Rising Star Greta Carew-Johns On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

An Interview With Guernslye Honoré

You don’t need to wait for things to be “perfect” to start. I’m pretty sure I was told this by many people but sometimes you have to figure it out on your own. I spent a great deal of time worrying that I had started acting too late and that I was too old to get into it. Since moving to Vancouver, I realize I’m glad I had the life experience and job experience I did, all of that adds to my professionalism and what I can offer to a role.

As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Greta Carew-Johns.

A remarkable and stunning talent, Greta Carew-Johns is an Australian film and television actor currently based in Vancouver, BC.

Prior to appearing on the big and small screens, Greta was a practising lawyer in Brisbane, Australia, where she was born and raised. It was halfway through her dual degree of Laws and Commerce, with a major in Finance, that Greta discovered her love of acting.

Greta’s first experience on a big production, appearing in a small role in Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok solidified her desire to move to Canada, in the summer of 2018, to pursue acting as a career. Greta has since appeared in numerous productions including Lifetime’s The Pregnancy Scheme, Meeting Mr. Christmas, The CW’s Supergirl and ABC’s A Million Little Things.

Greta can also be heard as the voice of Sara, one of the lead characters in Curiouscast’s popular scripted podcast Escaping Denver, which had its season 3 launch on October 9th.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Thanks for having me.

I grew up in Brisbane, Australia in the suburbs with my parents and my older sister.

We lived in a lovely neighbourhood where my parents were friends with many of the neighbours. I remember the neighbours regularly playing tennis at our place and my parents hosting annual tennis tournaments for Wimbledon and The Australian Open. I would look forward to those tournaments every year. Not that I was playing, I was a bit young, but I loved the festive feel of having everyone over at our place, the competitive spirit and the laughter that came with it.

Another memory I cherish from growing up there — every year on Christmas Eve our whole street would get together to sing Christmas Carols and in later years set up a Santa’s runway down the street with rows of candles.

When I was 10 and my sister was 11, we got our first dog, Billy, a border collie cross and a year later we got Sally an English springer spaniel. From the time we got Billy, every morning my sister and I would run downstairs to see our “puppies” (as we called them their entire lives). They were our pride and joy. I even took them to “show and tell” at school one day soon after we’d got each of them. They also loved when neighbours and friends came over and would happily enjoy pats from anyone, or steal their food when they were watching the tennis.

I have many happy memories of growing up in Brisbane.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I think the “spark” was lit in a Grade 10 oral presentation where, after reading To Kill A Mockingbird, we were tasked with choosing a character, writing an inner monologue of the character about a certain part of the story and performing it for the class. I memorized it and performed it in a Southern American accent and to my surprise loved it. I was shaking with excitement. I had been completely immersed in the character while I was giving my presentation, something I had not experienced before. While that was the moment a desire for acting was sparked, I didn’t pursue it until much later.

In fact, I took a bit of an unusual route to becoming an actor. I went on to complete dual degrees at the University of Queensland — a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Finance) and Bachelor of Laws. I then practised as a lawyer for a few years in Australia. I think subconsciously I’d always wanted to act but once I’d realized that, I didn’t think I was brave enough or creative enough to try. But that didn’t stop the desire from growing and eventually outweighing the fear. I had been trying to pursue acting on the side while I was lawyer and attending many classes but that wasn’t enough for me, and I ended up pulling away from the law and focusing entirely on acting. About a year after making that decision I moved to Vancouver to be part of a bigger film and television industry.

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

One that comes to mind is the audition for and booking the lead role on Meeting Mr. Christmas. I was at Whistler at the time with my boyfriend and our friend. The audition was 12 pages and I had rather an elaborate set up to film the audition using all types of furniture in the Airbnb — I had side tables on top of the sofa, the iPad secured to the leg of the side table so my acting coach could call in and coach virtually and my friend and boyfriend were holding up material between the two of them to diffuse the light. Somehow, we made it work.

Within a day or two, while on the ski lift, I received word from my agent saying that the production was very interested and I was “on hold” for the role. While this meant I was down to the last 2 or so it was still a huge win to get that close. We started squealing and cheering (probably shocking some skiers on their way down). It was such a surreal experience. A few days later it was confirmed that I had the lead role. I think that experience will stick in my memory for some time as one of the most interesting audition set ups and locations to get the news of a role.

It has been said that mistakes can be our greatest teachers. 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?

I like to joke around on set and make it a fun environment as much as I can. In between takes I’ll often be chatting to the crew or the cast and generally being silly. What you often forget is that sometimes your mic is left on and all the chatter and joking ends up being heard by the producers. Apparently, on this project they were all in stitches listening to the playback. I had no idea and was a little embarrassed when I found out but mostly glad I was able to get them laughing. I learned to be aware that people may be listening, which is not so much of a problem unless you’re having a private conversation. I’m sure I have many more mistakes to make and learn from.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I’m excited for listeners to dive into season 3 of Escaping Denver. This is a scripted fiction podcast in which I play Sara. The podcast is based on various conspiracy theories that surround the Denver International Airport. The listeners follow Sara and Noah (played by Brady Roberts) who wake up in complete darkness, trapped miles below the Denver International Airport (DIA) with no hope for escape. Sara and Noah struggle for freedom from a mind-bending labyrinth filled with unimaginable horrors. Seasons 1 and 2 are available anywhere you listen to podcasts and the first episode of Season 3 aired on October 9, 2023.

As a rising star, you’ve likely faced challenges along the way. How do you stay motivated and overcome obstacles in your career?

I focus on what I think my purpose is and what I have to offer the industry. For me that is doing my bit to tell great stories. I aim to keep my attention on the effort I’m putting in rather than the results. This means honing in on the things I can control and that contribute towards my success like acting practice, staying fit and healthy, networking, keeping up to date with what is filming or new shows coming out — anything I can do to stay ready for the next opportunity that is coming. Motivation can wane from time to time, so I lean on daily habits in these areas (acting practice, health, fitness etc.) which helps me stay on track and makes me feel like I am achieving something each day.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

It is important to have a wide variety of stories played by a wide variety of actors (and those behind the scenes) to expand our views as humans. It’s a positive thing to watch and listen to stories of people who are like you and who are very different to you. I believe we have so much to learn from each other. Part of the role of the entertainment industry is to present different perspectives and worldviews, part of it is to entertain. Great stories can come from anywhere and it’s so rewarding to be open to that possibility.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?

1 . You don’t need to wait for things to be “perfect” to start. I’m pretty sure I was told this by many people but sometimes you have to figure it out on your own. I spent a great deal of time worrying that I had started acting too late and that I was too old to get into it. Since moving to Vancouver, I realize I’m glad I had the life experience and job experience I did, all of that adds to my professionalism and what I can offer to a role.

2 . Don’t judge the character. Sometimes it’s hard not to, when we see a character that is considered evil for example, and you think you can’t relate to that at all and abhor their actions. But consider it from the perspective of the character, they have their reasons for doing things, they might believe they are doing the “right” thing, they may be forced by someone, there may be information we don’t know yet. They will be able to justify their actions in some way and you have to understand that from their perspective if you are to play that character believably. This is what I love about acting, you put yourself in the shoes of the character and you can learn so much about how a person thinks, how someone could do certain things. It’s a fascinating human experiment. I think the most interesting characters to play are the ones that appear so different from yourself.

3 . Invest in yourself, in your career. Money or lack of it can constantly be on your mind when you are in a career that does not provide stability. I went through a period of thinking “I’ll spend that once I book a job”. That was the wrong mindset. When I switched that to deciding to invest in myself upfront, I felt I was improving, opportunities arose, and I met more people. I started paying for coaching for every audition, I would go to every casting director workshop, I tried every acting class, I bought everything I needed for self-taping at home. Invest in yourself. You may need to make sacrifices to do so but if it’s really important to you, you will find a way.

4 . Follow up with people you meet and gel with. I was a little shy to get in touch with people to begin with. However, once I started contacting people from classes or that I worked with on set, that I had a connection with, I reaped the benefits of having great actors to work with, new friends, mentors and learning so much from them.

5 . Being good to work with. This was always ingrained in me and continues to be an area of focus. It may seem obvious, but I’ve heard it mentioned as an asset time and time again by producers, actors, mentors, and crew. This can be a real point of difference. People will want to work with you again if you are enjoyable to work with.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Don’t feel the pressure to always be “doing” something. There are many people who are constantly posting on social media about all the “work” they are doing. That can make me, and others, feel like we aren’t doing enough. In reality, most of those people are trying to appear busier than they are (and if they aren’t, good for them). We don’t need to compare ourselves to others. We need to find the right balance for ourselves to be ready for the next opportunity that is coming our way. Sometimes that means doing nothing but watching new shows that are coming out and conducting a little research on them. Sometimes we are anxious and sad about where we are in our careers and can’t do anything towards our goals and that is ok too. Don’t try to do what everyone else is doing and burn out in the meantime. You need to be fresh and ready to give it your all for that next opportunity.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

There is a significant time spent comparing ourselves to each other and movements that focus on how different we all are. I think it would be helpful to now shift that focus to what we have in common, what things are the same, how we can better relate to each other. It’s fantastic that we are all unique, but we really are the same in many ways too and that, I think, can bring people together better than focusing on how we are different and can only relate to people who are just like us.

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?

You’re absolutely right and I have more than one.

My boyfriend, Damon, is a constant support and champion of me every day. He moved to be with me in Vancouver about 14 months after I moved here. He is very hands-on with the audition process — helping me run lines, discussing the scenes, operating the camera (if I’m taping at home). He is hilarious when we run lines together. He often ad libs and puts on strange accents which helps me to remember the scene better and keeps the whole process immensely enjoyable. He is not an actor or involved in the industry in any way but has thrown himself into “my world”. He is incredible.

My parents are my biggest fans. My first lead role was in a Christmas movie which wasn’t sold in Australia so when I returned for Christmas that year, they had hired a theatre and invited 100 friends for a premiere! They have absolute faith in me and are VERY excited when I book a role. My parents watch every audition I send in. It’s a way for them to see what I’ve been working on and see how I’m improving. Mum has also helped me with audition tapes when I’m in Australia or most recently in Paris when I went to visit them while on their vacation. They always have sage advice and spur me on to keep going.

My sister is another fundamental part. She is always a calm influence over me and knows how to make me laugh. I called her a few years ago, when I was living in Vancouver alone, in the midst of a panic attack and she talked to me for two hours calming me down and reassuring me and had me laughing and feeling so much better. That was a big commitment on her end. I think she was even at work at the time.

My friends also champion me every step of the way. It doesn’t matter if it’s the smallest role on the smallest project, they act as if I have won an Oscar — they are so thrilled for me and proud of me and that makes an enormous difference. They are fantastic and I am very grateful to them all.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Focus on the step in front of you, not the whole staircase”.

I can get overwhelmed by my perceived lack of progress or achievement sometimes because I’m looking at the end goal, the big ticket items. In reality no one achieves those things overnight and you don’t achieve those things without considering the steps it takes to get there. It is about breaking goals down into smaller and more manageable, actionable steps. It relates to the consistency and the effort I put in daily that will add up to securing those rewarding acting opportunities.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

At the moment, that person would have to be Margot Robbie. I am so inspired and impressed by her career so far. The roles she has played (I, Tonya; Mary Queen of Scots are two of my favourites) and her success in producing is very much the direction I see myself going. I would love to chat with her about what she has learned along the way and what kept her going in times of doubt. I’m sure I could learn so much from her. I also feel like we’d just get along well, maybe we wouldn’t talk about the industry at all, maybe we’d just have a laugh over a couple of mimosas!

How can our readers follow you online?

Instagram @greta.carewjohns

Thanks for your time!

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

About the interviewer: Guernslye Honoré, affectionately known as “Gee-Gee”, is an amalgamation of creativity, vision, and endless enthusiasm. She has elegantly twined the worlds of writing, acting, and digital marketing into an inspiring tapestry of achievement. As the creative genius at the heart of Esma Marketing & Publishing, she leads her team to unprecedented heights with her comprehensive understanding of the industry and her innate flair for innovation. Her boundless passion and sense of purpose radiate from every endeavor she undertakes, turning ideas into reality and creating a realm of infinite possibilities. A true dynamo, Gee-Gee’s name has become synonymous with inspirational leadership and the art of creating success.