Young South Orange County Actress Talks Future Projects, Big Dreams

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — South Orange County actress Kayden Tokarski has dreamt of acting on the silver screen since she was four-years-old.

At age 13, Kayden has won 11 Best Acting Awards over the last two years, the most recent being awarded early February. Kayden secured her 11th win for her lead role in the short film "I Miss Her Too."

The win came on the heels of January awards from Actress Universe, and the Italian Monza Film Festival for her lead role in the independent feature film "Apocalypse Love Story." Along with being recognized for "Apocalypse Love Story," which premieres this year, Kayden won six best young actress awards for her role in "I Miss Her, Too," an international Gold Best Young Actor award, a Silver Best Acting Duo award from the Independent Shorts Awards, and a Best Young Actress from Vegas Shorts.

Kayden also took home a Best Child/Young Actress Award from LA Independent Film Channel. On Jan. 4, Kayden won a Best Actress Award from Miami Indie Awards.

The up-and-coming South Orange County starlet sat down with Patch to talk about her support system, her daily mantras and her long term goals in the acting industry.

Question: What triggered your interest in putting yourself out there for acting?

KT: Well, I started acting when I was 10, but what really, really inspired me was always being a Disney kid. I loved watching Disney sitcoms and I drew a lot of inspiration from the actress Bridgit Mendler. It was all just a huge inspiration for me, and things like that really sparked my interest in this industry.

I told my parents that I wanted to be an actress, and they're like, "Kaden, you're 4 years old, let's hold your horses right now," and I didn't start [acting] until later, after my parents saw me in a school play. I think that's when they reconsidered what they said when I was younger.

From there, I just started auditioning. And I was very grateful to be a part of a child safety video for the Joyful Child Foundation that is founded by Aaron Runnion. And that was such a huge honor and such a great experience that I was like, "I need to do more of this. This is awesome."

Question: How do your family and friends support you as you keep pushing forward in your acting career?

KT: My family has been supportive since day one. I'm just so grateful to have them in my life — acting is not only a big commitment for me, but it's a huge commitment for them. This industry is one-of-a-kind and there's a lot of things that come to it, but we all sit together, you know? We're all trying to be supportive of each other. I think that's one of the most important things about family. Family is the most important thing to me. And when it comes to friends, I think I've made a lot of actor friends on set — and we're all supportive of each other. We're all in the same boat and we all have the same goal... That's really important in this industry, to be supportive of your fellow actors.

Question: Who are a few of your favorite leading ladies in film and television?

KT: Bridgit Mendler and Zendaya have inspired me since when I was young. Zendaya has continued to be an inspiration for me, and I love Laura Linney from "Ozarks" … I’m just obsessed with that show, and Julia Garner. Emma Stone — I love her. There are so many actresses I am inspired by I couldn't name all of them.

Question: How has your attitude toward acting changed since you first started? Do you still get nerves before an audition?

KT: I definitely still get nerves today, because I’m just so passionate. Obviously there’s no such thing as a mistake and obviously, there’s no such thing as a mistake but if you make a mistake you learn from them. I do get nerves and I try to embrace that, because all you have to do is take a deep breath. And that’s how I’m feeling, I can’t change anything — these are my emotions, I’m going to handle it, I’m going to deal with it.

Question: Do you have any time for hobbies outside of acting? What do you do to unwind?

KT: I was actually a junior Olympian on the one meter diving board — which is just insane referring back to, but unfortunately I had to stop doing it because of my schedule. It was just too much, too hard to balance. I definitely miss it. And I had such a memorable experience doing it and I don't regret any minute of doing it. But, I want to be successful as an actress. It's hard to be an actress and then an Olympian on the side!

When I'm trying to unwind, I love to hang out with my friends whenever I get a chance. I think being social is a great thing for me. I also love to listen to music — music is my everything.

Question: What are some of your long term goals as an actress?

KT: I really want to win an Oscar when I'm older. I know that's like a very long shot, but you never know — if you put your mind to it and work hard you never know what the future's going to throw at you.

I would love to work with some huge names, too — [I'd be honored] to work with any of the celebrities I mentioned earlier, and others like Jason Bateman, Denzel Washington and Brendan Fraser after seeing him in "The Whale." I would love to work with some huge names like them.

Question: What can we expect to see from you in the future?

KT: Roswell Delirum is an '80s Scifi movie coming out this summer, written and directed by Director Richard Bakewell that stars Anthony Michael Hall — you may know him from "The Breakfast Club" and "16 Candles" — Dee Wallace is known for "E.T." and "Cujo" and then Reggie VelJohnson from "Die Hard." I play an '80s "mean girl" in the film and I mean, obviously, I'm not a mean girl — but it was fun and challenging playing someone so completely different from you. It's coming out this summer, and it's just such an honor to be a part of it. The cast and the crew is just so talented.

Residents looking to get updates on Kayden's upcoming projects can follow the young actress on Instagram and Twitter.