The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, but if you don’t even know the direction you’re going in, the step you’re taking may be away from your ultimate mission or destiny. — L. Scott Caldwell
If you’re looking for what it takes to be an actor long-term, over the course of your LIFE, then you’ve come to the right place, and you’re going to really enjoy today’s episode!
Have you felt like you weren’t really ready to work at a professional level—that perhaps you needed to study more, you needed more training—before you could really work among the people you admire? Or that you felt like a fraud, that you weren’t supposed to be where you are, that someone is going to find you out? Our guest today dealt with all of those feelings and soldiered on, ultimately winning a Tony award and enjoying a long and varied career across theatre, TV, and film.
Today on the show is Tony-winning actress L. Scott Caldwell. “Scotty” (as she is also known) has been a working actress for 40+ years, from Chicago to New York to LA, and many other places! In fact, right after we chatted, she was off to shoot episodes of Facebook’s Sacred Lies, ABC’s A Million Little Things, and HBO’s Insecure. She stays busy! I’m also honored that she’s now our second Tony-winner on the podcast, following Reed Birney in ep 13.
Scotty has over 100 onscreen credits, including recurring characters on Lost, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Southland, Queens Supreme, and PBS’ Original Series Mercy Street. She’s also the second guest I spoke with from the hit movie The Fugitive with Harrison Ford. Scotty was part of Tommy Lee Jones’ team and shared a scene in the film with our guest from ep 21, Richard Riehle.
I first connected with Scotty about 10 years ago because of my involvement with Unite for Strength and the SAG-AFTRA elections. Scotty has been a very active Board and committee member over the years and I’m glad I reached out to her all these years later. We have a wonderful conversation!
Just a bit of what we cover in this episode with Scotty:
- Her experience and awareness of the Civil Rights Movement in Chicago
- Working on the play A Raisin in the Sun several times
- The impact of watching very strong women on film
- The personal rejection she experienced being fired and the breakdown she had
- What she took from studying with Uta Hagen, and the one item she uses consistently
And so much more! Scotty and I ended up talking mostly about her early years, leading up to her first film role, and it’s such a fascinating journey, filled with excitement, doubt, challenges, and rewards.
We did intend to chat more, but even though there was still so much left to talk about in her life, I’m really thrilled with everything we did cover! Even if there’s never a Part II, it’s a great conversation about the life and beginnings of a working actor!
About the guest
L. Scott “Scotty” Caldwell grew up on the South side of Chicago, attending local elementary and high schools, joining a drama club, and that’s when she first saw the Negro Ensemble Company, a group she would later join. She attended Northwestern University and then Loyola University, earning degrees in Theatre and Communications, and her teaching certificate
Her Broadway credits include Proposals, A Month of Sundays and Home.”She has also appeared Off-Broadway in About Heaven & Earth, Colored People’s Time, Old Phantoms, and A Season to Unravel
Her TV credits include roles on Judging Amy, JAG, Chicago Hope, The Practice, The Pretender, ER, and L.A. Law. She’s also starred in numerous films, including Mystery, Alaska; Dutch (one of my personal favorites); and Waiting to Exhale.
Scotty Won Broadway’s Tony Award as Best Actress for August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. She was awarded the Drama Logue Award for her work in Proposals, an Obie Award for her Performance in Going to St. Ives, and the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Lead Performance as Lena Younger in A Raisin in the Sun.
Please enjoy my chat with L. Scott Caldwell!
Total Running Time: 1:29:25
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as/save link as”.
Get the show delivered right to you!
Want to hear from another actress who studied at HB Studio? Check out my talk with Gigi Bermingham!
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let us know in the comments.
Scroll below for links mentioned in today’s episode and additional show notes…
Grab the NEW FREE GUIDE: 10 Ways to Stop Worrying and Start Working!
Discover the MINDSET of WORKING Actors!
Inside are 10 specific ways you can STOP worrying and START working when it comes to being an actor!
Hear thoughts, ideas, and advice from those who have been acting 40+ years—taken from excerpts from podcast episodes.
These guests don’t know everything, nor is everything easy—they just have been around long enough to have figured out a few things, and they are sharing this with you. Get your copy of the guide now!
Are you looking for more about being a working actor?
If you’re enjoying these episodes, I want to let you know you can become a premium member of the show and there are a number of different perks, including bonus episodes, exclusive opportunities, and more.
Members can hear additional conversations with past guests Robert Pine, Dawn Didawick, Richard Riehle, and Tony-Winner Reed Birney!
A special shout-out to our members at the Co-Star level or higher: Adam, Jeff, Robert, Ken, and Ralph! Thrilled that you all are members!
Show Notes
L. Scott Caldwell around the web
Twitter | Wikipedia | Film/TV | Broadway | Additional Theatre
Highlights
- Taking care of her dog and turning work down
- Growing up on the south side of Chicago
- Her experience and awareness of the Civil Rights Movement in Chicago
- The political choices she made that clashed with her mother
- Working on the play A Raisin in the Sun several times
- The universal desire for upward mobility, especially for your children
- Choosing her dream college, but unable to attend and what to do next
- Taking classes at Northwestern’s Evanston and downtown campuses
- What started her down the path of pursuing theatre and communications
- Getting her FCC license to become a DJ on Chicago radio
- Transferring to Loyola University and getting a teaching certificate
- Being invested in Jane Austen’s world, and loving to pretend as a kid
- As a child, being dropped off at the movie theatre until her mom was home
- The impact of watching very strong women on film, but not black actresses in those parts
- The challenge for local, black actors of doing professional theatre in Chicago
- Being part of the Chicago Arts Council “Artist in Resident” Program
- The personal rejection she experienced being fired and the breakdown she had
- Seeing Uta Hagen on TV and deciding she needed to study with her in New York
- Hatching the plan of how to make the classes work with her husband and 5-year-old son
- Going to New York and auditioning for HB Studios
- The fortuitous event of seeing auditions for the Negro Ensemble’s resident company
- How her boldness led to an audition for Douglas Turner Ward
- Landing a spot in Uta Hagen’s class, and a 9-month gig with the Negro Ensemble Company
- What she took from studying with Uta Hagen, and the one item she uses consistently
- Why Uta Hagen stopped her during a scene and what she told Scotty
- The straight-forward way she went about finding an agent to negotiate a contract
- Being nervous in her first on-screen project because of her scene partner
- Never having a dream, but still finding her destiny
- Grading herself as “lazy”: being at the God place at the God time
Selected People and Items Mentioned
- Charlayne Woodard
- Woodlawn, Chicago
- UChicago’s Upward Bound program
- UChicago Laboratory Schools
- James Brown, Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud
- Fred Hampton
- A Raisin in the Sun, play
- Studio Arena Theatre, Buffalo (now know as Shea’s 710 Theatre)
- Ebony Rep Theatre
- Northwestern University
- Val Gray Ward and the Kuumba Theatre
- Emily Dickinson, “There is no frigate like a book “
- Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
- Lexington Movie Theatre on 63rd Street in Chicago
- Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Barbara Stanwyck
- Hattie McDaniel and Louise Beavers, black actresses
- A Day of Absence, play
- Douglas Turner Ward
- Negro Ensemble Company
- The Mike Douglas Show
- Uta Hagen
- HB Studio
- Uta Hagen and Paul Robson in Othello
- Theatre Communications Group (TCG)
- Catharine of Aragon from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII (Scotty’s first monologue)
- Tommy from Alice Childress’ Wine in the Wilderness (Scotty’s second monologue)
- Home (play) by Negro Ensemble Company
- Etan Patz, the missing boy in New York
- Without a Trace, film
- Kate Nelligen, actress
- Judd Hirsch, actor
Scotty and Angela Bassett in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Arena Theatre in Washington, DC
Scotty on Madame Secretary
Share this episode: bit.ly/waj-caldwell
Leave a Reply