For those who have kept I Woke Up a Vampire on their watchlist for June, there’s a lot that the show has to offer through its current episodes. But if you are looking to hear more about the show, we have some exciting news for you! We have an exclusive interview with Kaileen Angelic Chang, who stars as Carmie Henley in the show! We’re eager to talk to Kaileen about her role as Carmie, her thoughts and experience with the film and cast members, and more. Because the show is already released, if you’re planning on reading this interview and haven’t had the time to watch the show, this article will actively avoid any spoilers regarding the show. For those planning to watch before reading this article, we highly recommend watching it first. And now, onto this interview and its refresher.
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If you’re a fan of the supernatural and coming-of-age stories, I Woke Up a Vampire must have been on your watchlist for this summer. Premiering on May 5th with its Pilot episode, the show tells the story of Carmie Henley, upon waking up on her thirteenth birthday, suddenly discovers that she has supernatural abilities. To figure out what happened, she consulted her best friend and comic book-nerd Kev, portrayed by Niko Ceci, and the two discover that Carmie is a Vampling: a half-human, half-vampire amalgamation. The show heavily pursues a self-discovery story that stars Carmie’s life as a newly-found Vampling, as she juggles puberty, the musical her middle school will be playing, and a sudden Van Helsing that’s on her trail. This brings Carmie to face a unique situation that every teenager will struggle with: either be seen or hide away from prying eyes.
Before we even can touch the show, let’s first talk about the creature that brought this show to life: vampires. While there are no Vamplings in myth, the belief of vampires has existed for millennia. The most of any indication of a vampire’s ‘existence’ you might know about in history is most likely Count Dracula/Vlad Tepes, or perhaps Elizabeth Bathory or Lord Ruthaven. But before these infamous blood-sucking creatures, vampire folklore has touched upon different cultures ranging from Mesopotamia, Hebrews, ancient Greeks, and Romans. What started it all first began in Transylvania, Hungaria, and vampires weren’t even considered to be vampires at all. They were initially coined to be demons, revenants of evil beings that caused many bouts of mass hysteria and even executions. If you want to learn more about vampires, be sure to check it out on your time! The folklore behind these creatures is very interesting!
Moving on from the small trivia, let’s take a moment to talk about the creator of the show Tommy Lynch! You might recognize him for his works as a Producer and Executive Producer for the following series: The Secret World of Alex Mack, Scout’s Safari, The Troop, The Jersey, Make It Pop, Bucket and Skinner’s Epic Adventures, 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd, Xuxa, Kids Incorporated, The Other Kingdom, and more.
And now, here is some information on Kaileen Angelic Chang! An American-born Latinx and Taiwanese actress, Kaileen is a hardworking and kindhearted actress who had just landed her role as Carmie in the show! Kaileen has been training at the famous Shanelle Gray Studios, and not only is she represented by the MVP Sports & Entertainment Management, Paradigm, but she was also discovered by Shanelle Gray. Those accomplishments don’t end there, as she has some experience under her belt. Not only is she a straight-A student, but she’s also a good fencer, and dancer, fluent in ASL, and was a competitive ice skater since she was five. Those are some amazing accomplishments!
We first asked Kaileen what the audition process was like when she received the role. Kaileen mentioned that the audition process she went through was very unique, and she had never experienced one like this before. Kaileen mentioned how she did the audition, but mentions that she was late for her audition. She was rushing to do the audition, and once her manager sent it in, she didn’t hear anything for about 2-3 weeks. Just as she think she wasn’t going to get the role, her manager tells her that they want her for a callback. To learn more about this story, be sure to check the video out to learn more about Kaileen’s audition process!
