The multi-talented Samora Smallwood is a Toronto based actress. Samora has taken on various roles including the lead in Lifetime’s thriller “Death She Wrote”, Star Trek Discovery, and Good Witch. Currently, she is starring as Maddi Brewer in the new drama series The Kings of Napa, airing now on the OWN Network. Her dedication extends beyond her roles on screen. Addressing the importance of representation is no simple task, but that does not deter Samora from creating real systematic changes in the film and TV industry. As an advocate for actors and the importance of equity and inclusion, she has taken on the position of co-Chair of ACTRA's Diversity & Inclusion Committee and Elected Councilor for ACTRA Toronto. Continue reading below to learn more about Samora Smallwood and how she takes action to stand up for representation and equity.

Where are you based?
I currently live in Toronto, Canada.

How did you get interested in acting?
I was always that dramatic, ‘put on a show’ kind of kid. Never in an obnoxious way, I love entertaining people. I was always gathering the neighborhood kids to be involved in my theatrical events — even then I was building community. I do not come from a family of artists so it seemed a “for fun” kind of thing, but when I was applying to university, I saw the theater degree program, and a little voice told me to ignore my family’s plans for me to study something in the medical field and enroll in what was truly my passion. I’m so glad I listened to the call, and I’m proud of proving to myself and my family that I could make a career and living as an actress!

In your current role you star as Maddi Brewer in the OWN Network’s new drama series The Kings of Napa! Can you tell us about the series and your experience taking on the role of Maddi?
The first season of Kings of Napa wrapped to amazing critical acclaim! It’s a primetime drama about a wealthy black family that owns a vineyard in Napa Valley, California. After a tragedy in the pilot episode, the family is pitted against each other as they vie for power and control of the vineyard. It has scandal, suspicion, betrayal, beautiful shades of melanin poppin’, stunning fashion, family secrets, lies, and lots of hair and makeup inspo. My character Maddi is a chic, cool, insanely funny gynecologist. She is besties with both the head of the King family, August, and Bridgette Pierce. We are “the crew.” Maddi was a HUGE blessing to me. As I mentioned, characters always come bearing gifts and they come to you at the right time. Maddi allowed me to be bold, unapologetic, sexy, playful, and powerful. There are so many amazing characters in the world our creator/showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois created. The representation in this show is expansive, nuanced, and inspiring. I cannot wait for people to see it. This is the stuff of the ancestors’ dreams.

Congrats on the nomination for Best Lead Actress 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022 for your performance in the film Death She Wrote. Can you tell us about this film and your character Lila DeMarco?
I’m humbled to say that I won that award! Lila was a blessing to me because I manifested a lead role playing a woman of substance. She’s a popular writer and a woman of great warmth, intellect, and compassion. This role gave me the chance to show off my range as a leading dramatic actress which was one of the major appeals of the project. But don’t play with Lila! I did my own stunts for this role, and when pressure is applied you get to see a strength in Lila that I think women can relate to. We shot the film in the middle of the pandemic and all of the health and safely precautions made for a really unusual experience. But it really made us bond! It was wonderful to have some many creatives of colour on the project led by our phenomenal director Sharon Lewis and it will always be one of my favourite projects.

As a multi-talented actress, you have taken on many roles including the lead in Lifetime’s thriller “Death She Wrote”, Star Trek Discovery, and Good Witch. With the various roles you play, what is your process for getting into character? Is there a favorite role you played?
Each job and each role teaches you something so every job is memorable and every single one teaches you something. “Star Trek” introduced me to a community of fans worldwide who are so supportive and incredible and for whom I will always be grateful. “Death She Wrote” is a film that was my first time as # 1 on the call sheet, as the lead of the movie. That was a position I had really worked toward, and I rose to the occasion. Our director, Sharon Lewis, and our cast and crew banded together to make art during such a stressful time, and when I watch it, I see a performance of which I am proud. On the “Kings of Napa” I play a vivacious, hilarious character. Oprah Winfrey is our Executive Producer! I am a big believer in the power of manifestation and for about a year before I booked, I was saying “I am going to work on a highly anticipated television series working alongside creatives of colour I admire” and here I am! It’s thrilling to see the faith and belief in myself coming to fruition. I can’t say I have a favourite role, but each of the women I’ve played is strong, loving, and tenacious so I love them for that.

In terms of getting ready for a role, my prep always includes getting to know the character: where she came from, who are her people, what are her dreams. I immerse myself in that until I feel like I can authentically represent her. My preparation varies depending on the project. When needed, I work with a dialect coach or stunt trainer. Sometimes you need to immerse yourself in a community to understand the story. For an upcoming project, I spent time working with community organizations that help survivors of sexual violence and sex trafficking. I always need to know a character’s origin story, so I use my imagination and clues in the script to create a backstory that goes back to their grandparents. Where someone comes from: their class, education, culture inform everything they do so it is crucial to me to know and explore that to really interpret a character. I also eat very cleanly when I’m working, I exercise, drink loads of water and meditate.

As a dedicated advocate for actors, you have taken on the position of co-Chair of ACTRA's Diversity & Inclusion Committee and were Elected Councilor for ACTRA Toronto, which is focused on equity, representation, and inclusion. Can you tell us a little more about the work of these organizations?
My work with ACTRA comes from my passion to make good change. It’s always centered on making more opportunities and obtaining equity for BIPOC performers and women in film. The Diversity & Inclusion committee’s work is focused on diversity of race, ethnicity, ability, religion, sexual and gender identity. Every initiative we created and launched had more representation and inclusion for traditionally marginalized folx in mind. We created workshops that provided access for our members with top decision makers in our industry: Directors, Casting Directors, Writers. I am proud to have created along with my co-chair, “A Different Lens: A Demo Reel Initiative” which provides quality demo reel footage to members who want to pursue roles beyond bit roles that are often stereotypical and one-dimensional. It was a tremendous success even during a pandemic so I’m excited to see the next incarnation of it. ACTRA Toronto really stepped up in a continued commitment to improving working conditions for our members, and really understands the additional obstacles that diverse members face. I’m so proud of the work we do, and look forward to more.

Why is this work important to you?
Representation, diversity and inclusion in storytelling is one of my biggest passions. Personally, as a BIPOC actress, who is mixed race and light skinned, I would say the inability to put me in a box or tokenize me has been a challenge. Being biracial means “my background” is not easily identifiable. Our industry likes things black and white, pun intended. I remember Meghan Markle once saying she never felt white enough or black enough, and that really resonates with me. In an industry (and world) that wants to check a box by doing the bare minimum in terms of real representation, being ethnically ambiguous can be challenging. I acknowledge that being light skinned or having passing privilege has a painful cultural history. In both my own black community, society at large, and onscreen, the way I look has been often assigned privilege by a society stratified by racism. In the entertainment industry, stories traditionally center around white lead characters, which I’m not seen as white enough for (a director once approached me at an industry event to tell me I was his and the showrunner’s top pick, but production thought I was “too exotic”). In this archaic model, the diversity is often begrudgingly added as the last thought usually during the casting phase, so instead of rich, nuanced inclusion, we see box checking (and to the chagrin of BIPOC folx, often double dipping aka the Black character is also the only gay character) for which I am not x, y, or z enough for. This is the reality for BIPOC artists in my industry and it means that truly talented performers don’t get work and are usually underpaid when they do. It’s why I’m so passionate about challenging the status quo and making good change in our industry and the world. When we have more creatives, showrunners, writers, and network executives of colour, we will see representation that comes from an authentic place – not merely checking a box. Characters that are conceived and written as BIPOC not haphazardly sprinkled in at the last moment, in a desperate bid to appease BIPOC audiences who increasingly demand to see themselves onscreen. When we fully embrace, amplify, and empower the voices of all traditionally marginalized folx we will see an end to the scarcity mindset that pits us against each other, and I sure hope an end to my being deemed “too exotic” for any damn thing.

Additionally, you founded The Actors Work Studio, a Toronto based innovative acting studio. What led you to create this organization? What do you hope this space creates for actors?
The Actors Work Studio is one of my greatest sources of joy. I absolutely love helping actors improve their craft, find their confidence, and explore their authentic voices as artists. I was sick and tired of coaches who adhere to the Svengali style of terrifying, belittling, or humiliating their actors. I’ve experienced it myself, and it’s very common and just results in actors who have no instincts, no confidence, and look outside for validation. Of course, in this biz you need others to see and appreciate your talent, but when you perform and immediately look to see if someone else approves it can be very detrimental to the mental health of a person. It’s bad for the art too, in my opinion. So that’s where the idea of my studio came from, and ever since I have been blessed to attract a community of actors with a drive to get better and a commitment to self-confidence, which is how you discover your unique gifts.

You have such an inspiring passion for creating real systematic changes in the film and TV industry. From your experience what have you learned about where we are with regard to representation on screen in 2022? How far have we come? How much further we have to go and what actions can be taken?
We have come a long way, and we have a long way to go still. But what I think the power we know have is that we know that true representation comes with creatives of colour behind the scenes, too, in writing, directing, and producing. We are bolder, too, and are stepping into our power. I turn off a TV show or movie right away if there are no lead characters who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, differently abled, etc. I remove myself as audience and consumer if the black women and people are all in subservient positions, the butt of the joke, or if our stories always end in violence. The box checking is done by people in powerful positions of gatekeeping, too. You can’t just check a box in your writer’s room either, by hiring one black writer, and expect them to do double or triple duty by writing your diversity box checkers and represent an entire culture and educate. We are not a monolith. There is good progress: “Kings of Napa” is a great example of that. And I am blessed and grateful to be a working actor and activist committed to diversity and inclusion, but more progress is needed. When we fully embrace, amplify, and empower the voices of all traditionally marginalized folx we will see an end to the scarcity mindset that pits us against each other, and I sure hope an end to my being deemed “too exotic” for any damn thing.

What are your dreams for representation on the screen?
I dream of representation where our stories are told with authenticity, so you recognize your cousin, your boss, your neighbours. I dream – and work towards – seeing BIPOC performers of all nuances on screen. Nuanced diversity and representation is one of the greatest challenges because diversity can sometimes be addressed by ‘checking a box’ in a way that might technically meet an organization’s requirements, but fails to tell the truth about people of colour.

How have you been staying positive during the pandemic? Are you back to normal now?
I’ve been relatively lucky during the pandemic: none of my loved ones got sick and my job is one of the safest due to the intense health and safety protocols of the television and film industry. Connecting to nature helps me stay positive — whether that’s a retreat to the middle of nowhere or just sitting on a city bench under a tree and feeling a little bit of grass under my feet. I also meditate and do a lot of spiritual and gratefulness work.

What is your motto in life?
“Manifest Yo Sh*t” is my motto! It means that no matter where you come from, no matter what happened to you, you have the right to pursue your dreams, and the ability to make them come true.

To learn more about Samora, please follow her via the links below:
samorasmallwood.com
Twitter: @samoragloria
Instagram: @samoragloria
Facebook: Samora Smallwood

Photography by Anthony Fascione photography.

Samora Smallwood: Standing Up for Representation and Equity