0:07

This is not a video . When I was coming

0:09

out , we had to go outside the city . We

0:12

had to go travel , go out of town , beat down doors

0:14

. This was the first time Bill has ever gone on this set

0:16

. He

0:19

said here comes the token . This is not a

0:21

video . And out of my mouth I

0:23

said F you , my

0:25

friends , are asking for positive women with

0:28

family and business . That's

0:31

what we bring to the show , and yet still it's

0:33

like oh , she's boring .

0:35

It's my real story . This is really who I am

0:37

.

0:38

I build myself off a dollar and a dream

0:40

, without a man's help , without a basketball

0:43

player . Particularly , the patriarchal

0:45

box says white cisgender

0:48

males have defined for us should

0:51

be how we define ourselves . I

0:54

didn't say it . That's what

0:56

we're saying on the street , the streets

0:58

, the avenues and the bulletin . Welcome

1:00

, welcome

1:05

, welcome . You are now tuned into

1:07

another amazing edition of

1:09

Sanya on Air . I'm your host , sanya

1:12

Hudson-Pain , and how do I start off each

1:14

and every single episode ? You guessed

1:16

it . I have another great show for you

1:18

. But before I tell you about today's

1:21

amazing guest , I need you to do

1:23

me a quick favor . You know what ? It is

1:25

right , because if you are a loyal watcher

1:27

and listener of Sanya on Air

1:29

, you know I'm going to ask you to subscribe

1:32

. Make sure that you subscribe

1:34

to every Sanya on Air streaming

1:36

platform . Sanya on Air streams

1:38

across every major streaming platform

1:41

and if you're watching this on YouTube

1:43

, not only subscribe , but make sure

1:45

you hit the little notification bell . That

1:47

way , every time I upload an

1:49

all-new celebrity interview , unpacking

1:52

their pivotal moments and milestones , you'll

1:54

be the first ones to know . Now on

1:56

to today's guest . I'm super , super

1:59

excited to talk to this amazing

2:01

and talented actress by

2:03

the name of Irma Kadees

2:05

. Now let me repeat her name again Irma

2:08

Kadees . If you are watching

2:10

Power Book 3 , raisin Kanan , like

2:12

I am and like everyone that I know

2:14

, you will catch her on an upcoming episode

2:17

Matter of fact , on upcoming

2:19

episodes because she's playing rock's

2:21

hairstylist Now , this

2:24

actress . The reason why I'm so excited

2:26

to talk to Irma is because I love

2:28

, love , love speaking to

2:31

working actors , people

2:33

who are still grinding the pavement , people

2:35

who are still acting by

2:38

day but then selling coquito

2:40

at night , just like Irma and

2:42

I love me some coquito , and it's around the holidays

2:45

. So you're going to catch her in upcoming

2:47

episodes of Power Book 3 , raisin

2:49

Kanan and also on Law Order

2:52

Two amazing shows . So

2:54

why don't we do this ? Why

2:56

don't we just jump right on into this conversation with

2:58

Irma ? Because she's a fellow New

3:00

Yorker like me and I want to see about her coquito

3:03

recipe , and I'm sure you do too

3:05

. So let's get right on into it .

3:07

Hi , irma , hi , how

3:09

are you ?

3:10

I'm fine . How are you Good

3:12

? Good , First of all , I'm excited because

3:14

it's not too often that I get to have a conversation

3:18

or an interview with a fellow New Yorker .

3:20

I've been here long enough , but I'm

3:23

upstate New Yorker , actually born and raised in Rochester

3:26

by the Lake Effect Snow

3:28

.

3:29

I left there , like in , that

3:32

doesn't really count .

3:34

No , that's that's . I'm more of

3:36

an upstater . I've been here since

3:38

probably 2009 , because my family's always

3:40

been here , so I always spent my summers here . So

3:44

I'm like a New Yorker by proxy . It's just . Eventually

3:46

. I moved here after a eventually , after

3:48

a divorce , because I was my first marriage . I

3:50

was married in Florida and I think New York city was the

3:52

compromise , like I've got to be around family

3:54

, I don't want to go back to that snow

3:57

. After having lived in Orlando and

4:00

I was like okay , new York , we're acting

4:02

, just go to New York , your aunt's are there , just . And

4:05

so I've been here since struggling

4:07

, right , okay .

4:09

So we'll adopt you . We'll adopt

4:11

you . You're a part of the New York

4:13

family . Now we get it . So

4:17

do you prefer Rochester or do you

4:19

prefer , like , the tri-state area , better ?

4:21

No , no , no , no . I prefer anything to Rochester . Don't

4:24

get me wrong , it's my hometown . Like I don't want

4:26

to say anything disparaging about my hometown , right , but

4:28

I left . Okay

4:30

, I left when I was like 24

4:34

, 20 , like I left , I bounced and never looked back . I

4:37

still go back because my , my mom , dad and sister immediate

4:40

family are still there . I don't think they're ever leaving

4:42

. But

4:44

other than that , you know , and I have some lifelong friends , so I'm not going

4:46

to , I'm not going to bash my city . Hey , you know , that's like we

4:50

go up in a mid-sized city like that . You

4:52

, you , you yearn for

4:54

more . You know we got it , but

4:57

at the same time I

5:00

don't miss like I don't know

5:02

. I live in Harlem . I don't know what else to

5:04

say about that .

5:06

Living in Harlem is a story by itself . That's

5:09

a story about living in Harlem .

5:10

Yeah , there's some things I miss

5:12

like like appropriate housing .

5:16

Oh my gosh , none of them talk about housing . Did

5:18

you just see on the news that , um

5:20

yeah , the Bronx there's , there's , there's my cousins

5:23

.

5:23

This is actually . I just texted

5:25

my cousin . They know I'm

5:28

because it's right on their

5:30

street . Um , I don't think they know , anybody

5:32

in that building cause . They're farther down where the houses

5:34

are past um university

5:36

. But that's like , literally

5:39

, I walk that every time that go visit them . I'm like , wait , is

5:41

that it's not your block ? I

5:43

don't , I have no idea which building that is , I just saw it , like

5:45

you did online .

5:47

Yeah , yeah , I'm waiting to put up

5:49

videos like yes , I'm

5:52

waiting to hear more , because what

5:54

they were pointing on the five and six o'clock news

5:56

was that they haven't found Any

5:58

bodies . Thank God , but

6:01

I'm not too confident that that's still

6:03

going to remain the same .

6:07

With that , because they're under the rubble bow

6:09

, because Would

6:11

they find that fast if there were any ? You

6:13

know what I mean ?

6:14

I don't know , but I mean somebody from

6:16

the top floor , because it it

6:19

was a seven-story building and the first floor

6:21

had a bodega and they said people

6:23

were in the store . So we

6:25

will wait to see how this story unfold

6:27

. I don't want to make this , you know , conversation

6:30

to sad and solemn

6:32

. So , because I really am so excited for my

6:34

audience to learn about you . Very

6:38

tragic , very tragic , but let's just

6:40

jump right into you . So

6:42

, working actress , and I know

6:44

, traditionally when it comes to television

6:47

or film , we do not see too

6:49

many people of color as

6:51

representation . All those things have gotten

6:53

better . What made

6:55

you want to become an actress , knowing

6:58

that there is so little representation

7:00

of people of color ?

7:01

I Don't

7:04

know that I thought about that because I was yearning for

7:06

when I was so much younger

7:09

. I did start experiencing

7:11

things Immediately like being a comm major

7:13

in college , because I went to college in the 90s I'm

7:15

very much a Gen Xer . Right , there

7:17

were pauses and I went back and finished as an adult

7:20

. But I do very much remember professors

7:22

Telling classmates like

7:24

make her sound American , make her you

7:27

know , and that that was cool . And I remember there

7:29

was a fear a little bit with me , like

7:31

with Shakespearean things , I wouldn't tackle them

7:33

like I was some what

7:36

a wear of the whole colorism . Because

7:38

I remember thinking like I'm I sound like a put

7:40

, like I don't know how am I gonna pull an English accent

7:42

? Things like that . That I tackled more

7:44

confidently as an adult , not as

7:47

a Youth . But I don't

7:49

think I thought about the fact that we weren't represented

7:51

at all . I just kind

7:53

of really wanted to do it . I think I got

7:55

a taste of it in high school when I did a stage

7:57

play and I

7:59

didn't know you could study it in college . To be honest

8:01

with you , that's where I went with the communication major , because

8:04

I started going with what I thought was tangible , but

8:07

then I would see the , the order

8:09

majors , I saw the classes . It's a world that started

8:11

opening up , you know . But like everything else , I

8:13

had kids . Things

8:15

were put on pause and Several

8:17

times , but it's just something that I never gave

8:20

up on . I just kept coming back to it , you know , and it'll be there

8:22

to the day that I die . You know , I might just

8:24

be cracking into the door now , but

8:26

I Got time . That

8:28

you know . I got time . I can only go up

8:30

from here , so we got

8:33

it .

8:33

So you said you caught the acting bug by

8:35

acting in a play during high school

8:37

. So when was the critical

8:39

moment that you really decided to take acting

8:42

seriously and you started taking , maybe , acting

8:44

classes ?

8:50

It was . It was right away in college

8:52

it was . It proceeded from high school right into college . But

8:54

when you're young , you

8:57

think you want something but you don't necessarily have the focus right because

8:59

there's other things going on parties , life , whatever

9:02

right . When I seriously took it , when I took it seriously

9:04

again After

9:08

the kids were a really started shifting focus , I would say it was like in 2008

9:10

, when my kids were 11

9:13

or 12 at the time , something like that , and then the other maybe was eight and

9:16

I had help . I started going to a studio called Art's

9:18

sake down there in Orlando with one

9:21

of my late professors who taught me Meisner , and

9:24

then it's never stopped from there . There there's

9:26

. There might have been some pauses , like

9:28

during the teen years , where I had to take a little break because life

9:31

, you know , and dealing

9:33

with what's happening at home , but I kept coming back

9:35

to it and just doing it , even on a small scale , like little

9:38

commercial or

9:40

a little weekend play , whatever I could do to keep my sanity

9:42

during those times . And

9:46

then , now that my kids are grown , now they're 26

9:48

and 23 , now I have time , now

9:52

I have lots of time and I can actually like

9:55

focus and actually have a manager and an

9:57

agent and actually , you know , really stay on top of it .

10:00

So you know , I'm blessed

10:02

with a husband that is very supportive as well , hmm . That's

10:07

important . I'm glad that you mentioned that because a lot

10:10

of people they have dreams , goals , aspirations and life is always Lifeing

10:14

and I'm glad that you mentioned

10:17

that , although life was lifeing , you decided to

10:19

get back to it , even though there were gaps and delays . So

10:24

you know , that's just a reminder to people

10:26

. You don't have to let your dreams and aspirations fall to the wayside

10:28

. Get back to it when you have an opportunity . So I'm glad that you mentioned

10:30

that . You have to . You have to take it honestly . I

10:33

can say . I can say you some therapy money because that's where

10:35

I got that from .

10:39

Therapists during the rough teenage years was like don't

10:41

let that stuff go , do not . Every day

10:44

that I walked into the offices , what did you do for you today ? Because

10:46

you know , as mothers , we , you know you're feeding them

10:48

, you're getting them clothes . There's so many times

10:50

when you go shopping you think you're going to buy yourself

10:53

something . You don't . You buy it , you know , you

10:57

forget about yourself . We always put ourselves last

10:59

. We don't . We don't make it to the salon anymore because we're so

11:02

busy . You know , and it's the one survival skill that he taught me you have to take

11:04

care of you . He

11:07

did the airplane analogy . He said

11:09

you have to put the gas mask on your face before

11:12

you can help anybody else , because if I'm resentful or if I pass out or if

11:14

I'm whatever exhausted , you know I'm not happy , nobody's

11:19

happy , and I can't help anybody if I'm depleted in my

11:21

gas tank , you know . So it's one of the things he taught me do not give up on your acting classes

11:23

. Even if you have to save $5 a week for your nails , do not stop doing them . Take

11:29

care of yourself , because these kids will

11:31

grow up . You know they'll move on , but you're here

11:33

with you know three hairs left afterwards in . So , yeah

11:35

, no , never give up on those dreams there . You know where's that . It's going

11:37

to be there , where's it going . You know , if you have to take a pause

11:43

and that's not just with acting , that's with anything , right

11:45

, that's with anything if you have a dream about starting

11:47

a business or whatever

11:49

your goals might be in life , if you have to take

11:51

a pause to take care of yourself and to handle

11:53

life , which happens , that's fine

11:55

, it'll be there waiting when you get back . Yes

11:59

, I live by that model .

12:01

Well , I'm so glad that you remained consistent

12:03

and persistent with your goals and aspirations

12:06

of being an actress , because you

12:08

are going to be on upcoming episodes

12:11

of power book three raising

12:13

a chain and starring as what's your

12:15

characters , named Valentina . Talk

12:19

about your character

12:21

.

12:21

Yeah

12:24

, it's not a major role , but it's

12:26

a major empire and I

12:28

that door open for me just a little bit and I am

12:31

so happy I

12:33

am . I play rocks

12:35

and I'm a career stylist , so I'm

12:37

going to be right there next to Petina Miller , you know

12:39

, if I am blessed with them because

12:41

, you know , sometimes things end up on the cutting room for

12:43

floor , but as far as we know , if they use that footage

12:46

, we're all going to find out together on Friday . I'm

12:49

Valentina and I couldn't be

12:51

more ecstatic about it because that's my

12:54

first big role .

12:55

You know right . How did you find out about

12:58

the role ? Valentine's Day . How

13:02

did you find out about the role so that you could audition

13:04

?

13:04

It was an audition that my manager sent me . So

13:08

you are . My manager sent it to me .

13:13

Did you audition for other roles besides

13:15

Valentina , or just ?

13:16

Valentine's Day Is that series ? Or , in general , on

13:19

that series , yeah , this is a lifestyle

13:21

for me , it's a lifestyle . No , no

13:26

, not on that series . That was my

13:28

first audition for that series and I was lucky enough to book

13:30

it , because that's not always the case . I've auditioned

13:32

for several series time and time again

13:34

and if

13:36

they like you , they'll keep auditioning you , They'll keep bringing you back

13:38

to read for another character or another character , and

13:42

sometimes you never get called in . I

13:45

guess it was just my time . I auditioned

13:47

for it and I got it , and I'm grateful for that .

13:50

How many times did you have to audition ?

13:52

I auditioned for

13:55

that role you get an audition

13:57

.

13:59

I think I submitted one self-tape for that , actually

14:02

, oh , it was one , ok

14:04

, because I know usually sometimes

14:06

they have you come back . They want to see

14:08

the chemistry between you and other characters

14:10

. So you just submitted . They have a callback . Yes

14:13

, all right .

14:15

That's for a bigger role . The bigger the role

14:17

gets , the harder that climb is . This

14:20

one is recurring , but it's considered a co-star

14:22

, right ? I don't have 10 million lines . I go

14:24

in there , I do my part , I

14:26

feed the story , I leave . So for that

14:29

, if they like your energy enough on

14:31

screen , they don't have to necessarily

14:33

call you back Sometimes they do , but the bigger the role

14:36

, if you move up to guest star , where you got a ton

14:38

of lines and now you're really carrying a story

14:40

, even if you're not a series regular , you

14:42

might get a callback . Here . It's different

14:44

for every series , though

14:47

, and for every show . I've had callbacks for

14:49

commercials . You know what I mean

14:51

. So it's a little different , you

14:53

know . You never know how that's going to go . Right

14:56

, right , right .

14:57

I got it . I got it and

14:59

you're also going to be appearing

15:02

on Law and Order in January 2024

15:05

. Is that correct ? Talk about that role

15:07

.

15:09

That's a part too . And again , another

15:11

small role big empire . Right , I'm

15:14

a Law and Order fanatic

15:16

, probably like anybody else , but you know

15:18

I don't get to watch it as

15:20

much anymore because I've been

15:24

off of cable for a while , but I used

15:26

to watch it , oh my God , svu , all of it . And

15:28

to be honest , I got my opportunity passed because

15:31

that it's the original Law and Order and that

15:33

stopped filming for a while . And

15:35

in New York City there's a

15:37

saying that every actor goes through Law and Order . Like

15:40

that's like popping your cherry . Every actor in the city has gone

15:42

through Law and Order , but I hadn't

15:44

. I had not , and I got called

15:46

in . I did an audition for them and booked a role

15:48

that aired last winter . And

15:51

I'm a clerk . I announced the case . You know , I'm literally

15:53

the person that calls out the case number , calling out

15:57

docket , docket , docket , people versus so and so . That

15:59

was my role . I didn't think anymore would

16:01

come of that , but they called me back in . So

16:03

, god willing , I'm in

16:05

the first episode of the new season

16:08

, nice , in another

16:10

case with the same judge , mind you , the same

16:12

girl , the way you know . I'm with Judge Patel

16:14

again , so let's hope

16:16

that this is a recurring thing . They

16:19

can call me just if Law and Order is watching . You can call me

16:21

back anytime you want , I'll be there

16:24

.

16:24

I'm sure they will . So what's your dream

16:26

? What's your dream role ?

16:33

You're going to make me say that out loud . Yes

16:35

, it's not so much the

16:37

role . That is who I want to work with . I

16:39

want to , I want to . I have goals

16:41

of working with Spielberg at some point . Dream

16:46

roles I like anything that where I can

16:48

get a little bit dirty . I like anything where

16:51

I actually

16:53

love being

16:55

a supporting character . I feel like they

16:57

have a lot more drama going on and a lot more

16:59

juice , and I like roles where you really

17:01

get into people's reality , whether

17:04

that be abuse or whether that be

17:06

you know , just things going on . I

17:08

find that roles like that , even in theater , have helped

17:10

me cope with whatever was going on in my life too , and

17:13

it brings a humanity to us . So

17:15

we'll see . I

17:19

love period pieces . That seems

17:21

to shock people all the time , but I love period

17:24

pieces . I'm like a last kingdom fanatic and

17:27

an outlander fanatic , you know . So

17:29

you put me in anything like that where I get to wear

17:31

a corset and I'll tell you I've made it . So

17:34

who ?

17:35

knows . So , since you like period pieces , have

17:37

you watched the Gilded Age ? That's amazing

17:39

. Have you watched that series ?

17:42

I have not yet , I have not yet , I

17:44

have not yet . No , that's a good

17:46

one I have watched . I

17:49

think I have a friend who does work on that , actually

17:51

, because I keep seeing her posting about it , but

17:53

I have not watched it yet , got it

17:55

.

17:58

Now , oftentimes

18:01

, when we look at television or we

18:03

go to see movies , oftentimes

18:05

we can imagine ourselves and other actors

18:08

or actresses . What

18:10

actor or actress do you look

18:12

up to ?

18:16

I can tell you and it circles back to the

18:18

question you asked me before when I started wanting to take

18:20

the classes again . Karen Knightley , actually

18:22

Really I watch

18:24

, yeah , because

18:27

again he goes back to the period pieces and she's done

18:29

modern stuff too , but she's also done a lot Pride

18:33

and Pregnages , pride , can I even

18:35

say that right ? Pride and Pregnages .

18:38

Mr Darcy , hello .

18:40

But watching her . It's something about

18:42

watching her because she has a genuine smile and she's

18:44

very genuine with whatever

18:46

it is she does . I love watching her . I

18:49

think if anything pushed me to

18:51

take those classes again back in 2008

18:54

, it was watching her .

18:55

Got it . Now let's talk about honing

18:58

in on your craft or perfecting

19:00

your craft . How often do you go

19:02

to acting classes ? Because I see that

19:04

you are a member of the Chelsea

19:06

repertoire theater , so

19:09

how often do you take acting classes

19:11

?

19:13

It does not stop . Practicing

19:17

your art is like going to a gym . That's

19:20

what we are thought . That's taught many

19:22

, many years ago . You move

19:25

it or you lose it . Some

19:27

things come intuitively , but the things you got to

19:29

flex the muscle , to

19:31

make , not to make those cliche comparisons . But it's

19:34

constant , it's every week . If you're not

19:36

in the classroom setting , you're doing it with a friend . You're doing it with

19:38

your auditions . You're doing it with your reader . You're doing it . The

19:41

audition for Canaan . I had a coach for that . I have a wonderful

19:43

coach named Anna Suzuki , who was

19:45

right there with me when I did that audition . Reading for

19:48

me , it's constant . If you're not

19:50

in a class , you're reading the books . If you're not reading the books

19:52

, you're studying the films . You're

19:54

studying other people's self-tapes . It's

19:57

constant , that doesn't stop . It's like any other

19:59

education . It's like I could compare that to

20:01

the career I've had in hair . We

20:04

were told in school from day one , you

20:06

will never stop educating yourself because , though

20:09

the basics do

20:11

not change , that's the same in math and in anything

20:13

. One plus one and two plus two and multiplying

20:16

the back , things

20:18

evolve . Things continue to develop . If

20:20

you do not continue to educate yourself , you're going

20:22

to fall behind . That's going to happen in any career , whether

20:24

you're a doctor , whether you're a lawyer following law

20:27

, whether you're a hairstylist , and it's going to flow right into

20:29

acting . You have to flex that muscle . You

20:31

have to it's constant

20:33

.

20:33

That was another teachable moment , or a gem , because

20:36

in this age of social media

20:38

, people are only talking about the glory

20:40

and not the story . People are thinking that

20:43

they're just going to submit something and then wham

20:45

, they're an overnight success . I'm

20:47

glad that you mentioned that you have to put in

20:49

the work . You have to keep exercising

20:52

your muscles . Thank you for mentioning

20:54

that . Also , what I want my audience

20:56

to know is that and you mentioned it briefly

20:58

you are a hairstylist

21:00

for 20 plus years

21:03

. People need to understand

21:06

that , because you got to pay the bills , working

21:09

in the salon by day , also

21:12

taking acting classes , going on

21:14

auditions . How do you manage all

21:16

of that and still stay true

21:18

to yourself ?

21:19

I didn't , oh no , no , I didn't . I fell

21:21

apart a little bit . I

21:23

fell apart at different times because once

21:25

you have the kids at least this was my storyline

21:27

I had all these dreams , but I had kids

21:30

. My story stopped right there

21:32

, or it paused , I should say , it didn't stop . But

21:34

suddenly it wasn't about me , it was about them . I

21:37

had to feed them .

21:38

I found out I was going to be a single

21:41

mom .

21:43

For me , hairdressing it was my plan B

21:45

. I had my parents help me while

21:47

I . That was a rough year . I

21:50

had to be with my mother because my daughter

21:52

, when she was first born , had surgeries and everything . I

21:54

was literally the first year of her life

21:57

. I had to be on social services so that I could

21:59

be with my child during the day , work

22:01

, night , clubs at night . That was the first year I could

22:03

have some money coming in to take care of her While

22:08

she was having her surgeries , because I didn't want anybody else other

22:10

than my mother touching her surgery

22:13

that

22:15

second year of her life . Once she hit one years old , I enrolled

22:18

in hair school Again , thank God for my parents , because

22:20

from nine to three hair

22:22

school , the hotel that I worked at

22:24

was a block over . They allowed me to come in at 3.15

22:26

and I was there until 11 . Then I would pick up my daughter and

22:28

literally pick her up from my mother's just so I could sleep with

22:30

her at night . And go do it five days a week , because

22:33

grinding is not something that

22:36

I'm unfamiliar with . You know what I mean , but

22:39

I busted that out for about a year till I got that

22:41

license and then that's when I bought a car

22:43

. That's when I started , you know , and that was my plan

22:45

B and that's how I raised . And it's not a career to be shy

22:47

about , it's a great career , you know , because I have a theme

22:49

with everything I do . Right , you gotta love what you're doing . You

22:51

go to work every day . You gotta love what you do . And

22:54

I'll say it to the cows crow home . You know , I

22:56

don't care if you're making a little less money , but

22:58

if you're happy about what you do

23:00

, you're gonna get up and you're gonna go . You're not gonna

23:02

be looking for ways to call out a work or

23:04

anything like that . You're gonna go because you're happy about what you're doing

23:06

. So that was a good plan B to have while

23:09

I had to feed these kids you know what I mean it

23:11

was a good way to raise them , and

23:14

when they got old enough , I could

23:16

continue pursuing the acting , you know . But

23:19

no , life is life . Those bills are gonna keep coming

23:22

. Yeah , yeah , yeah you gotta do what ? you gotta do , but

23:24

if you have a question for something , you're not gonna let

23:26

it go . It's like breathing . You know , I

23:28

was taught a long time ago . We

23:30

are creators , right , if you have any . You

23:33

know , everybody has their different faiths , but for

23:35

the most part , people believe that there's a creator . Right , whether

23:37

that's God for you , whether that's the universe , but that's a

23:39

creator . We're made in that image . We are also

23:41

creative people , and you

23:44

take that away from me . What is life about

23:46

? So

23:48

yeah , I always came back to

23:50

it .

23:51

Good , good . So many teachable moments and I'm hoping

23:53

that people can really grab onto

23:55

them . The hustle is always

23:58

real and I just want people to

24:00

have reminders that it doesn't happen

24:02

overnight or just by throwing

24:04

one stone into the lake and then inspecting

24:06

this big ripple effect . It doesn't happen

24:09

that way . Consistency , hard work

24:11

, grind , hustle , loving

24:14

what you do those are all ingredients

24:16

to your success , and I don't want to

24:18

. I didn't like when you said well , it's not

24:21

a big role , it's a role , it's

24:23

a contribution .

24:24

Yeah , no , it is big , especially for

24:27

me , because it's the first time I've

24:29

had a sag role . I

24:31

just , I think that's the humility in me and that could be

24:33

some imposter syndrome , because I don't like to . You know

24:35

, yeah , when

24:37

I first started doing these interviews , I'm like , yeah , I'm just

24:39

I'm only on a couple of episodes

24:42

doing her hair , like you know , but

24:44

it is a big role . It is a big role

24:46

. It is . I should not under .

24:50

Yeah , because I'm sitting there next to Petina

24:52

Miller Exactly . You're

24:55

sitting next to Petina Miller and

24:57

I'm sure that there are other people watching who

24:59

would love to be in your shoes , so we can't

25:02

minimize what you've

25:04

done and what you will continue to do You're

25:06

absolutely right about that and I probably needed to hear

25:08

that .

25:09

I needed to hear that because it's something I've been doing a lot

25:11

Realizing things . Oh , calm down , it's

25:13

not that serious . You know

25:16

, like almost trying to not step out

25:18

of my shoes , you know . But yeah , no , I

25:20

got to be on a

25:23

show . I can die right now and say I got

25:25

to be on a show that was powered by 50 cents

25:27

Somebody who I watched , because again , I'm a Gen

25:29

X , they're okay . So it's like

25:31

oh my , yeah , I have no

25:33

complaints , but you mentioned .

25:35

So you now have your SAG after card

25:37

, correct ? Yeah

25:41

, because of the self-adjustments . Congratulations

25:43

. Now , billy Porter . Recently he

25:45

made a comment that said that he is only

25:48

receiving three cent residual

25:50

checks and he

25:52

has his SAG card . Now , at

25:55

what point do you think an actor

25:57

really makes enough money to

25:59

afford the cost of living and

26:02

to say , mama , I made it . At what point

26:04

does that happen ?

26:07

If you're a good budgeter , you

26:10

need that one big

26:13

break . I think part of what you hear me saying

26:15

is I haven't had my one big break , right , I still

26:17

got a job . I'm still out here hustling

26:19

coquito , you know what I mean . I still have a husband

26:22

who supports me and helps me go through this Cause

26:24

. No , you're not making big money right away acting . You

26:26

know you . For every

26:28

little check you think you get

26:30

, right Like you might get paid . You

26:33

know the numbers sound big . But think about this breakdown

26:35

. Right , if I could pay 1200 for being on

26:37

set one day , 1200 , right , there's

26:41

taxes , obviously , just

26:43

like anything else . Everybody who has a paycheck knows half

26:45

of that check's gone already with the taxes

26:47

. Then I gotta give a cut to my agent

26:49

. I gotta give a cut to my money . You know

26:52

what I mean . Then you gotta count all the money

26:54

, just like any other business that I've already invested in this

26:56

, from headshots to getting

26:58

footage , to the education

27:00

that we're speaking about . How

27:03

much money do you think is actually left of

27:06

that one day that you were on

27:08

set ? And think about how many gigs you

27:10

just named maybe four side gigs that I've

27:12

had four days on set . No five

27:14

total . So am

27:16

I really ? I'm still going to be working after

27:18

this ? I'm like still I'm waiting for

27:21

the . You know , that's why they call it the big

27:23

break . At some point , after

27:25

all that hustling and grinding , you will finally

27:27

make it and you will finally have the role

27:29

that you can say , oh , I

27:31

can retire , I can buy it when

27:34

I've finally been able to purchase that home and

27:36

purchase the one from it . That's when you've made it and

27:38

you can take it easy . I'll be grinding until

27:40

that day comes . But that

27:42

takes time . It's not , you know , it's

27:44

not as easy as people think . It's not

27:46

as quick as you . And you got to know how to budget If

27:49

you come

27:53

on this money , because we've all seen this right in

27:55

our past , we've seen it with so many celebrities that came

27:58

across all this money , but it was either

28:00

mishandled or they weren't . You know , maybe they didn't

28:02

read those contracts thoroughly . So

28:04

I'm grateful that I am a grinder , because

28:07

when that budget comes I'm going to

28:09

be ready to

28:11

distribute it accordingly as far as I'm

28:13

concerned . But that just comes

28:15

from having been a single mom if you want to

28:17

hustle and grind . But if you come into this young , you

28:20

might not know those things and you might think that fountain's just going

28:22

to keep rolling , and it's not . You know , I'm

28:24

definitely not there yet , but

28:27

look if somebody's out there watching . Maybe

28:29

they're going to give me that .

28:33

But people , yeah , because they

28:35

see you on television , they see

28:37

people in film and they think that they're rich

28:39

. They don't know that

28:42

. You know , in order to all of this

28:44

, and just because you see your name , you

28:46

know , on the television screen , it doesn't mean that you're rolling

28:48

in bank . So that was another

28:50

teachable moment . What do you think about

28:52

this entire reality

28:55

celebrity space

28:57

, where reality TV stars

28:59

are now being considered celebrities ? What

29:01

do you think about that without any type

29:03

of formal training ?

29:10

Well , I think that the industry has been

29:12

good about separating what

29:14

a reality star is and what an actor is , so

29:16

there's at least that to be said about that . But and

29:19

I don't knock either there are two different realms , right

29:21

, but we cannot deny that social media has

29:23

evolved and changed the way things roll

29:25

. Now , similar to the way

29:27

that musicians can now promote themselves

29:30

. You know , it used to be a time where you had to wait

29:32

for a record label and you had to wait

29:34

for somebody to discover you , and now people

29:36

can just promote themselves . Justin Bieber is a testament

29:38

to that . You can literally put yourself out there on YouTube

29:40

. It's the same thing with people

29:43

in any realm , whether that be in the cooking realm

29:45

, whether that be . Whatever

29:47

you're into , you can start putting

29:49

your footage out there and

29:51

if you're true to it and it's something you

29:53

believe in because that's what makes or breaks people right Work

29:57

will come to you . People

29:59

will find you . If you

30:01

love what you do , they're going to . You know there's so many

30:04

niches out there and people will be able to find you . So that

30:06

landscape has definitely changed . Yeah

30:08

, I couldn't even be there . There's no

30:10

way I could even be going to the intricacies

30:13

of that . But that landscape has changed

30:15

and there are even agents out there now for

30:17

social media people . Yes , I mean because

30:19

you've you build enough of a . It's basically your own channel

30:22

. You build a channel of your own and that's why it's

30:24

so important to be careful what you're putting out there in social media

30:26

, because that is your face , that is your , your book cover

30:28

, it's what you make it right

30:30

. So you don't want to be putting

30:33

your personal life on there to a certain degree

30:35

, you know . You don't want to put your dirty laundry on there . You

30:37

know , because everybody's looking at that . Your job is looking at

30:39

that , I'm looking at that . People

30:41

that don't know you are looking at that . You know what I mean

30:43

. And when you die , I guess what's going to

30:45

be there ? Whatever

30:48

imprint you left for the world , that that's what's going to be left

30:50

.

30:51

Yes , your digital .

30:52

Yeah , literally .

30:53

So if someone offered you a

30:55

role , I'm

30:58

sorry . What did you say ?

31:02

I was saying centuries from now . It's like a time

31:04

machine . People will be studying us and our behaviors

31:06

from what was going on on social media .

31:07

Yes time capsule . So if someone offered

31:10

you a role on a reality show , would you

31:12

accept it or no ?

31:15

I think it depends . I because I have to

31:17

a certain extent . I did a

31:19

cooking competition on PBS .

31:21

Yes , that was reality .

31:23

To a certain extent it was completely looking , you know

31:25

. So I wouldn't say no , I

31:27

don't think I would like

31:30

housewives or something like that . No , I don't think I would

31:32

, only because I'm

31:34

definitely a crier . I

31:38

can't be on a show like that . I'm

31:41

not knocking anybody who's on it , because people have made livings

31:43

off of that , you know , and they have been entire empires , as

31:46

we . Actually , that show was a great example . There have been empires

31:48

made of it , entire careers have been made of it . These

31:51

people are not considered actors , but they are

31:53

definitely considered personalities . Yes

31:55

, we know who they are and they have made , you know , and

31:57

they've made livings off of that . So I'm not knocking that , I'm

32:00

just saying that I am definitely a crier . That

32:02

may not be for me .

32:05

I will definitely be the victim .

32:06

I'm a little . You

32:08

know so it might be good for

32:11

that . Being able to

32:13

be in tune with my emotions might be good for acting

32:15

, because you need to see that right and I know

32:17

issues are showing them up but for a reality

32:19

show , no .

32:21

You know , it's funny I actually started .

32:23

I had a friend who did a sizzle reel for an

32:25

reality show when I first got to New York City we

32:28

actually took some footage of . She

32:31

had a whole concept for single moms in

32:33

the arts and whatnot and I think

32:35

she was I'm not going to say

32:37

the title of it because , if it ever , you know , she

32:39

had a nice concept and we actually shot some footage

32:41

but it just never came to be . But

32:44

when I think for

32:46

me that might be a good thing , just

32:49

because I probably wasn't ready , I

32:52

didn't know what was looming with the teen years , my kids were a little

32:54

still . I had just gotten here and

32:56

, yeah , just like I say , the world probably would have seen

32:58

me like , oh my God , this girl needs therapy

33:00

. This , what

33:03

do you want me ? Like that ? They don't even know me

33:05

like that . Like , no , let's

33:09

bring back the mystery

33:11

of old Hollywood , please . No , I don't even know

33:13

that . Oh

33:15

, I love On the other side , but I'll do .

33:20

Yeah , you talked about . I get it . You

33:22

talked about being an actress . You

33:26

talked about also cooking

33:28

briefly on the cooking show , but I did not know

33:30

and this is around the holidays . You

33:33

are also called New York City's Kokito lady

33:35

. When

33:37

did that happen ? Yes , ma'am , Talk about that because I'm

33:39

like you're buying Really . But

33:42

it goes right back to that , brian

33:44

, I was talking about .

33:45

I started doing it during COVID , Like many people did

33:47

. Many people started

33:49

side hustles and I went right back to . I knew

33:52

I wanted to do something . I wasn't working

33:54

. I

33:57

was home , as we all were , and I didn't think

34:00

I wanted to go full time back to work either . You know what I

34:02

mean . I wanted to invest in myself for once , and I mean little did . I know

34:04

I'd be working every day , but I

34:09

get it . Sorry for another day , but

34:11

my mind went to what do I already love doing

34:13

? What do I already love , you know

34:15

? And I was already experimenting and making that stuff for my

34:17

family on the holidays and

34:20

it's something I really enjoyed . So

34:22

that's what came to me and I literally bought a cooler . During COVID

34:24

, I think , I spent

34:26

like $60 on Amazon . I bought a cooler , I

34:29

bought some , some icy sleeves and I literally made some frozen and

34:37

I went out and I hit the street . I

34:39

was literally in Harlem screaming out culture , served on ice

34:41

, get your go , people . Christmas in July , and

34:44

and then just it took off from there

34:46

. I've been blessed from that moment on .

34:48

Yeah , but another teachable moment , because people

34:51

are always asking well , what should I do

34:53

? I don't know what I should do . Next , tap

34:56

into what you love to do . You're

34:58

already doing it you

35:00

already . You're already doing it Exactly

35:02

and just do it , so

35:05

I'm glad that you mentioned that . So where can people purchase

35:08

your cookie dough , cause I see that you have

35:10

strawberry , you have a dosage

35:12

and they let you homework oh

35:14

yeah , cause I love me . I'm

35:17

really going to order some . Where can they purchase

35:19

the cookie dough ?

35:20

They can go to cookie ladycom . It's

35:22

C O , q , I , t , o , l , a D Y . We're an e-commerce . I ship

35:24

nationwide . I don't

35:26

Ship outside of the country , however

35:29

, and

35:31

we also for New Yorkers . We schedule curbside

35:34

pickups as well . So , and you can also follow

35:36

on Instagram If you want to follow the

35:38

adventures on cookie the lady NYC ? Yeah , for

35:40

sure . So selling cookie dough .

35:42

Your mom , your wife

35:45

, you're an actress . What

35:47

else is next for you ? I'm not sure

35:49

, I'm not sure , I'm not sure , I'm not

35:52

sure , I'm not sure .

35:56

I'm not sure I mean

35:58

who's

36:01

to say . I mean , you

36:03

know , let's just put it out there that

36:05

I continue to act . Let's put

36:07

it out there that somebody buys Michael Peter company . Let's

36:10

put it out there that when we become famous , I have that

36:12

brand and

36:14

I can show the world what it is . Let's just

36:16

put that out there , you know . Um

36:18

, that's just where my head is

36:21

. I think about it every day , Like when I put out into

36:23

the universe what I want for myself . I

36:25

want to become a household name and I want that product to become

36:27

a household name . Um , I want to share my

36:29

passion about my culture with the world . Yeah

36:32

, and I want to be able to do what I love every single day

36:34

. Um , yeah .

36:36

Got it , got it it's exhausting .

36:37

trying to hustle , Let me tell you it's exhausting .

36:39

Oh , I know , Let me tell you

36:41

something , irma . This is a true story . So

36:44

I wanted to get a camera , a professional camera , because

36:47

I was starting to do a lot of red carpet . I

36:50

waited until what ? Was it ? Labor Day . Have

36:52

you ever heard of the West Indian Parade on

36:54

Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn for Labor

36:56

Day ? Yes , I

36:59

was out there with my mother , my mother

37:01

selling , uh , what do you call those things

37:03

? The drinks . Um , where , what's

37:05

that drink ? Nutcrackers , what

37:08

were you telling ? Yes , nutcrackers , I

37:12

was in New Yorker . Where are you asking me ? Where

37:14

are you asking me ? I

37:16

just had a brain freeze . But just

37:18

talk about the hustle . Do what

37:21

you know how to do in order

37:23

to get to where you want to go .

37:26

So that's what I honey . We

37:28

broke it because you want to be broke . So if

37:30

you , if your legs work , if you got a laptop

37:33

and if you got a mountain , you

37:35

can sell .

37:35

Yes , yes , my mother was right with

37:38

me on Eastern Parkway selling

37:40

nutcrackers so

37:42

I can get me a camera and thankfully

37:44

I did buy my camera . But going

37:46

back to your character , Valentina , real

37:49

quick , before we close out this conversation

37:51

, what does your character bring

37:53

to the episodes that you're in

37:55

? Talk about

37:57

it Like ? Is she feisty , Is she quiet

38:00

? Is she loving ? Talk

38:02

about your character .

38:04

I think my character you

38:07

know there's not much I could say about that because

38:10

it hasn't aired , but it's . I bring information

38:12

, it's probably the most I could say . I

38:14

bring information to

38:16

our , to our main star . I

38:20

like to say I bring a little bit of character . You know it's

38:22

a Dominican hair salon and

38:25

if you've ever been to the salon , I mean

38:28

you know I

38:31

don't think I could say much more than that . I got

38:33

a little bit of trouble , but did they briefly

38:35

introduce you ? If you're getting .

38:37

If you're getting , I

38:39

get it , but did they briefly introduce

38:41

you ? Did they briefly introduce you

38:44

your character on last week's episodes

38:46

? I did see rock go into

38:48

the hair salon and

38:51

I saw some hands .

38:54

You saw my . You saw just little bits of me

38:56

. I was watching they were going to show . I

38:59

saw you . It's funny that's something

39:01

to be known about that world when

39:03

I tell you so much footage

39:06

was shot that day . There was extras

39:08

all in that room . I think we

39:10

saw the receptionist only right when

39:12

we shot all that footage . It was a full day

39:14

. There was a receptionist , there was an assistant

39:17

sweeping the floor , there were several clients

39:19

in the chat , just to show the extreme amount of

39:21

footage that can be shot . You know they

39:23

were filming me spring and

39:25

you know , flinging the cape , watching

39:27

her hair , but what got in was my chin

39:29

. Yeah , yeah

39:31

, but

39:34

that's not going to draw . That's probably why you

39:36

see me hesitating , to be honest with you , because part

39:39

of the reason I hesitated to do these interviews is

39:41

because you just don't know how

39:44

much they're going to show . Yeah , you don't

39:46

, you never do . There's

39:48

an expression that some things get left on the cutting room floor

39:50

. So we're all going to find out Friday what gets left on

39:52

the cutting room floor and what shows . You

39:55

know we can only cross our fingers . The work is done , but

39:58

in the end those are decisions and that's another part

40:00

of this war that people may not realize . I'll

40:02

always have the credit because I booked the job and I did the job

40:05

and I filmed the job . But

40:07

it's on them how much footage they use . And

40:09

you know that's another part of this war that a lot of people don't realize

40:11

, that that's an expression . Things get left on the cutting

40:13

room board and in the final say

40:16

, in the final , magic happens in editing , right

40:19

? So we'll see . We're going to find out together .

40:21

I get it . So what's your question ? What

40:24

did your kids say about you being

40:26

on upcoming episodes of

40:28

Power Book 3 , raising Canaan ? What did your kids

40:30

say ? Because you know your kids are the toughest critics

40:33

. What did they say ? No .

40:36

I was just about to say . I

40:39

mean they're happy for their mom but

40:41

at the same time , they're not that excited . I mean they've been watching

40:43

me grind this for a long time . Honestly , they've grown up

40:45

watching me audition . They've grown

40:48

up watching it . Some of these things don't become real until

40:50

they see it . I know when they saw , finally

40:52

, the footage of the cooking

40:54

, they were really excited to see me on that

40:56

. They were really excited to watch

40:58

me compete and when you know , sometimes

41:01

you don't think they're listening

41:03

or learning , but they are . And I will say that

41:05

when I didn't make it past like this , I did

41:07

like two episodes , I think , and I think

41:09

they felt really , they were really sad

41:11

, but at the same time they were also my biggest supporter Because

41:13

once they saw that I was sad , they were like wait , but you weren't

41:15

the first one to go right . And

41:17

then they made me feel like you know , that's

41:20

your kids . I think they're proud of their

41:22

mom . I hope they're watching because you know

41:24

I don't know if you know your friends that have

41:26

kids who are Gen Zers there's a little concern for that

41:28

generation .

41:29

My daughter's 28 . So I trust them .

41:31

Hopefully they're watching and learning . Yes

41:34

, oh , I am , let

41:37

me , let me let me Conversation

41:39

for another day , but I'm gonna

41:42

say what up they have so many maladies Do

41:45

they not yes . Let me not

41:48

start bashing Gen Z , but they all have

41:50

something . Yes , they

41:52

have over diagnosed themselves and I thought it was just

41:54

Mike . It's up to my friends , we're the same age

41:57

, it's the whole generation . We're done X's .

41:59

It's sound like what's wrong with these kids , the whole generation

42:01

.

42:02

I just spoke to a teen , I think

42:04

we might be seeing the effects of a group

42:06

of social media .

42:07

Yeah .

42:08

Yeah .

42:10

Yeah , social media has a lot to do with it . In every

42:12

teenage , I do think you know , yeah

42:15

, yeah , we .

42:17

It's hard enough for us , I feel , with

42:19

social media and we were introduced to it , like , I

42:22

think in college we saw

42:24

the first chat rooms , right when it was just a

42:27

whole code and you were excited that somebody was

42:29

actually texting you back on the computer . That's how it started

42:31

, and then eventually it was like AOL and dial up , but

42:34

we kind of went from not having any of that to

42:37

what it is now , whereas they kind of grew up with this

42:39

stuff . Yeah . So I can't imagine , because

42:41

it's addicting , I think , for adults . They spend

42:43

a lot of time in front of these screens . I

42:46

can't imagine with them how

42:48

debilitating that must be , because , well

42:50

, we don't have to imagine that . I think we're seeing it . They

42:52

like to say it's not social media and it's nothing . They

42:55

like to tell me . I'm oversimplifying that , but

42:57

I could tell you that for me , in my experience

43:00

, I feel like the worst of

43:02

the teenage years was all over social media

43:04

. They got into a hell of trouble over social media . They were

43:06

willing to risk it all over those little

43:09

phones and now I'm

43:11

looking at them like yo at this age . I mean

43:13

I'm grateful they don't have kids . I'm not ready to be a grandma

43:15

or anything and I don't think that I'd

43:18

be concerned Because by this age

43:20

I did have them already , hustling and grinding

43:22

, and I'm just looking at my kids like they're

43:24

not ready you can get up . Like what's going

43:28

on ? I'm right , Right , you

43:30

need to fill out health insurance papers . Like I'm

43:32

, like yo , what's going on ? Like what's OK .

43:36

And then they say yeah , so

43:40

one final question for

43:42

the person out there who's watching this

43:45

conversation or listening to this conversation

43:48

, who is thinking about becoming

43:50

an actor what advice do you

43:52

have for him or her ?

43:55

Go to school , like . Take

43:57

the classes , like

44:00

learn how to act before

44:02

you try to do anything else , Because I

44:04

think what I see in this industry and in some of

44:06

the groups and things a lot of people try to bypass

44:09

oh , can I just get headshots , like

44:11

they think they're just going to be because they're cute . Let me

44:13

just get headshots and see if I could try to get an agent . No

44:15

, take the classes , it's

44:18

going to show up if you haven't . And

44:21

you might get away with a few

44:23

small things here and there and a few commercials , but the

44:25

truth is , when it comes to the work that you really want

44:28

, you have to be able to

44:30

produce the goods and an

44:32

agent isn't going to take you on until they see the

44:35

gift that you have and that's going to come . You've got to crawl

44:37

before you walk . So if you're serious

44:39

about it and you've never done it before , find

44:42

a good , reputable acting school and sign

44:44

up just like anything else , because I think

44:46

people see the limelight and they don't realize there's an education

44:48

behind it , just like everything else , and it's an industry and it's

44:50

a business just like anything else . And it comes down to

44:52

money and if people are going to invest in

44:54

you , because that's what an agent is doing right . They

44:57

got to know they're going to make money off you . They got to know that you got

44:59

the goods . So , just like anything else and

45:01

I know people don't want to hear that but go

45:03

to school , and there are so many

45:05

great , just like you mentioned the acting studio in

45:07

New York City . There's

45:10

so many . So

45:12

, from very expensive to very affordable , and

45:15

even the expensive ones like we are . There's

45:18

scholarships too on top of that . You got to remember that , and that's

45:20

very good . I graduated , finally , from Brooklyn

45:22

College . Brooklyn College is CUNY

45:24

, very affordable , and they have an

45:26

immaculate theater program and they

45:28

have a TV club . There's so many places

45:30

you could start . So don't let money

45:32

be a deterrent , because at

45:35

a school like that , you can definitely go

45:38

to school affordably and they have scholarships

45:40

on top of that . So if you're serious about it , you'll be able to , almost

45:44

with next to nothing without education , and

45:47

get your foot in the door and get started

45:49

.

45:49

Got it . But you're absolutely right , there

45:51

are a lot of acting companies and

45:54

theaters out there . I was walking on the Lower

45:56

East Side about two weeks

45:58

ago and I ran into a theater

46:00

company where Nicole Ari Parker

46:02

she was a member putting

46:04

on a plate . So once again

46:06

, these A-list actors and

46:08

actresses they are still members

46:10

of theater companies further

46:13

honing in and perfecting their you always honing

46:16

in , it becomes your family .

46:17

After a while too , they do become

46:19

your family . Some of those relationships

46:22

that you see on screen where you seem to see the same

46:24

actors working together . You'd be surprised how long

46:26

some of them may have known each other or haven't known the director

46:28

, because once you start building a circle , you

46:31

tend to work together again with these people if you get along

46:33

, and they do become a family

46:35

. You've seen that with Stephen

46:38

Adley-Gerges's group . These

46:41

people are a family . Colon

46:43

Sias , who's on the bear , she's

46:45

part of that theater group . These people all

46:48

still hold each

46:50

other very near and dear and

46:52

they're well known to all of us , you know , and they all started

46:54

at the same little theater , you know lab . So , yeah

46:58

, find yourself a group , you know , get that education

47:00

. Find yourself your group . It start building your

47:02

community , because New York City one thing that you can agree

47:04

with me very big , so many people

47:06

, but it can be very lonely if

47:09

you do not start building , building your groups . Right

47:11

. But once you start growing it , joining your

47:13

groups , whether that's your acting group , your gym

47:15

group , your whatever you're into it

47:18

starts getting a little smaller , does it not ? Because you start

47:20

getting to know these circles and you

47:22

need that here and that that's what it's like in that

47:24

world . It also represents itself in acting . These people

47:26

get to know each other . So you and you need that family , because it

47:29

goes without saying that this career can be very depressing . It's

47:32

a very rejection based career for

47:34

every . When I started before

47:37

there were self tapes . It was

47:39

about 50 auditions to every booking . It's

47:41

a lot more than that now you know

47:44

, you're auditioning all day , hey , hoping

47:46

to get that final role . If I show you my actors

47:49

access and how many self tapes I've submitted for

47:51

a couple years before I finally got this , even this one

47:53

roll , you'd be like holy

47:55

, you know it's work , it's work . So

47:58

you need that kind of support group , you

48:00

do .

48:02

Well , you know , just amazing advice

48:05

, lessons , gems

48:07

, your own experience , teachable

48:10

moments , or my . Thank you so much

48:12

for having this Conversation with me

48:14

and for blessing my platform . Sign you

48:16

on air . Continue blessings to you

48:18

in your acting career . This

48:20

is only the beginning , and when

48:22

you secure your next role

48:25

, I'm going to invite you back so that

48:27

we can discuss that , okay

48:30

.

48:31

Yes , 100%

48:34

, I will be back . Thank you for having me . I really appreciate

48:36

it . Thank you for powering through the little

48:38

glitches .

48:40

It happens , it happens . I'm gonna continue

48:42

with this show . Thank you so much

48:44

and I'll talk with you soon . Take

48:47

care , thank you , take care . So

48:51

there you have it , irma

48:53

. Now . She

48:56

minimized her role . We don't want to do that because

48:59

you have to start somewhere . And

49:02

, as Irma alluded

49:04

to well , she matter-of-factly said she

49:06

got the acting bug when she was

49:08

in high school , when she started to play . Very

49:11

young , life was life thing . She

49:13

had kids , she got married , she

49:15

moved , but through it all she

49:18

remains consistent to her purpose

49:20

and passion and her love for acting

49:22

. So for as many knows

49:25

, as she received , this

49:27

one loud and resounding

49:29

yes Comes in the form

49:31

of her playing Valentina . On

49:34

upcoming episodes of power book

49:36

3 , raisin caning

49:39

. I'm watching every single week

49:41

. Stars do me a favor , just

49:44

don't wait so long between

49:46

Series . But I forgot I had

49:48

Shane Johnson . He played on ghost

49:50

and he told me why . So

49:52

if you want to know why stars is always

49:55

kind of Putting

49:57

so much space between all

49:59

of their different series , tune

50:01

in to my son you and air

50:03

celebrity interview with Shane

50:06

Johnson . This has been

50:08

an amazing Edition

50:10

of son you on air . Once again , please

50:12

subscribe . If you're watching this on YouTube

50:14

, make sure that you hit the notification button

50:16

. That way , every time I upload an

50:18

all-new son you and air celebrity interview

50:21

Unpacking their pivotal moments and milestones

50:23

, you'll be the first ones to know . Now

50:25

go ahead and subscribe . Smooth , just alls , take

50:28

care .