Meet Erin Collins

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erin Collins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Growing up, I was an incredibly shy child. I can still picture myself hiding behind my mom’s legs whenever an adult even glanced in my direction. After my parents divorced, I moved between two very different households. As an only child with no extended family close by, I felt like I was living in two separate worlds. It was confusing and a little lonely at times. The attention felt like it was always on me and whatever I achieved or didn’t achieve. I learned early that if I performed well, people admired me. Because of that, I became a perfectionist. But being noticed also meant the risk of disappointing someone. To avoid that, I held back many of my talents and convinced myself I was not good enough to pursue them. My perfectionism, coupled with other survival skills I cultivated during youth, created a deep disconnect within myself. I had an incredibly hard time navigating the world because I didn’t know who I really was. I struggled to understand myself and I did not trust my own potential.

As I moved through my teens and into my twenties, I started to understand myself in a deeper way. A series of intense and transformative experiences showed me that if I wanted to feel at peace with who I was, I needed to build that peace from the inside. I know that sounds like something written over a sunset photo on Pinterest, but hey, sometimes those little quotes hold some real truths! I realized that if I truly wanted confidence, I had to start by changing the way I thought.

I began with something simple. I started meditating in the mornings. Just five minutes of breathing, quieting the noise, and letting myself enter a calmer flow state. The more time I spent observing my thoughts, the more I noticed how harsh they were. I started realizing how mean I was to myself. So I began interrupting the thought. I would say to myself, “No, Erin, you are not an idiot. You just dropped something. It’s no biggie, love.” When I offered myself kindness instead of judgment, I felt an actual shift inside me.

Around this time, I also started practicing self affirmations. I remember telling a mentor I trusted, “I just don’t feel good about myself. I doubt everything I do.” She stopped me right away and said, “Go stand in front of the mirror. Look yourself in the eyes and say that you love yourself.” I thought she was out of her mind, but she was honestly super intimidating and scared the heck out of me, so I did it. She told me to repeat it every single morning. I honestly cannot explain why, but it really did change something in me. I dare you to try it for ten days. There’s something magical about it.

Another mentor once told me, “If you want self esteem, do estimable acts.” That stayed with me. I started volunteering in communities that mattered to me. I tried to be useful wherever I could. Instead of focusing on what I might receive from situations, I began focusing on what I could contribute. Sometimes, when I feel myself craving validation, I try to offer it to someone else instead. It shifts my entire perspective. I am nowhere near perfect at this, but a girl can try.

Confidence and self worth are not easy to hold onto, especially in a society that tells women that they are not enough unless they meet impossible standards. I have learned that self esteem is something I have to practice every day. It rises and falls, just like any feeling. But the more I give myself space and grace to be human, the more I genuinely enjoy who I am. I try to treat myself the way I treat my closest friends, with patience, affection and respect. And when the negative thoughts show up, which they often do, I either tell someone I love or I say: “Thank you, but that is not helping me right now.”

Most of all, I am learning that it is okay to make mistakes. That is how I grow. My perfectionism does not love hearing that, but it’s true. When I stay connected to that mindset, I feel like the world is my oyster! And, let me tell you, I love some oysters.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

A true Georgia Peach, I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve always loved the arts and I grew up around them. My Dad has played in bands since I was in diapers. I, too, love music and singing, but I always had an affinity for movies, theater and writing. I started acting in small school productions throughout elementary and middle school, landing my first leading theatrical role as the fish in The Grimm Fairytale “The Fisherman and his Wife”. However, despite my theatrical ambitions in grade-school, I gradually steered away from the arts and leaned more towards “practical career choices”. When I got into my second year of college, I couldn’t resist my deep creative need to perform, and despite all of the “logic” that told me otherwise, I changed my STEM major to Theater.

Then… I graduated in 2020, which might have been the worst time imaginable to start a career in the arts. I didn’t let it stop me, though, and I basically lived in acting classes around Atlanta for about 2 years straight. In those classes, and in many, many a restaurant job, I met incredible artists who taught me valuable lessons about filmmaking, acting, and community. That was when my creative family began to grow around me, and I realized how essential community is in this field.

To say this career has been a learning process for me would be an understatement. Getting into acting since the pandemic has been downright ugly. The industry has taken hit after hit (the pandemic, the looming threat of AI, etc) and there have been countless times where I questioned what I was even doing in it. Somehow, I kept going, mainly because of the people around me who encouraged me to keep trusting myself.

During the writer and actor strikes, I decided to take my creativity into my own hands. I reached out to people in my circle and helped co-produce and build the characters for Five O’Clock Somewhere, a short crime comedy. Jon Milograno wrote and directed it, and Cleve Willis, Lucas Ayoub, Bonny Breuer, and I starred in it. The film went on to win awards at several festivals in Georgia, including Best Comedy at The Atlanta Women’s Film Festival. The response was far more positive than any of us expected. Creating something of my own during such an uncertain time helped me feel empowered and reminded me that I did not have to wait around for Hollywood to give me permission to feel relevant.

After that project, I starred in a production of Chekhov’s The Seagull, directed by Vivian Bang. The show received a wonderful review from ARTSATL, which wrote, “Collins stands out as Nina, capturing the transition from innocence to experience with remarkable depth. Her interaction with (Eric) Whitten’s re-awakening Trigorin adds complexity to their dynamic, underscoring the inevitable tragic outcomes.” That sentence means so much to me, because Nina is one of the most vulnerable and demanding roles I have ever played. I also starred in the horror short Night Shift at Ned’s, written and directed by Hagen Mattingly (who I met in an acting class!) The film has earned many festival awards, including Best Lead Actress at two festivals. I also helped produce a horror short with Hagen and my friend Cory King called Forces from Beyond, a story about a witch trial gone wrong in sixteenth century Ireland. That film won eight awards at the Buried Alive Film Festival’s Sinema Challenge, and I received Best Performance and Best Villain (laughs in maniacal evil villain laugh).

I continued working on several other projects, including The Killing Cell, a horror feature film directed by Karsen Schovajsa and James Bessey. It is currently running in festivals across the United States and is set for release in 2026. A review by Grimoire Horror wrote, “Erin Caitlin Collins commands enough of a screen presence that it would be great to see her in more genre films.” Okay, I hope to keep acting in more genre films, Grimoire!

Receiving praise and awards has been incredibly rewarding, but this career is full of lows as well. When I first shared that I wanted to be an actor, many industry professionals told me that it is a marathon and not a sprint. Since I began auditioning in 2021, I have probably done more than four hundred auditions. How many led to callbacks? Definitely not four hundred. I have fought through imposter syndrome, rejection, silence, being recast, and everything in between. These experiences have challenged me, but they have also made me stronger and more resilient, when I allow them to.

One thing that keeps me grounded is staying connected through collaboration. I try to create my own opportunities. I write, I help friends with their projects, I stay engaged in my community, and I carry my identity as an actor with pride, even when I feel like hiding under the covers for a month because the impending weight of existential dread is crushing my spirit. Artists need other artists. I show up for my friends on set, with auditions, or simply by being there when they need someone to talk to. This career is unpredictable and sometimes feels absolutely unreal, but if you’re an artist, you know the feeling that pulls you forward anyway. I always say that the artistic spirit chooses you and not the other way around.

Carrying that creative fire can feel heavy at times, so I make space for play whenever I can. Late stage capitalism can sometimes feel like it is draining the life out of my artistic spirit. I try to protect mine by being a goofy gal, practicing gratitude, spending time with people I love and creating moments that remind me of who I am outside of achievement.

Being an artist is a wild ride. It’s unpredictable, beautiful and downright exhausting sometimes, but I truly do not think I would have it any other way. So, onwards and upwards, my fellow artists!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

This was difficult to narrow down, but the three qualities that have mattered most on my journey (which I am very much still on) are resilience, community, and staying malleable.

Resilience:
The acting industry is not for the faint of heart. I had to learn that being seen is both the most uncomfortable feeling in the world and also the thing that pushes me to grow. I will never be a perfect actor, but I will always be a growing one. When I do not get a callback for a show I really wanted, I try to let it motivate me instead of let it discourage me. When I do not hear back from an audition for a role that felt right in my bones, yes, it stings, but I remind myself that the right role is still ahead of me. People say rejection is protection, and I try my best to trust that. Practicing gratitude helps me stay focused on what I have rather than what I lack.

Community:
I said this in my story, and I will say it again. Community is everything. The friends I have made in the film, television, and theater world are the reason I am still pursuing this career at all. They shaped me into the artist I am becoming. Without their encouragement, honesty, love, and connection, I would have burned out a long time ago. Many of the opportunities I have received came through relationships and genuine kindness. It pays to be kind.

Staying malleable:
This quality is closely tied to resilience. Being malleable is essential for any actor. If I cannot take a note, a critique, a moment of rejection, or even a moment of sudden success, then I am not in a grounded place. Malleability and humility go hand in hand. I do not know everything, and that is a gift. I want to stay teachable and open in every project I join. I want to learn and grow constantly. This is not always easy, and I absolutely get stuck sometimes, but I know that the more open I remain, the better I become. This does not mean abandoning all my ideas about a character or a scene. It means staying flexible and collaborative with the creative process.

My advice for anyone hoping to strengthen these qualities is simple. Stay teachable. Build friendships in the industry. Be kind. Never convince yourself that you have it all figured out. Stay open to possibility, because you never know what the universe is preparing for you just around the corner.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

Overwhelm is something I’ve struggled with every since I was a wee lass. I’ve always been a very anxious and overthink-y person. If there isn’t a problem, my brain will conjure one to worry about in no time. I’ve dealt with anxiety and panic attacks my entire life, especially in my early twenties. It is not easy to manage stress, especially in a society that never seems to rest.

So, what do I do when I feel overwhelmed? On a good day, I take time out of my busy life to unplug. I get off Instagram and Reddit (it’s hard, I looove Reddit) and I go touch grass. I’ll step into my Earth Mother era put my bare feet in the soil and take some deep breaths. I’ll try to meditate, pet my cat, put on some jazz, take a bubble bath, read a book or go bird-watching. Getting in touch with nature has always helped my anxiety the most.

Also, I love to stress bake. There’s nothing like whipping up a chocolate cake in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon when I can’t get my mind to stop racing that really puts things into perspective. I believe chocolate cake is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth that we humans have.

Lastly, I take care of my mental health with healthcare professionals, and this helps me tremendously. I’ve learned that needing help doesn’t mean I’m weak, it means I’m self-aware enough to want to take care of myself and get better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/erincaitlincollins
• Instagram: erin_collins999
• Other: https://imdb.me/Erincaitlincollins

Image Credits

Josh Stringer, Warren Steele, Isaac McCord, Hagen Mattingly, Emily Eliasen