'Mr. Robot' Star Carly Chaikin Isn't Just a Talented Actress—She's a Damn Good Painter, Too

Carly Chaikin is back to breaking the law on Mr. Robot (catch the season two premiere on USA Now (opens in new tab)), but off set, the 26-year-old is wielding her paintbrushes inside her L.A. art studio.

Class Act: I started painting at 17; I took a class at Brentwood Art Center. I thought about art school—but I'm just so not a school person.

No, Really: When I tell people that I paint, their initial reaction is, "Awww, that's so good for you!" They assume I do stick figures or finger painting or something. Then they see a painting and they're like, "Oh, you do paint."

In Living Color: I refill red a lot on my palette. A lot of my clothes are ruined because I wipe my brushes on them.

All the Feels: Many of my paintings, which I post on Instagram at @carlychaikinart (opens in new tab), have words that I've written that you can't really see. I throw paint on the canvas and get emotions out. One of my favorite paintings I've done happened after I broke up with a boyfriend.

Off the Menu: At restaurants, I always get a kids' menu and color, or draw on the tablecloth.

In Your Face: One of the reasons why I love acting is my obsession with human emotion, and faces, and expressions—no surprise, then, that I usually end up painting faces. But I haven't done a self- portrait. I'd be too scared.

Fashion editor: Brittany Kozerski; Photograph by: Christian Högstedt. This article appears in the August issue of Marie Claire, on newsstands July 19.