We were lucky to catch up with Carl-philipp Wengler recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Carl-Philipp, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
I think it’s an innate thing I have. Ask my closest friends, my mother, my father, my girlfriend… I’ve simply always looked at the bright side and had a positive outlook on life. And then, it’s about cherishing what you have and enjoying the simple things in life. You’re still allowed to dream and strive for great things, have goals, and aspirations, but I believe you’ll have a much better life if you can find joy in what you already have.
And I’ll admit, I may have a day when I feel down – we all have those and we should acknowledge them -, but I think my optimism has always helped me recoup from this so much faster. I’ve been asked in some situations how I feel today, on a scale from 1-10. Most of the time, I hover around an 8, because my baseline of happiness is just so high, which is in great part due to my optimism.
I believe I will find a way to make things work out the way I want them out, and that life still has great experiences in store for me – that’s my optimism talking and it’ll never shut up, and I like it that way.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to be an actor. I still remember one key moment, when I was watching ‘Amadeus’ in the theater, and seeing the actor who played Salieri wowed me so much. At that moment, I decided that I wanted to have that power: To make people happy, sad, and nostalgic, to make them laugh, cry, and carry emotions around for hours after a performance. I must’ve been 15 when that happened. However, no one in my family was in the arts at that time and most had gone down an academic route, so I had no idea how to get there. Sometimes I thought ‘A casting director will see me perform a play and then I’ll get a job as an actor.’ Other times I thought ‘Just go to acting school and from thereon, everything will take care of itself.’ And then, when I was 18 and about to graduate high school, I was on Facebook, scrolling (doesn’t happen much anymore these days, I know), and I saw an ad for Disneyland Paris. It read ‘Do you have great energy? Are you good with kids? Do you like superheroes? If you do, Disneyland is the place for you!’ I checked all the boxes so I followed the link, signed up for an audition, told my parents about it, booked a train ticket and missed a day of school for the audition.
It was scary. I went to Paris all by myself, had to find the address in a city I didn’t know, and then – the icing on the cake -, I walked into a studio with hundreds of people. We all got numbers assigned, like marathon runners, stuck them on our chests, they told us the routine and then we went up. I was in one of the earlier groups and I saw that 9/10 people didn’t get to stay for the second round. And I remember thinking very distinctly ‘I can’t do the same as everyone, I need to do something that others haven’t tried’. So I did. And I got to the second round, then to and interview and then the day was over, I took the train back to Brussels and waited. A few weeks later I got an invite to come to Disneyland for a costume fitting, as they thought I matched one of the characters well, so I took the train again (my advisor in high school was very gracious about me missing school for this), went to Disneyland Paris and spent the day backstage, trying on a costume in front of a jury and doing my best portrayal of this character. They said thank you, we’ll be in touch and again, I took the train home.
A week before my final exams, I got an email which I’ll never forget, in which they were offering me a contract for the Summer of 2018, which was the first ever Summer of Superheroes in Disneyland Paris. I was in my car, and I celebrated like I’d just scored the winner in a World Cup Final – I screamed, I cried a little and sang to music as loud as I could. A few months ago, this had only been a wild phantasy and I could never have imagined to work in something like this. Now it was a reality. That was my first acting gig.
Still, I consider myself very young in the field and feel like I only got into the profession a few years ago – around 2022/23 – and I only got my first paid jobs (apart from being a character in Disneyland Paris) on film sets in 2022 and 2023. I went to some acting schools, and did some stunt courses, as I love action movies and aspire to do some stunts myself, as well as to star in action/superhero movies. I watched so many of those growing up – and still do – that it’s no wonder I dream of being a part of those projects, and luckily enough, I’ve already managed to get a taste of it. And it’s hard, and some days I doubt myself, but I can’t and won’t quit. Especially not after all I’ve invested, I owe it to myself and everyone I promised that I’d be an actor to keep going.
It’s been an amazing ride so far and I can’t wait to keep on going, as I want to be an actor to share emotions with others. I grew up watching so many movies that defined who I am (one of my favorite quotes, which I regularly do in my best Christian Bale Batman impersonation: “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me”) that I want to give all of this and much more back. I know what it’s like as a kid to look at the screen in the cinema and say ‘Wow, I wanna be just like Captain America.’ Or to want to fly like Buzz Lightyear, swing through New York like Spider-Man, or captain your ship across the seven seas like Jack Sparrow (savvy?). And I want the future generation of kids to grow up just like I did, marveling at the big screen and aspiring to be those movie characters. I had an amazing childhood, I really did and I can’t thank my mom and dad enough for what they gave me – and still do give me -, and as an actor, I want anyone going to the movies or watching a movie at home to have a blast, which is why I’m here – to help make that happen.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1) Resilience. Without resilience, I wouldn’t be where I am and it’s what will get me to my goals – no matter what they are. And a very wise acting teacher once told me that she would wish resilience to all actors, and I would wish this trait to everyone, it would go a long way.
2) Kindness. I know it may sound overly “peace and love” or “the world is all hugs and kisses”, but kindness has to be on this list. There are fewer joys greater than making another person happy and you have to power to do this every day! Whether by a small smile, telling someone how good they look, or that you like their work. It’s amazing how great it makes you feel to be kind and share kindness – and you’ll receive so much kindness and goodness in return, it’s a virtuous cycle!
3) Creativity. You need to be creative. You need to find new ways to do things, write your own stories, create your own opportunities, and think of new routines – and this happens by being creative!
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
It’s a very close call between Jay Shetty’s ‘Think Like a Monk’ and Steven Clear’s ‘Atomic Habits’ and I recommend both, but ultimately, I have to go with ‘Think Like a Monk’. I love Jay Shetty and his podcast, (I also highly recommend that) but his book was an unbelievably enjoyable read and taught me so much. I wouldn’t say this about many books, but I do think it makes you a better person. Period.
And the one nugget of wisdom I take from that book is unconditional forgiveness. Jay Shetty talks about the 4 stages of forgiveness. The first is zero forgiveness i.e. I DON’T forgive you NO MATTER what. The second is transactional forgiveness, meaning you forgive in return for something. The third, which is where we aspire to get, is transformational forgiveness, e.g: I forgive you and expect nothing back. And the last stage is unconditional forgiveness. This is the kind of forgiveness you’d expect from a matter towards her child (I forgive you NO MATTER what) – almost a saintly type of forgiveness.
And this really hit home when I read it, because I started to think how much unnecessary energy I harbored in the past or how long I could stay mad at someone for something. I came to the realization that staying angry, upset and unforgiving for longer than necessary was just going to drain me of my energy, so I decided to change that. And of course I still get mad or annoyed by people and things, but I strive to be at “LEVEL 3” type forgiveness (as I like to call it) 90% of the time. I forgive and expect nothing in return and I think this has made helped go through life even better than before. Try it sometime, you’ll see 😉
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cap291099/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-philipp-wengler-46636421a/
Image Credits
Wolf Marloh
Drew Bly
Maurice Jaccard
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