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From Brooklyn to Glasgow 鈥� the aspiring actor who overcame adversity to follow in the footsteps of her film icon

22 May 2018

Broadway. If you’re an aspiring theatre actor, it’s the ultimate goal.

For native New Yorker Caroline Denis, however, ambition pointed her towards a different destination: Glasgow.

“I went to see a play on Broadway that Alan Cumming was in and wanted to know where he went to school. I made a decision that I wasn’t going to audition for any other school.”

The school in question was The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland — the same institution that taught Cumming his craft many years earlier.

But Caroline’s path to gaining a place at wasn’t an easy one.

From Brooklyn To Glasgow | An Actor's Story

鈥淏eing an actor is about telling the truth for people who don't have a voice.鈥�

As she explained to 大象传媒 The Social, Caroline’s upbringing was difficult.

It may have been intense, but I鈥檝e lived and I鈥檓 still living
Caroline Denis

“When I was 16, my mom, my sisters and I lost basically everything. We would beg for food and for money — whatever we could to survive.”

Even when Caroline and her family managed to find a place to live, there were still issues.

“There was a lot of mould ... all of us were affected. I had it grow on my face, on my neck, my back; we were all malnourished.”

“I didn’t come from nearly dying to a prestigious school not to move forward”

“Yes those things are sad, but they don’t have to be sad. It can change somebody’s perspective and inspire them to say ‘Hey, okay I’m going through this right now, but that’s not the end.’”

Caroline auditioned successfully and gained a place at the prestigious acting school in Glasgow, a city gaining popularity as .

The generosity of family, friends, and donors to an online crowd-funding campaign helped Caroline turn her dream move to Glasgow into a reality.

“I’m able to eat because people are helping me; I’m able to pay tuition because people are helping me. I have to pay that forward.”

Even though she has gone through more than most in order to try and achieve her dream, Caroline refuses to let it define her as an actor.

“It’s important for me to not tell Caroline’s story to these people,” she explains. Instead, her focus is on the stories of the roles she plays — “because that is why I’m chosen to do this.”

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