Acting alumna appears in Apple commercial

Caroline Stella, acting alumna, booked a nationwide Apple commercial.

The advertisement, “Unlock,” shows Stella using facial recognition features of the iPhone X. She walks through a high school unlocking various lockers, doors, closets, and labs with her eyes, demonstrating the slogan, “Unlock with a look.” The commercial was released March 16.

Stella moved to Los Angeles after graduating from OCU in May 2017. Her agent from Cabrera Talent Company submitted her for the commercial audition.

“Films aren’t like theatre, so there aren’t really any open calls,” Stella said. “My agent told me to go in, and it was the normal commercial routine – me and one guy in the room with a camera.”

Stella was put on availability after the first callback, which meant she was being considered for the role and could not audition or book any acting jobs during the waiting period. She officially booked the part after a second callback.

“I didn’t think I got it because it had been days since I heard from anyone,” she said. “Last time I was in a commercial, I got the call the next day, so I figured all the commercial auditions would be like that. This definitely wasn’t.”

The audition and callbacks were all action-based, similar to what ended up happening on television, Stella said. She said she could not disclose any further details of the process because she signed a non-disclosure agreement before each callback.

The commercial had almost 5 million views on YouTube by March 24. The exposure has made her face more recognizable, but not her name, Stella said.

“With commercials, it’s harder for people to contact you because they can’t look your name up,” she said. “Tons of people have seen it, but there’s no way for people to know who I am. I’ll get decent exposure when I’m submitted for other commercials or theatrical stuff though.”

The commercial will help her expand her audition options in Los Angeles, Stella said.

“It’s not every day you get a big commercial, so it’s a good time to negotiate with my agent and make changes,” she said. “I just now am being submitted theatrically by my agent. I requested it, and he looked at my profile and my reel and decided he was comfortable submitting me for theatrical auditions.”

Meredith Funkhouser, film production senior, was Stella’s roommate at OCU. Funkhouser said she was glad OCU housing never had to deal with Stella’s “unlock it with a look” power, but she is sincerely proud of her friend.

“On the real, Caroline consistently worked hard as a student, founded an all-female sketch group and the Second Act improv troupe,” she said. “I don’t believe this is the last time we’ll get a Blue Note with Caroline Stella bolded.”

Aside from the commercial, Stella has been working on several independent films that are submitted to festivals.

“Tuesday is my last shoot day for Uride, an indie rom-com with a horror twist at the end,” she said. “I’m also a writing assistant in another indie feature. I used to babysit for a guy who is in LA working on this script, so I offered to type for him. He said he needed an assistant.”

Stella’s other projects include an internship, her YouTube channel, auditions, various scripts she’s writing for herself, and a potential improv troupe with Lauren Dewey, acting alumna.

“I intern once a week at a self-tape place, where I get experience with self-tapes and feel comfortable making my own,” she said. “I’ve also been trying to put together an improv troupe with Lauren Dewey, but it’s interesting getting people together outside of college. They’re confined to the greater Los Angeles area, rather than a college campus.”

Visit Stella’s website or IMDb page to learn more about her career.