D’Arcy Carden On Rejection, Growth & The Quiet Power Of Persistence

D’Arcy Carden’s relationship with acting hasn’t always been an easy one. For years, it was shaped by rejection, odd jobs, including a stint working as a nanny for Bill Hader’s kids, and the quiet persistence it takes to keep showing up in an industry built on uncertainty. These days, she reflects on her career with the ease of someone who has found her rhythm, no longer fighting to be seen for an audition, but standing behind a body of work that is incredibly impressive. She has received Emmy nominations and made her mark in cult TV favourites such as Broad City and The Handmaid’s Tale, but it’s her recurring role in The Good Place that really cemented her career.

With disarming honesty, Carden admits that becoming an actor and comedian was her only dream, one she’d been chasing since she was a rambunctious child. While most kids — and later, teens — switch paths a dozen times, she never wavered. “I always knew I wanted to be an actress and comedian. I started acting when I was about nine, in community plays and school theatre in my town. Most kids my age dream of being astronauts or whatever, then move on. But I never veered from acting, almost in an insane way. My parents probably thought, 'Oh boy,' but it was just what I loved doing,” she tells Refinery29 Australia.

After years of small roles and rejections, Carden calls landing Janet on The Good Place her real breakthrough. It was the first time she finally got a regular spot on a TV show. "Before that, I was popping in here and there. Working with Mike Schur, Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, and new actors I fell in love with – it all clicked. And then the audience loved it. People still watch it today with their families, which is incredible. That made me feel like, ‘Okay, maybe this acting thing will actually work out.'”

What she loves the most about being an actress is exploring her craft. “There are so many ways to be an actor, and I found them all through theatre, comedy, improv, sketch, little things here and there. It wasn’t starring on TV at the beginning; that came much later. There were a million reasons to give up, but it was what I loved most, so I just kept going however I could."

Carden has naturally carved out a career in the comedic space, but recently starred in her first serious role as Miss Phoebe in The Handmaid's Tale. "It was so exciting. I’ve loved the show for years and even used to imagine what it would be like to be on it. Getting the call was amazing, and working with that calibre of actors blew me away, I really tried to raise my game and match them. It was an incredible experience."

It is not lost on Carden how lucky she is to be working as an actor, something she calls the love of her life. When it comes to pursuing your dreams, her advice is refreshingly straightforward: “It’s easy to give up when it doesn’t happen right away. But if it’s what you love and feel you're meant to do, keep going. You’ll find your place, I promise.”

With a slate of projects, Carden recently spent four months in Australia filming her latest show, Sunny Nights, a dark comedic drama also starring comedian and actor Will Forte. The show follows a pair of siblings who start a spray tan business in Sydney, only to get unexpectedly tangled up in the criminal underworld.

For her, it was the script’s sharp humour and opening scene that really drew her in. “As I started reading it, I thought, oh, this is different. It’s going to be a little extreme in a way that I’m really excited about.”

The project had been in the works for a while. The director, Trent O’Donnell who helmed all the episodes, first pitched the idea to Carden a few years before they started shooting. Though she already trusted Trent’s taste, she admits there’s always a little anxiety when taking on a friend’s project: “Sometimes when a friend brings you a project, you’re just crossing your fingers so much that it’s even good.”

But once she read the full script all hesitation disappeared. “I was just thrilled. I was thrilled at how good it was, how dark it was, how funny it was. It just checked all the boxes,” she says.

Sunny Nights will be released on Stan this Boxing Day 2025.