How would you describe your creative journey up to this moment?

It's funny, I never used to consider myself an artist, just a person who acted. As I have grown, I’ve started to see the artistry of it all. I think that comes with the freedom of people trusting you with their vision based on the work you've done. I’d say, my artistic journey has been a painting by numbers. When you first get into the industry it’s, here's the picture we want you to paint, here are the numbers, and the exact colors, go. You get hired based on what they specifically want. There is no artistry in it, it’s technically art, but the audience can’t see what you did, and you don’t get to bring your artistry. I realized the reason I didn’t feel like an artist was a by-product of that experience. As you get further and further into this world, they give you more colors. Your very first role is square one, that’s it.

What was your first role?

My mother was an actress; she was in a film called Cousins where she played Isabella Rossellini’s sister, Ted Danson was also in it. Joel Schumacher let my sister and I be extras. I don’t consider that my first role since I wasn’t acting officially until my mid-20s. Ultimately, the more you can prove yourself in this world, the more colors you get and the fewer the numbers there are. Eventually, when you truly are an artist—and people see you that way—they give you a canvas and a prompt, like this is a TV show or film about a woman who experiences X, Y, and Z. You get to paint that emotion and that human experience on a canvas; it is unique to you and your vision. It takes a long time to get there and it can be a really beautiful experience but there are days when you feel like a pawn because you are limited to what other people think you can do. As an actor, I know I can paint a beautiful emotional moment, but unless someone gives me that opportunity, it’s something you don’t get. So that’s where my artistry has changed in the last few years. I recently started writing and directing–I also created Blueprint–and everything is evolving. I am taking the power back and giving myself that canvas, while still working to earn it in the industry.

Would you say you were inspired by your mom that wanted to follow in her foot steps?

My mom was a total hippy growing up. I went to the Waldorf School, she made everything by hand, and I’ve had avocado toast since birth (laughs). My mom was always super natural. On set as an extra, I was looking at craft services and there was chocolate, gummy bears, gum, chips and I was like, what is this magic (laughs)? Ted Danson came up and put together a little bag and he filled it with gummy bears. I said, I don’t have money, and he said it was free. So I always joke that my little self decided my profession was going to be based on its proximity to candy.

And on Ted Danson, let’s Be honest!

I come from a family of artists. My dad is a theater director who specializes in Shakespeare and has had many theater companies; my stepmother used to work at a college and she directed and did voice and movement. It really hit me when I was around 9 or 10 that I wanted to be an actor. At the time, I was very heavy into gymnastics, so I was pretty muscular; I also had cut my hair short like Winona Ryder. Casting directors told me I didn’t look like a little girl and I would never act. Unfortunately when I overheard those words, those outside labels, became my inside limitations, so I thought I would never be an actress. I thought what other people thought of me would ultimately determine my future and trajectory.

It wasn’t until my 20s that I decided to go up against that belief system. We will talk about this later but that is why I developed Blueprint because at such a young age we take our self-identity and self-worth from the outside in. Biology wise, it’s when we go from parents to peer to peer. We start to fit in, we want to be safe. There are so many ways our biology is tricking us into trying to feel safe within a pack and that’s when we can have some detrimental experiences about our self-worth and not make great decisions about our skill set. I was lucky for it to come back around.

What was your first big door that opened that made you realize you could do it?

It was my manager, who started as my agent and to this day is still my manager. I was working in a restaurant in Vancouver and she gave me her card and asked me if I had ever thought of acting. I thought, what a triggering question. For me, it was all I wanted to do, but the little girl in me believed I would never do it. It was just too much fear to go up against, what if they are right? I would rather not know. She hounded me for a year and she came into the restaurant again and said, you have an audition on Tuesday, you are going to go and do it. I did and I booked a Bollywood film. It was a year of pushing past a bad belief system that I wasn’t good enough. Then in about a year, I started booking some great roles.

how do you manage self-doubt today?

I think it’s something we work through and with our entire lives. Who I am is a by-product of either the reaction or the actions of the past. How do I actively participate in the belief system both positively and negatively? I ask myself if this is my true belief or did someone put this belief system in my mind. If it is yours, let’s unpack it. If it’s someone else’s, look at what system they were in where they devalued you. You realize their beliefs had nothing to do with me and everything to do with them. There are triggers around every door but I use them as an opportunity to solidify who I am and choose who I am. I see them as an opportunity to choose if how I am thinking or feeling is who I want to be. If not, I have daily practices that create new neural pathways versus dwelling on things.

Now to talk about ‘Reacher’, the show is a huge success. Talk to me about joining season two and how your character Dixon comes into the fray.

I love Dixon, she is in five of the books, and she’s one of the larger recurring characters. It’s not just an add-on, there is a real connection between her and Reacher. She is the only person who comes from his past and the women he has loved the longest. You can see that in the season when he sees her for the first time his eyes light up. He really fights it because he is her boss and it wouldn’t be appropriate. Part of the reason she loves him is because he isn’t the type of person to manipulate her. She has a lot of respect for those types of men who have a very strong moral compass. This season, she pushes him in a way that allows people to see a little bit more humanity and vulnerability. She doesn’t want anything from him, she makes it clear that their relationship was in the past. That’s what makes her a badass, I loved that about her. She is the one who ultimately turns down Reacher at the end of the season. It sets her apart.

Now to talk about Blueprint, you are the cofounder and CEO. Can you share more about the mission?

Blueprint is a software company that specializes in mental and emotional wellness for kids. We built an online platform that has a curriculum taught by the world’s top thought leaders. In simplistic terms, it’s a Master Class for kids but based in a state-aligned curriculum. The idea behind it is similar to this interview of me telling you stories about my life so you can better understand me. There are themes around my mental health from when I was a kid or the life skills I am learning now that you can relate to and we can relate through by me telling a story.

With something like mental health, it’s very hard to learn in a PDF format, so we take industry leaders, like Jim Kwik, who is one of the top brain coaches in the world and he talks about recovering from a brain injury when he was younger, bullying, and all of these life experiences. We wrap it with curriculum that allows students to start their own stories around mental health. As I was saying when I was little, I was so effected by other people’s views of me and I took it as law. I am looking at what I needed back then. I struggled with some dyslexia and there were times it was way for me to learn. I took that personally and that I couldn’t learn rather than the subject being formatted in a way that I could learn it. It’s about building adaptability and life skills not just skill sets. I look to that and what I rely on day-to-day is life skills.

Blueprint has a ten-year commitment to improving the mental health of our youth and doing it through school, it can also be brought home. Kids watch a video in class, there is journaling and mindfulness moments, and it’s all backed by data and based in science. It starts in middle school and the kids get to watch the videos that are all gamified, it’s like Netflix for mental health but in the classroom. I always say by better understanding ourselves, we can better understand the world around us. I think we teach kids backwards where we try to understand the world around us and figure out where we fit in. I need to know where I fit in within myself first and then I’ll know where I fit in in the outside world. It’s a passion project and we are backed by incredible human beings who believe it’s imperative for our youth.

In Conversation With Serinda Swan