10 minute read
Katherine McNamara : CHAMELEON
Words By Elisabeth Hower | March 23 2022
Katherine McNamara is grateful. It’s the end of a long day and she’s still donning sparkly blue eyeshadow from an earlier photoshoot. However, her eyes have their own shine. It’s not difficult to see why. With lead roles in smash hits like Shadowhunters, Arrow, and the Maze Runner series, along with several projects in the pipeline, McNamara’s eyes are firmly set on a future that looks bright.
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Kat wears Vegan Leather Suit by Vegan Tiger, Jewelry by Siena Jewelry
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, to a scientist mother, McNamara’s first love wasn’t the stage… but rather, math. In fact, her first dream was to stay in Kansas City, become an economist, and perhaps dabble in some local theater on the side. Life had other plans, of course, and at the tender age of 13, McNamara marched into an audition for A Little Night Music on a lark. That lark would fly her to New York City for a role on Broadway, far from Missouri, opposite Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta Jones. You know, amateurs. Later, her co-stars would be Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. But don’t worry, none of it was lost on McNamara. “When you’re in the presence of those greats, it’s hard to ignore their gravitas.” Was it hard for someone so young to make their way in the big city? Hardly. “I’m very good at blooming where I’m planted. Making the best of wherever I am, and whatever comes my way, and enjoying the moment forwhat it is.” Besides, she had “titans of leading ladies” who would join her mother in influencing and supporting the McNamara to be her own person, firmly standing on her own two feet. It’s a theme established early that would recur throughout her life on and off stage.
Kat wears Gown by Karen Sabag, Jewelry by Siena Jewelry
Self-possessed and confident, the would-be economist has run her career like a business from day one. Where we’ve heard infinite a tale of Hollywood royalty gone broke, McNamara has always known how to handle her money. First and foremost, she invested in herself, earning a degree in Business and Economics from Drexel University—by the time she was just seventeen (do we even discuss the fact that she graduated high school at fourteen?). It was time well spent. “You have to manage things yourself,” she explains of her career. “It really does become [both] a business and a creative exploit. I’m just glad that I can wear both hats.” She knows how marketing works, and how to read a contract. It’s refreshing to hear her speak about it, for it’s yet another example of how she’s grounded herself in a world where fame can be seductive at best, beyond destructive at worst.
Speaking of potentially destructive forces, how does she handle the weight of her 4 million Instagram followers? With gratitude and respect. “I feel incredibly lucky. All my experiences have been super positive,” she says. She’s keenly aware not everyone is so lucky. But in her mind, the fandoms of Arrow, Maze Runner, and Shadowhunters, are “an incredible communities of individuals who love a story.” In particular, she notes that the “Shadowfan,” those that comprise the fandom of Shadowhunters, have “taken this story that we all know and love, that we poured blood, sweat and tears into, and formed this community that is representative of love, and acceptance, being who you are, allowing yourself to be free in that way, knowing you’ll be supported.” Not bad company to keep, indeed. Of the fans she’s met at ComiCons she’s done world-wide, she says, “I’ve met some of the most extraordinary people.” She’s clear that stories have the ability to connect us beyond location, cultural and political differences, and views these exchanges as vital, especially “in a world that can be so divisive.”
Kat wears Dress by Karen Saba, Flower Headpiece by Alersundi and Vegan Apple Leather Boots by Sylven New York
We speak about the roles that got her to those conversations with strangers at ComiCons in the first place. She was 19 when she was cast as Clary Fray in Shadowhunters, where she found that she was in many ways living life parallel to the one she portrayed on TV. “Those are such transformative years for anyone,” she says, of finding her own voice, and learning who she wanted to be in a world she was thrust into. The road wasn’t always smooth, but thankfully she had a close group of friends and family that would help her along the way. Not to mention Clary herself. “WhatI love about [her] is that she’s not perfect.Nine times out of ten she’ll fall flat on her face, but nine times out of ten, she picks herself back up and moves forward and learns from it. We can have the best of intentions, and still make a mistake. And that’s okay. And for a Type A Perfectionist… it was a very good lesson to learn.”
Regarding Mia Smoak, her wallsup, never-gonna-let-anyone-in role on Arrow, McNamara actually found she was one of the most vulnerable characters on the show. Further, “it was her vulnerability that made her strong [and] helped establish loyalty,” which isn’t a bad lesson, either. McNamara tries to hang on to that vulnerability, not only because it allows her to be a more honest story teller, but because it opens her up to experiences on and off set. “You never know who’s going tostumble into your life… or what opportunities there will be to learn something,” she says with a knowingsmile. Clearly, vulnerability has not steered her wrong.
Let’s face it, the past couple of years have been… eventful. It would be normal to question how we’re spending our days. Unless you’re Kat McNamara, of course. “I tend to be a stubbornly positive individual… always looking for the silver linings.” She believes, “even if it’s just a small moment [in each day], a conversation you had… there’s a magic that happens…. You can’t really do it alone,” which is, again, refreshing in a TikTok world of look-at-me individuality. Her perspective, at least when it comes to work, is all about the love. When describing her passion for storytelling, she says, “It’s that ember that never really goes away.”
Kat wears Flower headpiece by Alersundi, Dress by Karen Saba, Jewelry by Siena Jewelry, Boots by Sylven New York
McNamara is taking those embers and fanning them into a fire. Two, in fact, both equally “Mcnamaran.” She’s just wrapped production on JADE, James Bamford’s feature film directorial debut. Keen-eyed fans will remember his name from directing episodes of Arrow, where she also shadowed him as a director. “I’ve… had the opportunity to learn so much from that experience… I was thrilled to get to work with him again on such a different project.” As well, Kat’s next soon-to-be-iconic television role will be as the lead on Walker: Independence, set in the 1800s, but sure to be full of her signature strength and trail-blazing will. Says McNamara, “Abby is an unexpected firecracker.” Which is, to say, on brand.
Though she be little, she be fierce. Shakespeare may as well have been detailing McNamara. “I’m a very tiny human,” she says. But she didn’t let that be the end of the narrative. “I had never thought up until that point [of training for Shadowhunters] that I could have any modicum of physical strength.” Her experience on those shows demonstrated to her that “you can do things beyond your wildest imagination.” She credits her trainers for bolstering her self-confidence; “it changed how I move throughout the world.” It also ignited her hope for other women to feel this way as well. “I never thought I was incapable,” she says, but knowing how to drop kick a demon definitely increased her level of confidence at the grocery store. She’d love everyone to ask, “Why not [me]?” in regards to fitness, sure, but also education, or going after that job.
Kat wears Jumpsuit by Bono Van Peursem, Gloves by Kerry Parker, Jewelry by Siena Jewelry
Of course, that work of self-expansion goes beyond the punching bag. “I have to credit a lot of [my perspective] to the women in my family.” Growing up, she was surrounded “by driven career women,” and it made an impact. “I was raised not with a choice of career or family, but a choice of, you can do whatever you want with your life as long as you work hard for it, and you’re willing to put in the time and the energy that it takes to have an ‘and,’ you can.” Of all the strokes of good luck McNamara seems to have had in her life, having strong female role models seems to be the leafiest of her clovers. “I had examples my whole life of women that didn’t fit any mold. They made their own. And I’m so grateful for that.” It’s one of the reasons she’s so passionate about being an ambassador for the Girl Up Foundation, a women and girls empowerment organization under the umbrella of the U.N. Its objective is to “advance girls’ skills, rights, and opportunities to be leaders.” A life-long Girl Scout, McNamara often felt as a child that she wanted to make a difference, but didn’t know how. Girl Up provides the platforms to support today’s Scouts putting their thoughts into action, whether it be a movement, fundraiser, or project. Her schedule doesn’t always allow her to travel with them in their campaigns, but she lends her voice, and her own platform, any way she can. Remember those 4 million followers? Yeah, they’re listening. And McNamara is fervently curating what they hear, whether it’s support for the MS Society, Stomp Out Bullying, or The Big Slick, an annual charity event hosted by Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, and Rob Riggle back in her hometown of Kansas City. “I’m just trying to help however I can,” she says matter-of-factly, in a way that denotes just how matter of fact her perspective should be.
Kat wears Dress by Elliatt, Jewelry by Siena Jewelry
In her downtime, McNamara is devoted to the circle of friends that keep her most grounded. What’s important to her are “the simple moments of laughter and joy and fun with the people that remind you who you are… that’s the time that means the most.” That might include going on a hike with friends, or more likely, organizing a game of Mafia, which she plays a few times a month. She laughs. “All is fair in love, war, and Mafia.” But it tracks: Kat McNamara is game for anything. “I’m not scared of a challenge. I’m not scared of having to put in effort. If it’s hard, good. If it’s a challenge, even better. Because I’ll learn from it. I’ll grow from it.” Kat may bloom wherever she’s planted, but rest assured her roots are firmly planted in the ground. And you know what they say, the deeper the roots, the higher the branches can reach toward the sky. ■
Kat wears Dress by Elliatt, Jewelry by Siena Jewelry
PHOTOGRAPHY by Glenn Nutley @thecontentcollective HAIR by Stefanie Terzo @stefanieterzo MAKEUP by Brittany Paige @peckisme STYLING by Adeel Khan @adeel_k
