‘Bad Monkey’s Charlotte Lawrence Is Basking In Her TV Debut: “I Wish I Did This Sooner”

After years spent paving her own path in the entertainment industry as a model, singer, and songwriter, Charlotte Lawrence is making her television debut in Apple TV+ ‘s Bad Monkey , and she couldn’t be happier that she overcame her “egotistical aversion to acting.”

In the series adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s 2013 novel , the 24-year-old multi-hyphenate stars as Caitlin Stripling, a rebellious teen, former model, and recovering addict who’s convinced her evil stepmother Eve (Meredith Hagner) murdered her father.

Speaking of fathers, Lawrence’s real-life dad is Bill Lawrence, creator of hit shows like Scrubs , Cougar Town , and Spin City , as well as fellow Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso and Shrinking . The award-winning writer, producer, and director also serves as Bad Monkey ‘s showrunner and EP, but he and his wife, actor Christa Miller, didn’t encourage their daughter to audition for the series. Lawrence pursued Bad Monkey on her own after learning that several friends were excitedly auditioning.

Fueled by the burning flames of FOMO, Lawrence reached out to her dad’s assistant (also her friend) to get the Bad Monkey tea and decided to audition without telling him. When a shocked Bill saw the tape, he submitted her anonymously, assuring Decider via Zoom, “It was really good. It was much better than it had to be for me to hire my kid.”

The concept of nepotism, the privileges she’s afforded, and the effort she’ll have to put in to build a successful acting career aren’t lost on Lawrence — she only wishes she caught the acting bug earlier in life.

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Bad Monkey’ On Apple TV+, Where Vince Vaughn Is An Ex-Police Detective Who Investigates A Murder In The Florida Keys

“It was kind of implemented in my family at a young age that if one of the kids were passionate about something, that they would support us emotionally and help us out if we prove to them that we were going to work really hard and that we really, really cared. I’ve always loved music, obviously. That was my first love, and I always loved performing and entertaining. I did musical theater and plays and stuff growing up, but I feel like as a teenager I had a huge egotistical aversion to acting,” the Bad Monkey star told Decider over Zoom. “I would be like, ‘I am not going to do anything that my parents are doing. No way. I’m going to do the opposite and build my own path, blah, blah, blah.’ It was ridiculous. I wish I did this sooner, but the second I gave it a shot and opened my mind up, I immediately fell in love with acting.”

Prior to her role in the Apple TV+ series, Lawrence took acting classes and worked with a coach to start honing her skills. She’s received countless tips and tricks from her mother, but the incredibly self-aware star isn’t here to convince anyone she’s an experienced actor. Despite a seemingly effortless embodiment of Caitlin Stripling, Lawrence is refreshingly vocal about imposter syndrome, along with her immense gratitude for the Bad Monkey breakout role. “I have so much to learn. I’ve done one thing. I know nothing. I am not good. I know that. I need to work a lot harder and a lot more and get my 10,000 hours in,” Lawrence told Decider. “I feel so grateful for the opportunity to work, and to get this role, and to work alongside my dad. I’m the luckiest person alive.”

On top of working with her father, Lawrence acts opposite Hagner and Catastrophe star Rob Delaney, both of whom she describes as wonderful. “It was such a pinch me moment that my first ever acting job was with the best of the best. I was a huge fan of Meredith from before I ever knew about Bad Monkey . I loved Search Party . I thought she was magnificent in it, and she was so naturally funny and had such a way of delivering her lines that made me feel like she was very naturally gifted and worked so hard on her craft. It really, really showed when we would do scenes together. She was just so quick and so witty and took the writing and made it come alive in such a beautiful way,” Lawrence explained. “I loved working with her, and the same for Rob. He is such a fantastic comedian. He is so good at what he does, it’s ridiculous. And he’s also so nurturing and so loving. All Rob and Meredith did were take care of me and make me feel close to them.”

‘Bad Monkey’ Soundtrack Features Tom Petty Covers From Eddie Vedder, Sharon Van Etten, Weezer, And More

Bad Monkey’s stacked cast includes Natalie Martinez, Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Ronald Peet, L. Scott Caldwell, Alex Moffatt, close family friend Zach Braff, Crystal the Monkey, and more. But the scene partner who left Lawrence absolutely star struck was Vince Vaughn, who plays Andrew Yancy, a demoted Miami Police Department detective investigating Caitlin’s dad’s death.

“I know this sounds like a fake press bullshit. Whatever. I’m dead serious, put me on a lie detector test. [Vince Vaughn] is probably my favorite comedic actor of all time,” Lawrence told Decider. “I have been in love with his work since I was a kid. From Swingers to Made to Wedding Crashers . I think everything he’s done is phenomenal, and he has such a way of acting that is so specific to him. He is so generous, he is so lovely, he is so smart. And I think his superpower is this improvisation, hilarious comedic timing, all this stuff — he makes it feel so effortless and so authentic.”

After clocking how nervous she was on Day 1, Vaughn walked Lawrence through everything he knew in the makeup chair and even teed up a joke for her in her first-ever scene. “[He] gave me such confidence and set the tone for the whole rest of filming,” she shared. “He was just so lovely. Oh my gosh, he’s the best.”

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Having read Bad Monkey when she was younger, Lawrence also revealed that her character Caitlin — a born-again, grieving firecracker with a penchant for swearing — was another huge reason she was interested in the project. “I loved her from the second I read the book. I fell in love with her. It’s very easy to to judge Caitlin and look at her as a mean person, or a damaged person, or whatever it may be, and I just immediately had so much empathy for her and just fell in love with her heart,” she said. “I think that Caitlin’s been through a lot and had a really tough childhood and a tough time in the modeling world and is a very big extremist — from drugs to Christianity to all the sorts — and I think the most fun for me was adding depth to this girl and kind of creating a backstory for her.”

“It was also really fun to play the mean parts of her, because I feel like we all think the things that Caitlin said out loud, but I would never in a million freaking years say it out loud, because I’m such a people pleaser,” Lawrence laughed. “You will never catch me cursing anyone out like this. She has the biggest cojones of all time and will curse anybody and their mother out, and it was so much fun to do that and just to be ballsy and go for it.”

From the family tie and the fiery character to the opportunity to cover Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers” for the soundtrack , Bad Monkey felt like a bespoke television debut for Lawrence — one that she hopes will lead to more on-screen opportunities. “I want to explore so much. I have forever been in love with film. I would love to dive deep into a movie. I love comedy, I love drama, I love horror, I’m open to everything,” the up-and-coming actor said.

“I just love a good script. I love acting so much. I have so much fun doing it. I want to keep learning. I want to keep experiencing, and I’m ready for whatever comes my way.”

New episodes of Bad Monkey premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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