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There is always a moment before language — where the body understands something the mind hasn’t yet caught up to. That’s where Cailyn Rice begins.
Coming from a background in dance, Rice approaches performance through movement first, using breath, posture, and sensation as entry points into emotion. It’s a process that allows her to build from the inside out — to find something honest before shaping it into something seen.
That instinct carries into her work on Euphoria, a world that exists somewhere between hyper-real and emotionally raw. Rather than being overwhelmed by its intensity, she navigates it by staying grounded — returning to the same physical awareness that has always guided her work.
The result is a presence that feels fluid and controlled all at once — something that doesn’t just perform emotion, but holds it, lives in it, and lets it linger.
Q: Do you think you tell stories differently with your body than you do with words?
My body and mind are so deeply connected, my body often knows how I feel about something before I have the words for it. The physical and verbal are two different mediums, and I treat them as such but, the approach is the same. I find the feeling in my body first and move from there, whether that be with a physical action or by speaking aloud.
Q: What’s something about your work as a dancer that people often misunderstand?
How I needed all of it to be the person and actor that I am. I talk a lot about the way I feel things in my body and that’s because I spent so many years existing outside of it. Dance helped put me back into my body. It helped me process and move through feelings that I didn’t know where to put or how to navigate.
Q: Your performances feel very physical, even in stillness. Do you think your body understands your characters before you consciously do?
I think there is always an initial and instinctual settling. When I read a script for the first time, I can feel where the character sits in me. And when I start to speak the lines and move, I can feel them begin to stretch out. Refinement, nuance and understanding come the longer we exist together, but we always start as one.
Q: Moving from dancer to actress, did you ever feel like you had to prove yourself again from zero?
Definitely. But it was different this time, I had years of experience that was still applicable. I understood that being on set was a different skill than auditioning, hitting marks felt like choreography, I could feel that there was still a dance between the camera and me, we just moved differently now. I just had to prove that I could do it, and that takes experience and time — but I am patient.
Q: Stepping into Euphoria, a world that feels both hyper-real and emotionally raw — what did you have to unlock in yourself to exist in that space?
Entering on to such a well-known set like Euphoria can be intimidating. If you get too lost in the cast and the set and the crew, it would be hard to exist in the world that they’ve created. Staying grounded, in the moment and present with everyone I came in contact with allowed me to exist there. If I ever feel myself starting to float away, I bring myself back into my body and back to those around me.
Q: What part of your past as a dancer do you hold onto the most in your acting today?
Breathwork. The way your body reacts and moves with your breath is instinctual. Breathing different ways evokes different feelings, makes us move in certain ways, takes us to different places. It’s something that’s primal. Before every take I find my breathing before I find the words or anything else.
Q: How did your dance background shape the way you approached your scenes in Euphoria?
Vivian is confident and completely at ease in her body. My background in dance helped me move through her world with a kind of ease, to slink through the apartment and carry that softness and control. There’s a fluidity to Vivian that dance really helped me access.
Q: Your dancing evokes deep emotion, almost like telling a story without words. When you perform, do you feel like you’re creating a world? And how do you keep that world different each time?
The world is by nature different each time. No two human beings are exactly the same, so body jumping into another will inherently change the world that is lived and experienced. It’s so much about deciphering what that world is, externally and internally.
Q: As a dancer, did you ever find yourself using something close to method acting to access emotion, or was it always coming from a different place?
There is definitely a strong through line between method acting and the way I approach the work. However, I find that when a scene ends, I don’t desire to sit in the character. I haven’t found that, that elevates my performance in any drastic way. Instead, I choose to return to myself, come back to something I know and something that is safe. The body can’t tell the difference between what is real and what is pretend, so when it’s time to go back to the scene, I shed myself like a plush robe, knowing her comfort will be returned to when the director yells “cut”.
Q: What’s something from your character in Euphoria that stayed with you after the experience ended?
We all have things that we want in this life, and what we do to try and get them is different for every one of us. What we want, what we settle for, what we desire, need, shed, keep… This is something we all grapple with. Vivian has her own path she’s going down to get what she wants, and I have mine. And while they are not the same, she reminds me that only I can decide what is right for me.
Q: Would you want to explore horror in the future? And what kind of horror stories or films draw you in the most?
Horror and psychological thrillers are always intriguing to me. I think a lot can be explored through our fears and the macabre. As someone with a genuine excitement and optimism for life I am often drawn towards the darkness, there is no light without it. I am excited to be a part of upcoming horror film SIGIL directed by William Wright Anderson and Tyler Condon. The film is about three girls who perform an occult ritual orchestrated by their deceased friend.
Q: Coming from dance, have you ever thought about stepping into a musical, where both movement and acting fully collide?
I can’t wait for the day my dance background meets me where I am now. I can imagine it will feel like something is being reborn, feeling old and new all at once. Musicals like Rocky Horror Picture Show, Chicago and Cabaret would be extremely fun to be a part of. I was trained in Jazz and Fosse, and you can find the inspiration of strong arms and lines in my choreography. However, my personal dance style is much more contemporary, my contorted movements and slinky nature would fit well into a world like Climax or Suspiria, something that’s as twisty as my body moves.
Q: Let’s imagine there’s an unknown world called Cailyn Rice somewhere out there. What do you think it would look like, and how would it feel to exist there?
It would be a world shaped by intention and a slower way of moving. I deeply love finding beauty in the mundane, I think anything can become special if you truly look at it and sit with it. It’s a world rooted in intuition and instinct, in finding a deep connection with yourself and with the people and world around you. That’s the way I try to move through life.
Q: Is there a specific song or kind of music you return to when you’re working or preparing for a role?
I find that the music changes for each role. I center the music I’m listening to around the character and their world. That helps me settle into the tone of the film. My more specific rituals revolve around what I do to come out of character, when the day has ended and it’s time to come back into myself. Visit Croatia by Alabaster DePlume is a song I have visceral memories tied to. Played for me by a deep loved one, It brings me back into a moment where I felt intensely present and grateful to be here in this life.
Q: If you were ‘a shot’ in a film, what would that look like? Describe it for me from your imagination, or reference a scene from a specific movie that you feel encompasses you.
I think it would feel like a renaissance painting. The underpainting, creating a base that no one will see but everyone will feel. Each layer of patiently dried oil creating depth and definition over time to reveal a still that breathes and feels evocative and dramatic.
The ending scene with Bjork in Dancer in the Dark changed me. The way she sings and screams and cries — I was nearly catatonic after watching that film. I strive to create art that makes people feel as profoundly and viscerally as that film did to me. Be that in the beauty and joy of life or the trauma and pain of it. I am here to experience and feel it all.
Photography 30intheMorning @30inthemorning
Wardrobe Dominick Merone @dominicknstuff
MUA Lili Eve Kaytmaz @lilievemakeup
Movement Direction Eileen Harman @eileenharman
