Kayden Brenna Tokarski may be relatively new to General Hospital, but her résumé is already full. The young actress opened up on Maurice Benard’s State of Mind about growing up outside the industry, building a career that quickly earned her awards, and learning how to handle nerves. She also talked about the work ethic that helped her get there.
Key Takeaways
- Tokarski began acting at 10, following a normal childhood in Orange County.
- She adjusted to self-tapes and online school as her career grew.
- Gaslit gave her one of her first experiences on a major set.
- Preparation helps Tokarski manage nerves.
Kayden Brenna Tokarski Built Her Career One Step at a Time
Tokarski (Scout) spoke to co-star Maurice Benard (Sonny) on his State of Mind show about her path into acting. She explained that she did not grow up performing and started acting at 10 after an otherwise normal childhood. “I was just a regular kid from Orange County,” she said.
Her career accelerated quickly, but so did the rest of her life. Tokarski said the pandemic pushed auditions toward self-tapes, and she eventually moved to online school because she was missing too much class. She also became part of the National Honor Society and stayed involved in volunteering.
One of her bigger early jobs came on Gaslit, where she played the younger version of Julia Roberts’ character. Tokarski admitted the scale of the production intimidated her at first, saying, “It was one of my first experiences on a really large set. And so, it was very, very nerve-wracking, but it was the best experience ever.”
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Tokarski Learned How to Work With Nerves
The conversation eventually turned to mental health, and Tokarski spoke honestly about nerves rather than pretending they disappeared once the cameras rolled. She said she had gotten better at hiding them and changed the way she thought about them over time. When Benard brought up preparation, she immediately agreed that it helped.
That same mindset shaped the way she approached self-tapes. Tokarski said she learned not to keep recording take after take until the performance lost its energy. “I feel like for us actors, it really is in those first, like, five takes,” she explained.
She also had a clear view of therapy. “I think therapy is absolutely beneficial,” Tokarski said before the conversation turned back toward GH. For someone still early in her career, she seems to understand that preparation helps the work, nerves come with the territory, and neither has to control the outcome.
