HOLR is chatting with the talented Chicago and Atlanta-based actress Callie Johnson about her exciting career milestones.

Meet Callie Johnson – the shining star both on stage and on screen. The talented Chicago and Atlanta-based actress stars in AppleTV+’s new film The Beanie Bubble which she plays alongside the notable Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks. As a result, this recent release uncovers Beanie Babies and its booming phenomena in America. Today, HOLR is sitting down to chat with Callie about how she got her start in the industry, her top career milestones to date, and her newest endeavor, The Beanie Bubble.

Check out our full conversation below to get to know Callie and what’s next for the rising star!

Talk to us about your passion for the entertainment industry and how you got started as an actress. 

I started dancing at a very young age; my neighbor growing up opened a dance studio in her basement, and my mom knew it was something I’d love doing. She was right! I proceeded to dance in dozens of shows, including over 80 performances of The Nutcracker. As a kid, I grew up watching great movie musicals like The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, and West Side Story. In my eighth-grade year, our high school needed kids to play the Von Trapp children in their production of The Sound of Music; I auditioned and got the part! I remember having absolutely no gauge of how well I could sing or act, but I knew I wanted to give it a try. I continued doing plays and musicals once I entered high school and then decided to pursue acting in college. The moment I fell in love with the artistry was my junior year at Columbia College Chicago; we were doing this gorgeous blue-grass musical based on true events called Floyd Collins, and a few of my classmates and I took a road trip to Kentucky to visit Floyd Collins’ home. I had a moment of realization that we were doing something incredibly special; we were immortalizing these people by telling the story of their lives. I feel a sense of such wonderful responsibility being a storyteller.

What can you tell us about your new role in AppleTV+’s new film The Beanie Bubble?

My character, Linda, is a suburban Chicago mom whose cul-de-sac becomes ground zero for the Beanie Baby craze – with Linda at the center. She may seem like just a soccer mom, but below the surface, she’s a fierce entrepreneur with a knack for finding ways to creatively capitalize on the “Ty” brand. She really admires Ty Warner as a businessman, and I think Linda’s ultimate goal is to be recognized for her creative gusto and to be treated as a peer by Ty.

What was it like to work alongside Zach Galifianakis and Sarah Snook in The Beanie Bubble?

I remember feeling a lot of anticipation leading up to filming my scene with Zach Galifianakis. The night before filming, I had a minor wave of “Oh no, what if I’m not as prepared as I think I am!”, so I went back to the script and walked myself through all the work I’d done. As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about; the next day was such a blast. I felt really empowered to be myself and to give my creative input. Zach is so easy to work with, and offers up such playful comedic gold for you as his scene partner to grab onto and run with. At the end of my work day, he was so encouraging and told me what a great job I did. I was really touched, and definitely cried when I got back to my trailer – I was incredibly proud of myself! Another highlight: although Sarah Snook and I don’t have any dialogue in the film, we got the chance to spend the day together during my final day on set and she is just the loveliest human. So down to earth and kind. She recommended a great Italian restaurant in the city, and my partner and I popped in that very night for a celebratory dinner.

You also guest starred in Dick Wolf’s popular TV series Chicago Med and were featured in Chicago P.D. What were these experiences like?

My guest star role on Chicago P.D. was my first time on a SAG-AFTRA contract, so it’ll always have such a special place in my heart. My role on Chicago Med, however, took a more surprising turn: initially, my character, Joanna, was only slated for one episode. In the first episode, she goes into early labor and has to make some painfully difficult decisions regarding her baby’s survival. I was on set for four days, and all four days were extremely grueling emotionally and physically. I think I was on a gurney the first day for about 8 hrs; with lots of crying and pushing for the labor scene. I’m so grateful to Marlyne Barrett and Torrey DeVito (two of the show’s series regulars) for being so supportive that day. They really got me through. Then a few weeks later I got a call from my agent saying that the writers loved my work and wanted to bring me back for another episode to continue my storyline (spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well for her). I was totally thrilled, to say the least! That experience is still such a highlight in my career so far.

Outside of your acting career, what do you like to do for fun?

I’m a big outdoors person – I love hiking, camping, and traveling to beautiful places. One of my favorite (and in my opinion, severely underrated) places in the U.S. is South Dakota – the state changes so much from east to west. Badlands National Park is so hauntingly beautiful, like another planet, but just a few hours drive puts you in the middle of the lush forests of the Black Hills. Highly recommend! Currently, my goal is to explore all of the waterfall hikes in Atlanta (where I live for part of the year). Aside from nature, I am very passionate about my two kitties, Toby and Jasper, reading (my taste is all over the place, from sci-fi to horror, to memoirs), watching spooky movies, and re-organizing my whole house. LOL.

What’s next for you?

I was so lucky to have worked a ton last year, and one of the projects coming up that I’m most excited about is called The Other Black Girl, which will be on Hulu sometime this September. I had such a blast on the set of that show; the cast, crew, and director were so amazing and collaborative; even the few days on set felt like I was part of something special. Really looking forward to seeing the final edit! Another cool project, Dark Matter, will be airing on AppleTV+ sometime this year. I was psyched about this one; I’m very drawn to grounded sci-fis like Westworld or The Leftovers, and this is very much in that realm. Plus, it stars Jennifer Connelly – so you know it’s going to be good.