Karyn turns into Filipino soap star
A CAITHNESS teenager is set to become a well-known face in the Philippines after moving there almost a year ago.
Karyn Johnston has already done a number of modelling assignments and appeared in television commercials but she is now to feature in a national newspaper and TV advertising campaign.
The 19-year-old from Halkirk has been chosen to front the campaign which will result in her face being seen throughout the country.
Karyn, who wants to become an actress, went to the Philippines in September 2012 and planned to spend a year there before returning to Scotland to study at the Royal Society for Music and Drama in Glasgow. But she is doing so well on the other side of the world she has extended her stay.
Karyn, whose mother Dhayon comes from the Philippines, is "absolutely chuffed" to have been chosen as the face for the campaign, according to her 56-year-old father Robert.
"She is becoming a minor celebrity and is recognised by people in the street. We are all really delighted that she is doing so well," said Robert who explained his daughter will front the advertising campaign for a product called Rejuvenating Ginseng Soap.
"She is very excited about it and looking forward to the campaign which is being launched nationally this week," he told the John O’Groat Journal.
The company behind the advert was shown a picture of Karyn by a photographer and decided to interview her. She was then selected to be the face of the campaign.
Karyn, who is based in Manila — the capital of the Philippines — intended to come back to Scotland this summer but has postponed the trip until Christmas and has also
put the drama course in Glasgow on hold.
"This is a major break for her to be selected to be the face of a national advertising campaign and she is absolutely chuffed to get the job," said Robert who stays with his wife and daughters, Karleen (18), who is disabled, and 12-year-old Kimberly in Church Street, Halkirk.
Karyn is a former pupil of the local primary and Thurso High School and was involved with Thurso Players for a number of years before she left Caithness to study for her HNC in drama in Glasgow.
She tried unsuccessfully to get a place at the Royal Society of Music and Drama (RSMD) in Glasgow so instead did an HNC at the Glasgow Nautical College which diversified its courses to include drama. Karyn decided to go to the Philippines for a year to broaden her experience before re-applying for a place at the RSMD.
"It is quite a coincidence that she ended up there as that was the same college I studied at many years ago," said Robert who is retired but was the first master of the Hamnavoe ferry which operates between Caithness and Orkney.
Karyn may not be the only member of the family to get involved in drama, however, as her youngest sister Kimberly is also interested in acting. She is involved with the Thurso Players and would like to follow in Karyn’s footsteps.