Kat Cunning is doing what few young actors would dare: plotting a second career just as acting is starting to get really good.
While concurrently holding down major roles on two shows, HBO's The Deuce and Netflix's Trinkets, Cunning is also in the midst of launching a promising career in music.
The ballet dancer-turned-actor-turned-singer-songwriter is preparing to release her debut EP behind the strength of the fresh new single, "For the Love." Cunning concedes to Q104.3 New York's Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke that though she may lack vacation time, she makes up for it in determination. She also gives credit to her team for helping her make time for all of her work.
"You know, there's more time than you would think, and I'm never satisfied," she says. "That's the real answer. ...Let's do it all! Let's do both everyday!"
But where music is concerned, Cunning isn't peddling vapid pop; she has a perspective to share. She explains that "For the Love" is a supremely personal song for her.
"'For the Love' is a little bit of my own coming out story, it's a little bit of the story of my mom coming out to me when I was younger, before I ever had any idea that I would be queer," she explains. "And it's also about her story with cancer and, surprisingly, her partner's story with cancer. It's about the fact that on the day her partner, Joan, passed away, it was also my first Pride Parade in New York City and the day that gay marriage became legal."
It's a multi-layered song, but it's also a feel-good song. Cunning says she's most proud of how the song's depth comes to the fore after repeat listens.
"I was proud of writing something that [when] I played it for my friends, they were like, 'This is cool!' And by the third time they were crying."
Watch the full Out of the Box interview in the player at the top of this page. Watch Kat Cunning perform "For the Love" live in-studio above!
Get more information on Kat Cunning's music here.
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Here's the official music video for "For the Love":