We have known gorgeous Jennifer Carpenter for quite some time….she continues to blow us away with her candid, raw, inspiring, gifted, creative spirit. Catch her now playing Deputy Marshall Mamie Fossett in season 2 of “1923” streaming now alongside Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. It was a blast spending a minute together shooting a little photo diary at her hotel as she cruised in and out of NYC. Scroll on down and check our chat on stepping into the Wild West 1920’s style, her personal style, skincare secrets, balancing life as a wife and mom plus a superb list of bare essentials.

The Bare Magazine: Can you share some highlights filming 1923 ... Where did you film? What was the cast like to work with?

Jennifer Carpenter: There were so many highlights while filming 1923, that I hardly know where to begin. Before the part was even mine, I marveled at how such lean writing could be so capacious in its intellect, its scope and its emotional reach. If the writing was the skeletal system of the project, the designers, the crew, the cast, the director, and Texas! added the tissue, the muscle, and the blood-flow that was needed to make it come to life. It was difficult to let go of when I wrapped. I felt like a kid being dragged away by the wrist from Disneyland - from my childhood dream.

The cast was very welcoming and hard working. It was nearly two hundred fifty degrees in Texas when we shot and I don’t think I heard a single complaint. It was all gratitude, grit, and giving.

Bare: The costumes look amazing. Did you enjoy stepping into that time period? Can you share some of your process?

JC: There’s only so much prep you can do on your own. I had researched the real Mamie Fossett. I had read books like Empire of the Summer Moon to get a sense of the history of the land and the indigenous people that first occupied it. And I spent a lot of time tilling the soil of the scripts, searching for clues. I felt like I had the key inside the lock of the character, but it didn’t turn for me until my first costume fitting with Jaine Bryant (who is an absolute ace at what she does).

She pulled pieces from old Hollywood warehouses (that carried with them the energy of an era that validated the make-believe we were playing at), she built pieces in her own image, she added details that the audience would never see, but would inform me as the actor. Her work was carefully curated. And from principal actors to background actors, she hit a bullseye each time.

Bare: What would you say would make tuning 1923 a special unique experience for the viewer?

JC: Well before I was invited to the party, I watched season one of 1923 and I felt spoiled rotten by it. It looked like every dollar that they had was landing on my television screen. I felt like a first class time traveler watching the series. From the show’s A-list company, it’s costumes, it’s sets, it’s locations, it’s caliber of trainers and animals, and so forth, I couldn’t help but be transported. I was a fish on a hook. I went where the show led me and I caught up to my feelings only as they were springing forth from me. I experienced the show, I didn’t watch it.

Bare: Are there other genres of film/tv you'd like to explore that you haven't? Have you ever been interested in the theatre as well?

JC: I had the privilege of growing up in the theater. At age eight I started working for Actors Theater of Louisville in their Humana Festival plays. I worked with Jon Jory, Marsha Norman, and Ann Bogart before entering high school. Louisville Kentucky (where I was raised) has another tremendous resource for young actors, Walden Theater. My school didn’t have a drama program, but Walden was like a miniature conservatory were kids could work on Shakespeare, Chekov, and student plays after school.

I went to college at Juilliard where I studied drama and after an off- broadway and a Broadway show, I took Laura Linney’s advice and went to Los Angeles to do what all good actors do… wait tables. I desperately want to return to a rehearsal room, a stage, and a live audience.

I’m grateful that I’ve been able to make my living as an actor. I don’t want to spoil what I have by desiring what I don’t, but after years of training , of working, and remaining tightly tethered to my commitment to the craft , I still feel like an explosive waiting to be lit. I’ve been an actor almost as long as I’ve been alive and it’s thrilling to think that my legs are still strong and as fresh as they were at the start of this marathon. I look forward to dangerous writer who will fire the gun so I can run the baton.

I’ve also been missing doing comedies! Maybe it’s time for White Chicks 2! Busy Philipps and I still daydream about it.

Bare: Do you get to hear some great music every now and then being married to brilliant musician, Seth Avett? Have you worked out a good system when you're working, or he is, and then balancing family time?

JC: Yes! And I agree- he’s pretty brilliant. He never lacks for inspiration because he is so genuinely interested in life! It’s always a good day when Seth asks, “Do you want to listen to something?”

Scheduling remains a puzzle as it does for all working parents- no matter what they do for a living. But being in a cycle where you are continuously saying goodbye , then excitedly greeting your partner hello, is a pretty gorgeous way to live.

Bare: How do you spend off time - what are your favorite side passions and hobbies?

JC:

Being with family! My son is the most interesting person I’ve ever met and I’ll never be more curious or more excited to be with anyone.
Writing. I have a wildly talented writing partner, Amy Lowe Starbin.
Crocheting. I’ve been working on the same blanket for 9 years.

Bare: When we shot you in NYC we were struck by your amazing skin! Can you share any tips or tricks that help keep it so luminous!?

JC: That’s very nice! I had just had a triad facial with the amazing Dr. Colbert at NY Dermatology Group. I’m sure that helped!

I keep it pretty simple. I wash, tone, press in a few serums, then I add a couple of drops of castor oil to my nightly moisturizer. I don’t wear much makeup. I wonder if that serves my skin? It certainly serves me- not having to take the time to apply it day in and day out.

Some skincare brands I count on: Vintners Daughter Active Botanical serum, Drunk Elephant B-HYDRA serum and Juice Beauty 2-In- 1 Cleanser.

Makeup that’s always worth it: Merit The Minimalist foundation and Flush Balm in Cheeky, Ilia mascara, Beauty Pie Superluminous Undereye Genius

Bare: What unique feature about you, that may have been a journey to get comfortable with, is now something that makes you feel most like you?

JC: What an interesting question.

I’ve let some of my insecurities about pleasing people fall away. It has been valuable in my life (of course) but it’s been essential for my work. Harboring paranoid fantasies about what others think or what they might want from me takes up more creative space than I am willing to part with now.

On a superficial level. I used to worry about wearing the right clothes or labels. Now, I concentrate on my posture and wear what I want.