Jarrett Carlington hopes his role in a Netflix global hit will inspire young people at home to think big.

The Berkeley Institute graduate appears in Crew Girl, the teenage drama that climbed to No 1 on the streaming giant’s charts within days of its release last month.

For Mr Carlington, who now lives in Canada, the show's success carries an extra significance.

“I'm really proud to be Bermudian, and [while] growing up in Bermuda [it often felt like] we're this tiny dot in the middle of the ocean that doesn't get a lot of recognition,” he said.

“So I just wanted to provide some inspiration to anyone, to any kid that's growing up and wants to be an actor or an artist, and just show them that you can make it from Bermuda to the No 1 show in the world on Netflix.”

Crew Girl, which premiered on September 10, follows a 16-year-old female rower who becomes coxswain of an all-boys rowing team at an elite prep school.

Mr Carlington plays Chris “Crab Catcher” Padmore, one of the team's eight rowers.

Netflix recently announced the show had been renewed for a second season — in its second week, 11.3 million viewers tuned in to watch the show.

For Mr Carlington, the size of the audience could prove significant to his career.

“It helps with visibility,” he said. “It definitely helps in this industry if your name is recognisable, if people know what other projects you have done before.

“Sometimes you'll hear about somebody's big break, how they've done nothing before a big project, but for the majority, like 99 per cent of people, you grind away until you make a solid name for yourself, and a career.”

He continued: “So this for me is huge because there's so many eyes in the world viewing it that people who are trying to make things, like writers or directors or casting directors, I'm more on their radar now.”

He’s especially grateful after all the work that went into landing the part. Mr Carlington auditioned for three other roles in the show — producers didn’t think he was right for them but said they wanted to find a place for him in the cast.

“A couple months went by and I didn't hear anything, and I thought, ‘OK, I guess they forgot about me, or they didn't like it, or plans fell through, or whatever’,” he said.

Although it was a longer audition process than he was used to, he eventually got the good news.

The role also presented an entirely new challenge — rowing.

The cast had roughly a month to learn the sport before filming, which took place in Victoria, British Columbia, began in September of last year.

Since the show’s release, Mr Carlington has been amused by some of the feedback.

“What's really funny is we've been getting some comments from the rowing community online, and they're kind of critiquing our form, which is fair,” he said.

“But we all had to learn to row in less than a month.”

They learnt the correct technique courtesy of their coach, a Canadian Olympic gold medal-winner, but deliberately rowed badly at times because the team was supposed to improve as the story progressed.

“The rig we were hooked up to for the close-up shots actually didn't allow us to row,” Jarrett said.

“So every close-up shot that you see of us rowing is us fake-rowing. It's actually more impressive because we're not working hard at all, but we have to act and look like we're straining. So I think if the rowing community saw what went on behind the scenes, they'd cut us a little bit more slack.”

Mr Carlington’s character sits in the bow seat. His nickname, “Crab Catcher”, comes from his tendency to “catch a crab” — a rowing mistake where the oar gets caught in the water and disrupts the boat’s momentum.

Although it wasn’t where he had expected to end up, he felt the part was particularly well suited to him

“I really understood where he was coming from, and the things he was dealing with [are some of the things] I was dealing with in high school,” he said.

“I had more in common with this character, I think, than the other characters. So it was a really good casting and a really good fit for me to play this character.”

Although details of the second season have yet to be disclosed, he’s looking forward to it.

“The producer did reach out to me and was like, ‘We can't wait to have you back and continue this journey’,” he said.

“So I will be coming back. I don't know in what capacity just yet, but I'm sure I'll find out pretty soon.”

The reaction from Bermuda has added to the experience.

“My dad and my mom are always sending articles or social-media posts to their brothers and sisters,” he said.

“I've had people from high school that I went to, and my old friends from Bermuda hitting me up saying they're really proud of me. So that's been really nice.”

Having previously appeared in Spontaneous, Resident Alien, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and Monster High 2, the success of Crew Girl reinforces the message he wants young Bermudians to hear.

“Don't let the idea or the mentality of thinking you're from a small place stop you from accomplishing big things,” he said.