Interview with Jasika Nicole

Jasika Nicole

Jasika Nicole is a series regular on the hit “ The Good Doctor,”an ABC series that follows the journey of Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) as he navigates the unique demands of being a surgeon with autism. Nicole’s character, Dr. Carly Lever, is a pathologist who has a romantic relationship with Murphy. Nicole has also been on FOX series “Fringe” alongside Joshua Jackson and has had roles on hit drama series such as “Scandal” and “Underground.”

Jasika grew up in Alabama and received scholarships to study theatre, dance, singing and studio art at a small college in North Carolina. She then moved to New York City (NYC) to begin a career in musical theatre, but ended up getting more work in television and film. She worked in Vancouver for four years, then ended up on the West Coast, where she currently lives.

She shares her journey with Afroelle.

Did you always want to be in this line of work?

No, internally I fought against it for a long time. I loved performing all throughout my grade school years, but there was a part of me that resented the fact that sports and entertainment were generally the most promising ways that poor black children could dream of having successful careers. When you don’t grow up seeing lots of people who look like you and come from backgrounds like yours succeeding in fields like STEM, literary arts or entrepreneurship, you don’t think of it as a viable option. Eventually, I realized that holding myself to anyone else’s standard but my own was really unfair since I got so much joy from being onstage. But it took a while. I think it wasn’t until my junior year in high school that I began to truly consider having a career in entertainment. I grew up in Birmingham, split between the black and white neighborhoods that my parents lived in, but I went to mostly white grade schools. I grew up understanding well the racial and power dynamics that would be at play in nearly every institution, organization and company that I ended up working for as an adult.

Did you get any help along the way?

One of my teachers in high school (I suspect I know who it is but it was never confirmed) anonymously donated the money for me to go on my theatre class’s trip to NYC during my senior year. I grew up poor and was unable to afford the trip, although I desperately wanted to go. At this point I was dreaming of being on Broadway, but I had never been outside the southeast before, much less traveled on a plane.

The distance between where I was and where I wanted to be seemed too vast for me to ever even consider trying to cross with my limited resources. But this teacher’s donation made it so that I could travel to NYC for the first time and experience a whole new possibility for what my future could look like. I will always be grateful to the person who made this happen. It made what felt like an unattainable goal seem so much more realistic, and it gave me the confidence to make it happen for myself one day.

“This teacher’s donation made it so that I could travel to NYC for the first time and experience a whole new possibility for what my future could look like.”

Photo by Jess Nurse

What other memories did you have growing up?

My parents have great taste in music. So, I have lots of fun memories that revolve around certain musicians, songs and albums from my childhood. I just recently showed my dad how to start a Spotify account. So, I send him old music we used to listen to and new music that I think he would like. It’s so fun! I think my mom might be too technically challenged for her to have a successful experience with Spotify, but I’m working on it!

What do you like about your job?

It’s fun. It’s freeing in unexpected ways and it allows me to use all the good and terrible life experiences I’ve had to inform the characters I portray.

Have you experienced any challenges along the way?

Racism, misogyny, and homophobia. I truly don’t know how to navigate any of these challenges. I just know how to survive them. I’ve learned how to quiet the constant frustration that I experience, to convince myself to keep going and to pick my battles because the fear is that if I use my voice to call out every single microaggression I experience, the fallout will be that I work less often. Pointing out people’s “isms” makes them defensive and uncomfortable, and they would rather get rid of the “problem” than address their often unconscious, but nevertheless hurtful discrimination.

What lessons have you learned in this industry?

I think it’s extremely important to build up a solid support system of people who can hold you accountable and understand the stresses that come with working in environments where you are almost always the minority. You shouldn’t surround yourself with “yes” people, but it’s important that you have people to talk to who get, on some level, what you’re going through. I can’t do good work on set or lead a very satisfying life if I have all this pent-up bitterness inside of me all the time; it needs to come out!

What do you do when you are not working?

In addition to being an actor in TV and film, I am an avid maker. I’ve been sewing all my own clothes for about five years now, I haven’t bought ready- towear clothing in nearly as many, and I also make my own shoes, throw and handbuild pottery, knit, do needlework, illustrate, cook, build furniture from scratch, reupholster armchairs, etc. I love learning about crafts and playing with art in new ways. Making has morphed into a routine of self-care that has become essential to making my mental health a priority, and it is one of the biggest joys of my adulthood.

I share mostly making on my blog, www. jasikanicole.com and on my Instagram @jasikaistrycurious.

Photo by David Muller