Erika Alexander is an actress, writer & co-founder of Color Farm Media. She’s well known for her role as the iconic character Maxine Shaw, Attorney-at-Law in the 90s sitcom Living Single. She was a regular as Cousin Pam in The Cosby Show & appeared in the Oscar-winning film Get Out (2017).
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Full show notes & timestamps:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/erika-alexander-actress-get-out-cosby-show/
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Here are five things to listen out for:
- Childhood – her candid experience growing up as a child actor from the age of 14, her relationship with her parents & how this impacted her throughout her life.
- Being the “other” – feeling like an outsider when she first had some success
- Importance of Diversity in Film & Media – how she’s approaching this challenge with Color Farm Media, why it’s important to hire the best people regardless, but find a balance to tell diverse stories
- Role of Therapy – how she dealt with depression, navigated lows and the importance of mental health
- The Future – hip-hop in Bollywood, collaborations of color, the projects she’s working on with Lionsgate & the importance of long-form conversations
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Time Stamps:
- 2:32 – Introduction of Erika
- 4:45 – Her role on Living Single
- 8:38 – Erika’s childhood
- 12:15 – Was Erika always outgoing?
- 15:36 – The “look at me” gene
- 18:26 – First time acting
- 23:12 – Erika’s mom’s influence
- 25:46 – Becoming famous and losing her family
- 27:31 – Religion and belief when growing up
- 30:40 – Early pain struggle & depression
- 32:40 – Being the “other” in the family
- 36:45 – Ways to cope with parent pain
- 41:05 – Therapy and mental health
- 50:41 – Race and misrepresentation in work
- 51:52 – Race is an illusion
- 54:13 – Color Farm Media & it’s mission
- 57:06 – Ben Arnon help & info
- 61:17 – Current work
- 66:25 – Black Lightning
- 71:53 – Making diversity authentic
- 77:02 – Importance of diverse writers
- 82:25 – How to change in industry
- 85:33 – “I’m a badass at acting”
- 93:00 – Collaborations of color
- 95:50 – Hire the best writer, but include all
- 98:14 – The impact of long-form conversation
- 101:56 – Looking to the future