(C) 2014 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may
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Yara Shahidi - TV
By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist
Yara Shahidi
Adorable Teen Actress
Making Her Mark!
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| Yara Shahidi |
There are many teens in the TV and Film
business and for the most part they are pretty sharp because slouchy youngsters
don’t have the metal to cut the riggers and demands of professional acting.
Despite these children being as good as they come there are ranks and levels
among them and every now and then you run across exceptional cases. Fourteen
year-old actress Yara Shahidi easily fits into the class of exceptional amongst
her peer group. The Minnesota native and now LA resident has been acting and modeling
since age four. She maintains a 4.0 GPA in school, holds a black belt in Karate
and recently completed a course of study over the summer at Oxford University
in Oxford, England. Not many young actors can match those accomplishments.
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| L-R: Yara Shahidi and Kerry Washington on the set of "Scandal" |
Shahidi made her big screen debut opposite
Eddie Murphy as his daughter Olivia in “Imagine
That.” This was followed by roles in Tyler Perry’s “Alex Cross,” Samuel L. Jackson’s “Unthinkable,” Angelina Jolie’s “Salt”
just to name some. Shahidi has major TV credits under her belt and a couple of
full TV series as a regular such as “The
First Family.” Shahidi really raised a few eyebrows when she played the
young Olivia Pope on the #1 mega-hit TV show “Scandal.” What kind of feedback did that cause? Shadidi lights up,
“The experience was that I got a positive response from people on set who were
like oh my gosh you are the young Olivia Pope. And then my friends too, the
media and my family, I really got a lot of positive feedback. A lot of my
friends really supported me and said oh my goodness you’re going to be on
“Scandal! “
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| Shahidi as Zoey on "Black-ish" |
Shahidi is currently starring as Zoey
Johnson the oldest sister from the well-to-do, affluent Johnson family in the
new ABC-TV sitcom “Black-ish.”
Anthony Anderson plays her dad Dre, Tracee Ellis Ross is mom Rainbow, Lawrence
Fishburne is pops Dre’s dad and she has two brothers Andre, Jr. (Marcus
Scribner), Jack (Miles Brown) and a sister Diane
(Marsai Martin).The theme of the show is that the dad struggles to gain a sense
of cultural identity in his children while rearing them in a predominately
White, affluent, upper-middle-class neighborhood.
When ever Anthony Anderson is around there
is never a dull moment. How much fun and craziness is it on the set? Shahidi
laughs, “It’s so much fun. Honestly, I don’t think we work. Most of the
time it’s just us dancing and talking. We do rehearse and all but it’s just
full of laughter and there’s so many out takes just because if we were doing
anything we were laughing in the middle of it. There is so much improve it’s
just an amazing set to be on.” Because the show does deal with cultural
identity does that strike close to home in Shahidi’s real personal life being
that her dad is Iranian and mom is an American Black? She explains, “When I think
about the content of the show, it’s kind of true that any family can relate to
no matter what ethnicity. There are shenanigans and all sorts of stuff that
anyone can relate to. On a cultural level my parents have done an amazing job
and I thank them for it keeping me connected to my roots being able to
celebrate holidays. I’m interested in my Hindu culture, I have a Bible and a
Quran so there has never really been a moment where I feel like I’ve kind of
lost something. My parents have done a really good job.”
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| Cast of ABC-TV's "Black-ish." Front row L-R: Marsai Martin and Miles Brown. Back row L-R: Marcus Scribner, Tracee Ellis Ross, Anthony Anderson, Lawrence Fishburne and Yara Shahidi |
What does Shahidi have to say to youth who
come from racially mixed parents? She says, “It’s an honor to come from where
you come from no matter what ethnicity your or where you parents grew up or whatever
because every culture is so unique. I’m really proud to be half Iranian and
half Black. It’s one of those things which allow me to live a crazy life and
immerse myself in two cultures that otherwise I may not have had that
experience. I love who I am and what I’m able to be.
©
2014 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM
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