C H A N E L M A C K

You better Bet on Mack when it comes to Chanel Mack Her beauty, grace, and work ethic match her faith determination, and perseverance A breakout star in the new ser es Wicked City on Allblk, she is making way for herself n the entertainment bus ness I talked to the Bronx Bombshell to learn more about her role in Wicked City as Sher se and her journey as an actress

The Start of Her Journey

Showcase business was always the goal of Chanel Her parents encouraged and supported her hunger for the performing arts from m ddle school to h gh school "This changed once I graduated My parents were like, now it's time for you to go to college and p ck a trade," said Mack She fulfilled her parents wishes and stayed close to the industry by working n administrat ve posit ons at various companies

"But I wasn't happy in the pos tions I was in, and it wasn't until I worked for an entertainment law firm that I f nally took the chance to step out on fa th," said Mack

Andre, one of the only Black partners at the firm, was the one who rem nded her that this wasn t the forever place for her Chanel said, "He came up to me one day and said, Chanel, you need to go into acting I'm like, what, Andre? He said yes, you know this isn't for you, and you have to go for it " This was the pivotal moment in her journey because the partners wrote her a stellar letter of recommendation, which landed her a spot in the Stella Adler Academy of Acting

"Everything was good, then I hit a little bump in the road," said Mack

Now rekindled with her love for the craft and attend ng Stella Adler Chanel was not stopp ng But, w th her sights on the screen and graduation coming up in two months, her world drast cally changed for the worst "In 2018, I had caught COVID, and this was when they d dn t know how to identify or treat it," said Mack Finally, she was almost near her goal and lay in a coma for two months

"When I woke up, the first th ng I rec ted was the monologue from McBeth," said Mack

Two months after that fateful day, she woke up and was ready to continue where she had left off She couldn t look to the past or future; all she had was what she could do presently Most people in her situation would have been broken and distraught Maybe she was at a point, but that wouldn't stop her from going after what God had promised her "From December 1st, when I woke up to December 25th, when I was released from the hosp tal, I went through rehab where I had to relearn things such as walking," said Mack

"In January the following year, Jesus and I had to have a conversat on " sa d Mack

She was ready to get back out there, but because God s the driver and decision-maker n her l fe, she looked to him for the answers Her fa th is core to who she is as a woman, and if God isn't lay ng the path n front of her, she isn't walking t "There was th s student film that I audit oned for I told God if you want me to cont nue down th s journey I will get it " sa d Mack She ended up getting t, and the rest was history I want to point out that dur ng our conversation, I asked if she d dn t get t, would she have really given up on this pursuit Chanel replied, "Yes I would have because that's how much faith I have in my God and his promises for me "

"I'm very much guided by fa th," said Mack

Sherise & W cked C ty

In life, we only get some opportunit es once, and when it came to Wicked City, Chanel wasn t going to let it pass her by The funny thing is when she first received notice about the role and series from Tressa Azarel Smallwood (CEO & Founder of MegaM nd Media), she thought t was a joke "I was l ke Tressa Smallwood doesn t know who I am But as I cont nued to read the email, I was like, wait, this is real There are links in the email," said Mack

This was a full-circle moment for Chanel for various reasons One of them being she loved shows like Charmed, and That s So Raven "I was sold and said yes Then when they sent me the sides I was like oh this s sassy It's like Girlfriends and Living Single There is drama, and they just so happen to have powers Oh, I have to be a part of this, "said Mack

"I have to be part of this movement There is, in my opin on, th s Black girl movement in Hollywood which I think s amazing " sa d Mack

Let's get back to the full c rcle moment because, as a woman who is led by her sp rit things lined up w th this opportunity "When I was in h gh school, I participated in the production of The W z I played the Good Witch of The North, "sa d Mack She couldn't believe it when the dots al gned For the first t me ever on stage, she played a witch, and now her first t me being a series regular, she is one God is the only person she will tell you that made th s all possible

We had to take a deeper dive into the role of Sherise She is a seductive witch with the power to bend the wills of others f you ask, there is a little Sherise in Chanel Mack "You see, Sherise s out there, but I can relate to her art of seduction I think we all have that type of power, but as a Libra, I can tap into it and get what I want w th just words (laughs) " sa d Mack

"Sher se is a character that reminds me of g rls I grew up with You know, the ones from around the way," said Mack

When getting into the mindset of Sherise, Chanel channels the essence of women she knew and has l ved and experienced She sees the strength in them when people often pass judgment "I know those women who might do th ngs other people aren't proud of, but they stay confident," said Mack Sherise is a character whom Chanel needs to have the opportun ty to highlight how beautiful, powerful, and conf dent these women she knew growing up, but st ll at the same t me to show the r ab l ty to be vulnerable and accountable for the r actions

"Everybody on the set was Black, and it was beautiful," said Mack

We ended our discuss on by discussing the experience of be ng on a show where everyone was Black from the product on to the actors Chanel sa d, "We had Black women behind the camera, and all the way up to our executives, they were Black " Th s was a feel-good feel ng she had never experienced in the ndustry She could show up daily as her true self without needing to codeswitch the Bronx Bombshell She expressed t's not saying that the cast isn't open to diversity but there is just a feeling you get when t's just a group of Black individuals producing someth ng together