Shanley Caswell - Actress

Shanley Caswell did not grow up your normal teen actress. True, she left her Florida high school at 16 after starring in a number of plays as a kid to do the whole ‘Hollywood thing,’ but that’s just where the story starts. Over the next two years doing that ‘Hollywood thing’, Caswell landed spots on popular shows like Zoey 101, iCarly, Bones and The Mentalist. It was those gigs that got her noticed and in 2009 she was cast as Laura Leighton’s daughter in the Hallmark Channel movie, Mending Fences. The next two-years would prove to be good for the Sarasota, Florida native who had a two episode arc on ABC’s, The Middle; followed by a turn as a sweet but protected culprit in an episode of CSI:NY. She currently stars as Riley Jones in the horror-comedy film, Detention, opposite Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games), Dane Cook, and Spencer Locke. In 2013 the film, The Warren Files, based on the real life story of the Perron Family who encounters spirits living among them in their New England farmhouse, will be released with Shanley playing the character Andrea Perron. Also slated to appear in the film with Shanley, Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air, Source Code), Patrick Wilson (Watchmen, Prometheus), and Ron Livingston (Game Change, Dinner for Schmucks). Shanley says her dream role would be to play Natalie Portman's sister in a film because of Portman's classic Hollywood charm, intellect, and because of the obvious resemblance the duo share. If she had to lock lips in a on screen kiss, she says it would probably include Paul Walker, who, she admit is her fellow celebrity crush. When she's not busy with school work or on location filming, she says she enjoys the outdoors; doing everything from hiking and long boarding to kayaking, running and camping. On the day we interviewed Shanley for our podcast, she was between classes at UCLA where she is majoring in Cultural Anthropology. The 20 year-old brunette loves to learn and enjoys sharing her knowledge. It’s safe to say that Hollywood has taken notice of Shanley Caswell and there are many more good things to come.