We recently connected with Akeem Mair and have shared our conversation below.
Akeem , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My mom, Queen Alice Mair, is the hardest working woman I’ve ever met in my life. What my mother did right is being the perfect example of demonstrating the kind of work ethic I need to have. She never had excuses or felt sorry for herself. If she needed something to get done and asked for help and it doesn’t get done she will immediately do it herself. She’s diligent and strong, I’ve never seen her ever be lazy. She worked 4 jobs while attending Phoenix University online to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration while also raising 3 kids. My Grandma, Earlene Dye, is the same way and definitely my grandfather, Nick Dye Sr., who worked 4 jobs himself to purchase a beautiful home in the meadows. My work ethic now resembles the essence of my mother. If someone fails to help me or there’s so much work to get done, I roll my sleeves up and get to work. Moments when I feel lazy I can hear my mother’s voice in my head scowling me and telling me “get to work, no one’s coming to help you or motivate you to do it.” I work extremely hard so that she can be proud of me and one day help her as much as she helped me whole life.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hi my name is Akeem Mair I was born on Friday September 16, 1988, in Pasadena, California at the Huntington Hospital to entrepreneur Erol James Mair and Queen Alice Mair, a public service professional. Akeem was named after Eddie Murphy’s character in the 1988 box office hit Coming to America.
I am an American Actor signed commercially with Commercial Talent Agency under Talent Agent, Sarah Angeli. I am also signed Theatrically with Minc Talent under Talent Agent, Mariko Ballentine.
How you got into your industry?
I’ve probably told this story a million times haha but I’ve never visualized myself being an Actor. My dream was to be a financial banker like Micheal Douglas in “The Game.” He hooked me with his 2000 BMW 740 i, the custom expensive suits he wore, his excitement of being in the stock exchange office, and the personal maid he had living at his house that takes care of all his personal needs. Plus math has always been my favorite subject and I was the kid you saw carrying around a calculator like people with smart phones. But one day my dreams would change forever while I was working at the Ralph’s grocery store in Pasadena on Lake and Walnut.
A loyal customer of the store end up changing my life forever. At the time I was a cashier when I caught the customer I knew quite well coming into my line with her head towards her shopping basket. I knew something was bothering her so I wanted to cheer up her with my positive energy. I said with excitement, “hi it’s so good to see you again, I hope you found everything you were looking for?” She said softly, “yes thank you!” I said, “usually I see you happy but whatever you’re going through I know God will guide you through it!” “ He’ll never give you more than you can handle!” After we finished I said, “have a bless day, I hope to see you again!!” She just froze for a few seconds and then looked up at me for the first time and i could see her eyes filled with tears.
She said, “Are you an actor?” I said, “No, why do you ask?” She said, “Because you have this big positive energy. You move people by it. You lifted my spirits after I just lost my home in a foreclosure. ” Her words stunned me. Through out my whole shift her words repeatedly kept playing in my head. After my shift, I went home and wondered, what would be like to be a successful Actor? I thought about how I’ll be able to help my family and how I can infect the whole world with my positive energy! That same night I searched ‘how to become an actor’ and it lead to me Central Casting. The next day I signed up and the rest is history.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of recently purchasing my SAG Union membership which cost me about $2,500. I’ve been patiently waiting for the right time to become Union and I finally did it. My next proudest moment was booking my first co – star role on the Bold & the Beautiful. Just being at CBS studios on Fairfax in Los Angeles with my own name on the orange cone to show me where I am supposed to park my car made my jaw drop! I literally shed a tear telling myself, “there was a time I was about to quit, so many road blocks that stumbled on my path, so much money I spent on my dreams, so much time I’ve put into it and I’m finally tasting the fruit of my labor.” I remember my barber, Antione on Washington Blvd. in Pasadena, told me if you can get on this show it will make me super proud and boost my confidence in you to reach your dreams. I asked him what his favorite show was called and he said,” The Bold & the Beautiful.” Little does he know that I am officially on his favorite show and I’m literally waiting by the phone for his call. I can’t wait to hear his reaction when he finally sees my face.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My mission statement was very simple, “don’t ever settle and never give up!” There’s a lot of my friends and family who have settled for a life they didn’t want. A partner, job, a purchase, or their own body they didn’t want. There’s going to people who are in your life trying to tell you about you shouldn’t pursue things you want. The difficulty of reaching your aspirations and why you should choose a path or decisions that’s more logical and safe. I’ve been called crazy, delusional and have been told my dreams will never come to fruition. There was a moment in my life where I’ve experienced a major depression. I’ve basically bowed out of Hollywood with the strings of failures I’ve had. I remember being depressed around my brother and he told me, “you gotta leave man, being around your energy is starting to bring me down.” Those words hit me like a bullet and had me sitting in a dark room on my bed pondering what I should do with my life. That’s when I prayed and ask God to help me turn my life around. At that moment my mission statement was formed, “never settle and never give up!” I got back on my feet and staring grinding again at my dreams and from that day I’ve never looked back!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The biggest lesson I had to learn is “slow down and take your time. Do things the right way and go all the way with it.” When I was younger, I wanted to Denzel Washington by tomorrow. I’m like, “it’s going to be easy! All I have to do is take one class and get some training in and then audition for a big movie and I’ll make it.” But little did I know is that life is a series of steps, you can’t skip it and all of sudden you expect to be at the top. In any job, you have to put in the work to get what you want. You have to earn it, nobody is going to give you your dreams manifested as the great motivational speaker, Les Brown, would say. I’ve wasted a lot of years skipping the steps and expecting to make it. That was part of the reason for my big depression I went through after I quit Hollywood. I would tell anyone in life is to be patient, move slow, and don’t skip any steps or take short cuts to achieve something great.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://akeemjmair.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akeemmair/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Akeem.Mair.Actor/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akeemmair
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/akeemmair?lang=en
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/AkeemMair
- Other: My Actor Accounts: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm5866599/ https://cni.lacasting.com/talent/profile/832319 https://www.backstage.com/u/Akeemmair/ https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/Akeemmair https://talent.castingfrontier.com/akeem-mair https://www.castittalent.com/AKEEMMAIR https://app.castingnetworks.com/talent/public-profile/383dc2ca-ceeb-11eb-b081-335789d7d844 https://wikitia.com/wiki/Akeem_Mair