Meet Madison Bailey
In our efforts to keep ROSE & IVY original, we are delighted that an array of talented women with upcoming projects are helping us maintain our integrity by photographing themselves home.
Madison Bailey has had a big spring. Fresh off the runaway success of Netflix’s Outer Banks, I caught up with her to hear more about her background, how she landed the role and some of her favorite restaurants in Charleston, where the show was filmed.
Photography by Madison Bailey
As Told To Alison Engstrom
Reflecting on the current moment
It’s definitely a day by day thing. Things are really heavy now and I am trying to stay positive and focus on spreading positive energy. Change feels closer than ever.
On Being The Youngest of Seven Kids
I’m the baby, I don’t even know what it’s like to be the oldest sibling who is 40-years-old, so there is a 19-year difference. Because six of us were adopted, my mom would come home one day with a new child with zero heads up, now you have more siblings! It was definitely a little chaotic. My mom was trying to make us all do similar things, like the same hobbies or the same sports just so she could just take us all to one place, but we all did very different things. She would take my sister to gymnastics classes, me to my acting classes, and my brothers here or there, we were all over the place.
“I read the script and immediately felt connected to the character. It felt tailored to me, without them writing it specifically for me. So much so that I had a friend who had the same audition and she declined it because she said, this is your role; I know that you are going to book it.”
On How She Fell in Love With Performing
Being the youngest of seven kids, I mean, I was always acting unintentionally (laughs). I used to do sports but it wasn’t my thing. I sing a little bit, so I think naturally, acting falls into the performing category. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do in the industry but I knew where I was headed. I wanted to do music for the longest but I got a little sidetracked with that once I got to high school; I did a musical and realized I loved acting. Then I started taking acting classes and I realized that this was it, this is what I should have been doing the entire time. I wasted so much time trying to be athletic when I could have been doing this.
On Her First Big Break
The first thing I did was Constantine on NBC. Getting immersed in that world was crazy. I didn't know anything about the industry. I remember them putting me up in this really nice hotel in Atlanta; it was like nothing I experienced before. You experience the glamour of it all but then you witness the work ethic that you need to have to stick with it. I knew that I wanted to do this forever.
“Once we finally got to watch the pilot, I thought it would do well enough to get a season two, but the response has been absolutely insane.”
On How The Role On Outer Banks Came to Her
It came like any other audition, I read the script and immediately felt connected to the character. It felt tailored to me, without them writing it specifically for me. So much so that I had a friend, who had the same audition, and she declined it because she said, this is your role; I know that you are going to book it. I told her that was crazy and that she should audition for it just in case. I thank her for her good juju. I auditioned over tape and I didn't hear anything back, I was getting so nervous because they re-released it, which means they didn't find who they wanted. My agent sent it to me again and they said, don’t submit anyone who already auditioned. Clearly, they didn’t like me, my tape was off or something. I taped it again and got a call immediately; they flew me out to Charleston last April and I booked it that day. The showrunner said, we had no idea how we didn’t see your audition before. My life would have been so different; it is vastly different now.
On the Runaway Success of the Show
It was on the top of the Netflix charts, it was trending, then it went off and it came back, it was wild. I read the script and new it would be a good project. I met the cast and I was like, wow, we are definitely getting a second season. It took a day into filming and knew this project was going to be something. People were going to feel our connection as they watched it. Once we finally got to watch the pilot, I thought it would do well enough to get a season two, but the response has been absolutely insane. It launched April 15th, a month into quarantine, at that point people had watched everything on Netflix. I couldn’t have come at a better time. We don’t know about a season two yet—I think with everything going on right now, they might just be holding off and trying to figure out dates.
On Playing Her Character, Kiara
I loved Kiara because she is so tough. I have a lot of brothers, so hanging out with the boys felt natural and so normal. She is very socially aware, which I appreciate and can relate to. I am one of the people who is always correcting my friends on things; I am not shy to have my own opinions and to be very firm in my opinions. Aesthetically, we dress differently—I am way more feminine; but dialogue wise, we are very familiar.
On Discovering the Charleston Food Scene
We filmed everywhere in the area, North Charleston, McClellanville, Kiawah and James Island. There is so much good food down there. Viscous Biscuits in Mount Pleasant is really good and Indaco, an Italian restaurant downtown is by far my favorite restaurant in Charleston.
On the Proximity of Filming Near Home
It so nice to be just a couple of hours from home. I went back and forth from Charleston to Savannah for a couple of months for The Council of Dads. I didn’t have a huge role in the show; it was kind of me popping in, but it’s a sweet show with a great message. When I was filming Outer Banks my family would come and visit me, or if I had a couple of days off, I would go up there, it worked out really nice.
On Manifesting Her Dream Career
Anytime people ask me what my goals are, I always say exactly what I am doing now but more of the same with more elevated projects. I really want to do films. I think that naturally, any actor’s goal is to win an Oscar, even if I don’t personally win one, I want to do Oscar films. I don’t want to do random projects just to be working. I would rather dip off for a while, do an indie film, passion projects and things that I really care about versus just making money and making a silly film. I am all about the positively if a project or person doesn’t feel right, it’s good to disconnect.