Lindsey McKeon has worked steadily in Hollywood and is best known as Tessa, The Reaper on Supernatural and Taylor James on One Tree Hill, among others.
Most recently she put on a police uniform for her role as Officer Jen Mitchell in the TV series Training Day (a re-boot of the 2001 Academy Award winning film that starred Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke).
Besides her acting work, Lindsey recently launched a new website called, Evolve by Lindsey. According to McKeon, if you love to live a healthy lifestyle but don’t want to feel like you’re giving up things you love then Evolve is the place for you. It’s somewhere to gather advice about health, wellness, diet, lifestyle, and relationships.
Lindsey on life, wellness, staying healthy and learning to evolve…
- What made you decide to launch a lifestyle and wellness website?
Many things. I started to hear the call from a few different sources. And as I began to listen and step out of my fear and hiding I found it very cathartic. Then it grew into Evolve as I became more and more clear about who I am and what I want to share with the world. I’ve had many experiences with health and wellness over the years and my blog is a natural way for me to share what I’ve learned.
- “Evolve” is a very cool name. What was the inspiration behind that?
Thank you! I wanted something concise and to the point, something that summed up me. And the only thing that truly remains constant in my life is evolution.
- How did you stay away from the cliche Hollywood lifestyle?
Actually I didn’t at first. I was kind of thrust into it at a young age and partied too hard for too long. Then I got bored and yearned for something more. I found that more in my spiritual travels and many awakenings. Eventually, I integrated all of it, the light and the dark side to find a balance of what is true, for me.
- How important is improving your mind to you? How do you do that?
The mind is a super useful tool, very powerful. But used in the wrong way it can become poisonous to us. The point is not necessarily to improve it but to become aware of it and in that awareness you have choice. Then it doesn’t have to own you anymore. How important is that? To not be ruled by something other than what’s true in the moment, and to have choice? It’s everything.
- What’s the best health/fitness or spiritual advice you’ve ever received?
That’s tough. I guess moderation. Though I feel it’s an overused word. But to find that balance between the “good and bad”. The chocolate or the grape, alcohol or sobriety, devoutly religious or a sexual sadist. Not living so rigidly in the black or the white. We have both in us, we are spiritual beings and yet we yearn to play and experience while we’re alive in a body, and that to me cannot be a bad thing. I’ve gone heavily into darkness and heavily into the light, and balance is where it’s at.
- Obviously you’re very busy. What do you do to stay healthy?
So many things! But they’re all fun for me, none feel like a chore, that’s key. I do a pain management movement called GSTBody, Pole dance, and just started working out with a trainer again. I take all sorts of cutting edge supplements and try to eat the cleanest food I can. I also see all types of magical healers.
- What’s a healthy lifestyle tip for girls who are busy?
Always find time for you. You must be your first love, remember that. Whether it’s a walk to clear your head, a ten minute meditation, become aware of what you need for your own self care and make that habit religious.
If you have low blood sugar carry around nuts and eat a handful every 2 hours, if you’re a type A personality put down the phone for 10 minutes and promise to focus on something other than work.
One of my favorite things is travel, it allows me time to myself on the plane to read or write and meditate. Find what’s yours and don’t let distractions get in the way.
- What is your most memorable achievement?
Dear God, I don’t know, marriage? Hah. Besides that, truly getting okay with who I am feels like the most wonderful achievement.
- What are you most proud of?
Same. (see above)
- The best way to relax and unwind after a long day?
A walk with my dogs. A meditation. Shooting a gun? Hah.
- What’s the biggest lesson you’ve ever learned?
My God. There have been so many. To let go, to not judge or blame the ones closest to me but to take responsibility for my own life, myself, and to honor who and what I am and need.
Lindsey on Acting…
- How did you get your start?
My mom suggested I take an acting class and I fell in love with it. At the age of 11 it was the only way for me to truly express myself. In it I lost my “real” pain-filled adolescent world, and found freedom of experience.
- You started your career at a pretty young age. Why did you want to be an entertainer as a kid versus as an adult?
To play and to escape. My world was not safe or fun for me and acting gave me the outlet I needed. It was never about a career and when I’ve made it about that, that’s when my head gets all messed up. It must be fun and it must be the catalyst for me to grow.
- What advice do you have for young actresses/entertainers? Is it more difficult to get into the industry now than it was when you were starting out?
Honesty I believe in a lot of ways yes. The business has changed and I think it is more difficult though it’s also more exciting. There are more options to write and create and do things yourself, more avenues to break in, you just have to find the back door and be willing to confidently walk through it.
- How do you prepare yourself before auditions?
I break down the scene and try to find some way that it reflects my own life and experience to make it mean something to me. I learn my lines, and then I try to have fun with it and go outside the boundaries so that it can have a life of it’s own beyond the parameters I set up.
- What do you love most about your job?
The Evolution. It’s one of the only things that has continually challenged me to grow, to rise to new levels, and for that I am forever grateful.
- With everything you have going on, how do you divide your time between all of your interests?
It can be a fun juggling act but also a challenge, the biggest challenge I find is to whip my own self in the butt to write or do the other odd ventures that seem a little farther out of my grasp.
Whether you loved Lindsey on Supernatural or One Tree Hill, be sure to keep an eye out for her future projects.
If you want to be inspired or motivated, visit her website to check out all her current videos and past writing. There’s always something on her website that will lift your spirits and make you want to keep coming back for more. Visit Lindsey’s website — Evolve by Lindesy. And follow her on Twitter.