She’s gone Pogue. Carlacia Grant is the breakout star of She’s gone Pogue. Carlacia Grant is the breakout star of Outer Banks season 2, which we’re guessing you already know, since the series is currently #1 on Netflix. She plays Cleo, a Bahamian teenager with a heart (and at one point, a truck full) of gold.

We asked the Connecticut native how she went from new girl to fan favorite, if her roots helped her prepare for the role, and how she’s handling her new follower count. (Spoiler: extremely well.)

Were you a fan of Outer Banks before joining this season?
When I first got the audition, I had never watched the show or heard of it. But it said “films in Barbados,” so I was like, “Oh, my God. I’m out.” [Laughing.] But before I do auditions, I always watch the shows to get the tone of it. Once I started watching, I was hooked.

The cast already had a rapport from the first season. Was it difficult being the new kid?
Honestly, it was very easy, because we got along instantly. We had a chemistry read before I joined, and it was in the chemistry read that we really hit it off. We’re like kindred spirits! Both off-screen and on-screen.

You’re 30 playing a 17-year-old. How do you get into a teenage mindset?
Well, Cleo is a teenager, but she has a lot of life experience, so I didn’t approach her like a teenager who doesn’t know anything or is naive. I approached her as someone who had experienced the things that she went through, [like] being abandoned by her father, and her grandmother eventually dying. And I mean, I look like a teenager anyway. [Laughing.] So that part was just there.

You really do look like a teen! What’s your secret?
Thank you! I have a very dedicated skincare regimen. Like, I really take care of my skin. One secret I will tell people is that I use sea moss. I blend it and turn it into a gel, and then I put it on my face for 15-20 minutes a day. It makes your skin so soft like a baby’s bottom.

There’s tons of action in Outer Banks. Did you have to learn any new moves or skills?
Definitely learning how to drive stick, and learning how to drive stick with cameras all around you. I had to learn how to twirl a knife, too, and do combat training. I also had to learn how to tie a certain type of sailor knot when you tie somebody’s feet.

Cleo is a Bahamian native. Did you study islander culture to prepare for the role?
Absolutely! I watched so many documentaries on the Bahamas. It was crazy. I was on YouTube a lot, watching girls or guys from the Bahamas just hanging out with their friends. And I had a family member who was raised in the Bahamas, and she put me in touch with someone [from there], so I would ask her questions about the culture and stuff like that. And the music! Music helped me a lot, [specifically] soca and dancehall.

Is your family from the islands or just that one relative?
My dad is from Jamaica, and my mom is from Haiti… They thought I did amazing [as Cleo]. And I was waiting for them [because] they’re gonna be the ones to really tell me if I did good enough and if the accent was good enough. They always call me “Yankee girl” because I was born here [in the US], so when they watched it, they were like, “Oh, my God! I didn’t even know that you could pull off the accent like that!”

You have almost 300k Instagram fans now. How are you handling that?
I think [before], I didn’t even have 30k. One thing that’s different is [IG] just blocked me out. Seriously, it crashed on me! [Laughing.] You know, I was pretty grounded before this. I think fame, if you’re not grounded before it happens, you could be a little bit crazy. Unlike my castmates, I had the luxury of knowing this was going to happen. I had a lot of conversations with [them], and they offered me a lot of advice as to, “This is how you handle this. This is how you handle that.” So I was well-vetted.

Is being on set as dramatic as the show?
No, we’re having the time of our lives! Behind the scenes, we’re laughing all the time and joking and making fun of each other, probably throwing balls and things around. Honestly, being on the show is like getting paid to hang out with your friends.