a part of something like that. I also would love to work with Steven Spielberg. So many of his movies are classics, and I’d be honored to have that chance to work with him someday.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Instagram: @carsynroseofficial

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!