CARIS VUJCEC
Actor Writer Producer Director

​

​

 

 

Caris Vujcec is an award-winning American-born actress, writer, producer and director of Mediterranean descent. With a career spanning Broadway, television and original content creation, as a storyteller and filmmaker, she has a passion for narratives highlighting dynamic, powerful and vulnerable, multi-faceted female leads. Caris created, wrote, executive produced, co-directed and leads the cast in the international award-winning digital series, The Pepper Project.

She is best known for her long-standing recurring role of Detective Louise Campesi on Law & Order - both Criminal Intent and SVU (opposite Mariska Hargitay and Danny Pino). Caris most recently covered Maggie Siff in The 2nd Stage Off-Broadway production of "Breaking The Story," directed by Jo Bonney. On Broadway, she covered both the title role of Chole (Uma Thurman) and supporting role, Jeanette (Blair Brown) in 'The Parisian Woman' by Beau Willimon, directed by Pam MacKinnon. She has performed Off-Broadway and in many regional theaters, playing such favorite roles as Gertrude in Hamlet at The Pittsburgh Public Theater, Lady Macbeth at The Repertory Theater of St. Louis and Nadia in David Hare's The Vertical Hour at The Pioneer Theater in Salt Lake City.

The Pepper Project, Pepper: Ricochet series, having screened to much acclaim at numerous festivals and in competitions worldwide, was ranked the #1 U.S. digital series in the 2021 Web Series World Cup, #8 World Rank, and has won and been nominated, along with Pepper: Ricochet, for over 50 awards. Festivals include:  Best Actress and Suspense Thriller, 2022 LA Webfest; DC Web Fest 9 (2021), where Caris was honored with the Inaugural Legacy Creator Award; New Jersey Web Festival, Best of the Best 2021 and Outstanding Thriller; Best Director and Outstanding Thriller (2018); Best Thriller, 2021 Seoul Web Fest; Best Director and Thriller, 2021 Minnesota Web Fest; Best  Baltimore Next Media Web Fest, Best Action Hero and Best Action Series, 2021 and Best Dramatic Actress; 2018; Brooklyn Web Fest, Best Drama Series; Dances With Films; die Seriale, Best Actress; Austin Web Fest, Best Actress, Sound Design, Audience Choice; Sicily Web Fest, War/Action/Adventure; Miami Web Fest, Best Suspense/Thriller; Bilbao Web Fest - Starlet Amets; ITVFest and La Femme.

Caris passionately believes in and supports indie-creator content, having presented and served on Jury Panels at such U.S.-based and International Festivals as: New Zealand Webfest; Apulia Webfest;  Montreal Digital Web Fest; die Seriale, Germany - Official Jury, 2019, and Pitch Deck Creation Workshop; International Creator Panel, 2017; Minnesota Web Fest, Jury 2018, 2019, 2022-2024; Sicily Web Fest, International Creator Panel, 2017; Austin Web Fest, Female Filmmaker Panel, 2017.

Caris received a Master of Fine Arts in Acting and Directing from The University of Missouri-Kansas City and graduated with a B.S. from The S.I. Newhouse School of Communications and Department of Drama at Syracuse University. She was inducted into the Liverpool Central School District's Fine Arts Hall of Fame, 2015 Honorees, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the area of fine arts, in the community and at-large. She is an active member of New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) and Catalyst Storieroad, and is a faculty member at The New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. She also has served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Film and Speech at CUNY Hostos in the Bronx. An avid cyclist, Caris rides for BIKE MS and is a 15-time Elite 150 fundraiser for the NYC Chapter. 

 

Based in New York City, repped by the incredible Rochel Saks, rochel@saks&.com