Tara Lynne Barr Is Here to Prove Not All Actresses Are Narcissists
When I checked in on Tara Lynne Barr, the 22-year-old actress had just attended her last wrap party for season 2 of Casual, the television series she’s currently starring in as Laura, a cynical teenager who accidentally found love during a threesome shortly after leaking her own sex tape.
Even in her emotionally fragile state, Tara was refreshingly candid about what it’s like to feel like an old bag in Hollywood at the ripe age of 22, what she’d do for a Klondike bar, and how not all actresses are narcissists.
Okay, I’m gonna start off with a very important question. You’re 22. Did you listen to Taylor Swift’s “22” on your birthday?
I did not. And you know it’s so funny, I would listen to that song when I was 17, 18, 19, and think, “OMG 22. She’s so ooooold. Can you even imagine being 22?’ And when I turned 22 I thought, ‘OMG, she was so young when she wrote that song. She’s like so super successful. She was top of the charts before she was 22, what am I doing with my life?’
That’s so funny because I bet a lot of people would look at you and think the same thing about themselves.
That gives me a small amount of comfort, but not enough unfortunately.
Yeah, no matter how old or young you are, age is such a relative thing so it’s hard to have a clear perspective on it. Are you starting to feel old yet, or do you still feel really young?
I mean, my job sort of inherently makes me feel like an old bag all the time – the whole idea of ‘the younger the better’ definitely gets reinforced in the entertainment industry.
So I feel like an old woman but at the same time also a spritely little girl, which means my outfits fluctuate all the time. Sometimes I wear Bill Cosby sweaters, although that’s not really kosher to say anymore, I realized.
I know! It’s unfortunate. That’s a really good name for those sweaters.
Yeah, because it’s very specific. You know exactly what I‘m talking about when I say a Bill Cosby sweater. But yeah, sometimes I dress like an anime character, sometimes I dress like I literally just rolled out of bed and am on my way to, I don’t know, bingo.
Well, speaking of being an old bag, you play a teenager on TV – what advice do you have for an aging crone like me on how to look younger?
I guess I’ll just say, you know, stay out of the sun, wear sunscreen 24/7, and I’m wagging my finger, “don’t drink, don’t smoke,” but come on. You wanna look young but you also wanna enjoy your life and be a happy individual who does things and doesn’t just stay inside all day to shield themselves from the sun.
And then also drink the blood of innocence – I feel like, isn’t that one of the key things? Drinking the blood of infants and young children.
Yeah. but it’s always sold out on Amazon. So weird.
Yeah, but if you can get your hands on them… I think that’s another hot tip.
What drew you to Laura?
Well, you know I audition for stuff all the time. And there are some things I go out for that I’m maybe not super hot on, but I felt that the character of Laura herself and I are very similar, at least in the way we view the world. We’re sort of cynical smart asses, and we differ in a lot of ways, but I felt I could really empathize with her from the get-go.
What’s one piece of advice you wish you could tell her?
Probably just to open up, which sounds so simple, but for Laura it’s nearly impossible because she’s been sort of stunted emotionally when it comes to relationships because she watched her parents going through an unhappy marriage and an even unhappier divorce years later, so the idea of meeting someone, realizing that she likes someone and actually putting trust in them to not break her heart is something that’s really borderline impossible for her.
Could you ever see yourself releasing a sex tape of yourself to get attention like Laura did?
Oh, hell yeah! No, absolutely not. No that’s like horrifying to me. Although I would say that, whether it was porn versus a sex tape, I would say a sex tape would be the more attractive idea because it’s sort of like you taking a selfie vs. somebody taking a picture of you – it feels like you have a lot more control over your image and how you’re portrayed. But both are bad. Both would be very not good.
What’s the biggest misunderstanding people have about actresses?
I think the biggest misunderstanding people have, at least in my experience has been that they’re airheads. I mean, I know that’s probably what most people say, but I have a lot of friends who are actresses who are incredibly smart.
Also, we’re not all narcissists. It’s so goofy. I’m not an exhibitionist in any way so the idea of prancing around in a bathing suit and a tiny little skin tight dress, believe me, I wish I had the confidence to do that. I just can’t, and so sometimes I look at people’s Instagram accounts, and I’m like, ‘why would you-’, you know I can’t put myself in that place where I could post a half naked selfie, but I’m also not in a place to judge because if I had like, I don’t know, who’s on the cover of Galore last month? It was Bella Thorne, right?
Yeah.
If I had Bella Thorne’s body maybe I would be posting bikini selfies 24/7. But you know some actresses are just shy private people who like to keep to themselves and I think most people assume it’s the opposite, that we’re calling paparazzi 24/7 to show up outside our gym to let people know that we just got our work out on.
You said on Instagram that sometimes the best thing you can do is spend a night being really basic with your friend. Do you think basic bitches get a bad wrap?
I mean I guess they kinda do. People make fun of them all the time, but if I was a 24/7 basic bitch, I feel like I wouldn’t give a shit what people thought about me, you know what I mean? Like I’m the type of girl who will assume that identity for the night or for the weekend and in that 24-hour span or 48-hour span, I’m like the most confident person and nothing can phase me. Like that night my friend and I rolled up to the gay bar, we had glitter all over our faces and I was wearing knee highs for God’s sake. I went all out and I could not give a shit.
It was so liberating and empowering, but when Monday came around of course I was back to wearing, I don’t know, sweaters and Dr. Martens, but I had fun memories from that weekend.
People in their 40s and 50s talking about all these ideals they used to have when they were younger that just got lost over time. What’s one thing you believe in right now that you hope never changes?
I think, my biggest thing right now, at least professionally, and I think it extends into my personal life, is to do things you believe in, don’t do things you don’t believe in, but if people mess with you don’t take their shit. I don’t know, just do right by yourself.
What’s one thing you’ve done in the past week that you’re proud of?
I’ve done yoga every day this week so far, which I’m really proud of. Although I’m the worst yogi. When they tell me to quiet my mind, my thoughts just get louder and louder. Physically, I look just like everybody else, but mentally I’m going through a laundry list of things that I need to do that day after class. When I leave I turn up the music really loud in my car and I have to like un-yoga myself when I leave because in that hour that I’m there it’s nice to actively try and quiet my mind, but as soon as I’m out, I can’t be too quieted. This is LA. I need to be up, I need to be aware, I need to make sure I’m not going to get sideswiped by some asshole on the 405.
Well, to end things off i have what may be the most important and hard-hitting question that I’ve asked you all day, are you ready?
Absolutely not, but go ahead.
What would you do for a Klondike bar right now?
Right now?
I’d probably give them all the La Croix in my fridge. I have so many La Coix in my fridge right now, I feel like such a millennial jerk. You drink La Croix, or La Croy or whatever people like to call them.
Oh, that’s what you meant – no, I actually hate all kinds of carbonated waters.
Really?
Yeah, I’m a bad millennial.
They had it on set and it the first time I’d ever been introduced to it, and I’ve been obsessed with them ever since and I’ve got like six cans in my fridge.
Do people still eat Klondike bars?
You know, I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know that many people who eat ice cream that’s not from a shop anymore. Klondike bars feel like a kid thing.
Like if you were to say, what would you do for a scoop of salt and straw ice cream, I’d be like, oh dude, I would drive around town, I would sit in traffic, I would physically walk from the Valley to the Salt and Straw on Larchmont, although they did open a Salt and Straw in my neighborhood in the Valley, which is very dangerous. It’s been going well so far but I’m very weak, I can feel it. I can feel a binge coming.
Well at least you’re doing yoga all the time, so you can –
Buffer the mistake when it finally happens.
It’s the most amazing ice cream I’ve ever had in my live ever. I’ve had a lot of ice cream in my life, I’ll start with that. And this place has the weirdest flavors – like my friend always gets black olive brittle ice cream. It’s goat cheese ice cream with black olive brittle crumbled into it and first of all, I don’t like goat cheese, I hate black olives and it’s one of the most delicious ice cream flavors I’ve ever had in my life.
They make you feel like your palate is so advanced and developed because you eat stuff like that and you’re like, ‘Wow, my taste buds have matured so much since I was a kid,’ but in reality if you add enough sugar to anything it’s delicious.
Wise words.
Photographer: Ryan Orange
Hair: Ashlee Rose
Makeup: Beth Follert
