Mädchen Amick — The Bare Magazine

Spending time with actor/director Mädchen Amick was truly refreshing. She is so genuine, open, compassionate and fun. We were thrilled when Mädchen was up for shooting on Rarebit an antique/historic boat belonging to our dear friend Matthew Rhys, helmed by Captain Kelli Farwell. Scroll on down for that photo diary and chat about tonights episode #13 of Riverdale which Mädchen directed and her work as a mental health warrior with the Don’t Mind Me foundation. To top it all off she gave us insight to her beauty/health and bare essentials. She may have just said her goodbye's to Riverdale but we predict there will be much more of the marvelous Mädchen to come.

The Bare Magazine: Tonight June 28th is a very special episode of Riverdale in which you directed! Could you tell me a bit about your transition from primarily acting to taking on the role of a director?

Mädchen Amick: It's funny, I was just trying to figure out when was the first time I directed- I did a couple of music videos, then a documentary series pilot. And from there it just grew and grew. After that I started directing Riverdale and in the summer of 2021 I directed my first feature film, “My Name Is”. We just finished post production at the end of last year. I'm not going to hang up my acting hat, but if 36 years in the business and seven seasons on a show doesn't allow me a moment to really grow that side of my career. I'm not sure what will!

Bare: Were there any challenges that came with making the switch from actor to director on a set like Riverdale?

MA: It was really nice to have a cast and crew that I knew and I had been working alongside for a while. I directed my first episode of Riverdale in season four. And then again, in season five, and then now in season seven. Directing again in our final season was very sweet. The only challenge was that I had to act in an episode at the same time. And that was really hard. I look at other actor/directors and I honestly don't know how they do it. When directing my brain shifts into that different kind of creative mode. There's a lot of hours spent, and you’re on your feet all day, and up all night planning the next day. I don't know how they stay sharp to also then be in front of the camera and perform and look decent. I look like a hot mess every time I direct!

Bare: Well, I'm sure I'm sure that's not true! Is there anything specific you do to recharge after one of those long days on set?

MA: If I have down days I really just focus on resting and recouping and laying low. I don't do too much social stuff so I can recharge. I’ll try to get back into exercising or do some gardening. That's definitely a way to reset my brain. But to be honest, in the past three years after we started our mental health foundation, Don't Mind Me, I haven’t really had any downtime. Once the show is wrapped I've told everyone not to talk to me for three months! Mommy needs a moment to recharge, and refuel, and be a bum, or go on a trip.

Bare: You began the Don't Mind Me foundation with your family, which is a resource for mental health advocacy. Please tell us more about that.

MA: Yes, of course. Our son went off to college at UC Irvine in 2010 and he unfortunately witnessed a really tragic death on campus. It seems to have been the trigger that revealed a predisposition to a mental illness that neither my husband or I really had any knowledge that we had in our family. It was a really rough couple of years where we were navigating it and trying to figure out a proper diagnosis. This opened us up to seeing how broken our mental healthcare system is. That's what started the journey. I became the first global ambassador for Bring Change to Minds, Glenn Close's anti stigma organization, which is really wonderful. We had always been talking about how one day we really wanted to try to start an organization of our own. But it was always, “one day, one day”. Then all of a sudden we're hit with the same challenges, and lack of care. That's when, in the middle of complete chaos, we decided we have to start the foundation. That's why we started it as a family, and it's really grown in awareness. Now we're actually using our funds to scholarship people into treatment and connecting people who have resources. We're very, very proud of it.

Bare: Can you share your personal perspective on combating those mental health issues while being an actor/director?

MA: I started in the business in 1987, and I was a baby. I was 16 and I jumped straight in, saying “I'm going to tackle this, I'm gonna conquer it and give it my all”, and it's a real grind. I was just saying this recently, I think with a lot of the Union strikes that are happening right now along with the pandemic really made us question what is our work environment. Throughout the years it’s normal to work 14, 16, 18 hours a day on set. It really cuts down on the time to be able to rest, get nutrition, and carry out your basic needs. It's interesting that right now we're moving the needle and talking to producers and studios about this. The other part is everybody who's in front of the camera. There's this microscope of your beauty, of your weight, of your body image of looking young, and that in itself is not a healthy environment. It's this very strange, unhealthy magnifying glass on what is considered perfection. We just need a good base for mental health in general for our personal lives, with our family, our friends. We need to be really aware and really checking what our mental health is in our workplace as well.

Bare: How was your experience on Matthew Rhys’s vintage Hemingway Class boat? I heard it was a bit rocky…

MA:. The boat itself was fantastic. Beautiful boat, a solid beauty. Now the day itself was quite windy. In fact, I texted Tina in the morning, “Are you sure you feel comfortable going in the boat?”, because New York had a severe weather warning flood watch and thunderstorms, and she's like, “No, no, no, it's gonna be fine.” And it was fine!

Bare: To close us out, what are your five bare essentials?

MA:

Oribe hair products. I have a real sensitivity to products so I just have to be really careful. Ever since I started using that it's really helped
Chantecaille foundation. It’s really clean and quite healing for the skin. The biggest thing for me is keeping my cord pores clear. I've always fought acne my entire career general sensitivity so finding the products that work are so important.
Weleda. They're a natural oils line and they have beautiful skin oils. I use their lip balm. That's a must have it in my pocket wherever I go.
You always have to have your good pair of blue jeans. Period. Definite essential.
Signature perfume scent. I go between Tom Ford’s Black Orchid and Louis Vuitton’s Les Sables Roses. I like almost masculine, musky scents.