Claudia Christian, actress, author and C3Foundation's Founder

Claudia Christian, actress, author and C3Foundation's Founder

Claudia Christian has been in the film and television business as a performer for over 35 years. She's well know by Sci-fi fans all around the world for her character Susan Ivanova in Babylon 5. She is the author of several books and in 2013 she started her non-profit C3 Foundation (cthreefoundation.org).  Claudia continues to work in TV and film and lends her distinctive voice to some of the biggest games in the world including SkyRim, Guild Wars, World of Warcraft , Halo, Call of Duty and Fallout 4. 


First and foremost, a big thank you Claudia for taking the time to answer our questions.

Question: Why did you choose this career? 

Answer: I loved acting from the very first time I stepped on stage. It allowed me to communicate with and move an audience, something  that left a shy child like me in awe.

Question: What path did you take to get there and what memories do you have of it?

Answer: I moved out of my parents home at 16 and went to Hollywood to pursue my career. I had saved up money from working a few jobs as a young girl in order to pay for classes and an apartment. I was very naive which is probably why I was so confident :)

Question: Are you experiencing or have you experienced difficulties in this industry as a woman?

Answer: I was prepared for a career with a limited shelf life, meaning that my “best earning” years would be around 18-35 and after that the roles would dry up; why? Because that was the normal way of thinking back in the 80’s and 90’s, that once a woman turned 40 they were “done” playing ingenues and love interests and relegated to the “mom” or “Grandmother” roles, it’s sad but true.

It was very rare to see a 50 or 60 year old woman playing a powerful executive or politician, now of course that has changed. 

For me that belief system resulted in me always looking for ways to diversify my career so I started writing, creating cooking shows, investing in real estate, writing books, directing and producing…all so that I would have other careers to “fall back on”, that is a phrase almost ALL actresses and actors hear when they start out ; “You need something to fall back on” meaning an education or an alternate career option because the chance of actually making a living acting is so incredible small. There is also (for most actors) a lot of down time when they are not employed in acting roles so you really must have other passions. I’m fortunate to enjoy my other careers as much as my acting career. Now I appreciate every acting job as a time to flex my creative muscles but I am grateful that I have a lot of other work to “fall back on”! 

Question: How has the showbusinss evolved since your beginnings regarding women?

Answer: It was very well defined what a woman could play- and it wasn’t astronauts and scientists- at least that was very rare. We were the love interest or the “bad girl” or the secretary, waitress, etc.,  that has certainly changed.

Question: If you hadn't become an actress, what would you have wanted to do?

Answer: I have always loved to write and to help people, luckily I can do both and still continue to act. I write books and I help people with my non profit work.

Question: You have created your own association, C3 Foundation, can you tell us about it?

Answer: It was created after I found a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) that worked for me, The Sinclair Method (TSM). I made a documentary about the treatment, wrote two books about it and opened a non profit to help educate doctors and patients, it has become my life’s work and true passion. My dream is to make TSM the go to treatment for people suffering from AUD.

Question: What impact does your notoriety have on this activity?

Answer: We have helped the US become fully covered by doctors who use TSM and the UK, Canada and Australia as well. We have reached millions in need and helped doctors understand this life saving treatment and offer it to their patients with confidence. I recently launched a coaching page so people on TSM can get additional support and we maintain many peer support platforms to provide free services to people in need. I have spoken at the US Senate on the efficacy of targeted use of naltrexone (the medication used in TSM) and my TEDx talk has had nearly 3 million views, this has led to more awareness and globally; more use of this method. 

Interview by Adama Toulon.

Links: 

Official Claudia Christian Website.

C3 Foundation.

Claudia's TEDx Talk.

Claudia on NBC News with Megyn Kelly.

 

Search