We were lucky to catch up with Angela Naomi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Angela, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

Several times I have asked myself what would’ve happened if I had started my acting career sooner. Although I was doing some acting throughout my 20s and even 30s, I wasn’t fully in that arena. I’ll be 40 this year and I can say with confidence that I’m at peace with starting my acting career later. My years spent in college, in and out of jobs, unemployed, and in the Navy reserves gave me life experience that I would’ve never had if I was a full-time actress. These experiences have allowed me to become a better actress and a better writer. Many times, I don’t have to wonder, “what it would be like to…” because chances are I’ve already been through it. I can stand ten toes down and say, “I’ve been there. Done that. Got all the paraphernalia” to a plethora of situations; some good and some bad. I pull from my experiences to not only be a better actress, but to be a better writer. I can step into my character’s shoes and know what it feels like to lose a job or to smile and pretend everything is fine when the reality is the bank account is in the negative. I’ve had such wonderful adventures over the years that I couldn’t have had if I was in NYC or LA focused on getting acting jobs or even locked into filming schedules.

I’m also in a better place financially than I was in my younger years. I never believed in being a starving artist nor did I ever believe in robbing Peter to pay Paul just to be able to pay for an acting career. I have learned skills and had jobs that put me in a position to have an income and the freedom to pursue a career in acting. So although I used to feel like I was starting my career late, I’ve come to realize that’s not true. I’m starting my career right on time and I have an arsenal of experiences that are helping me build a career, be a better actress, and be a better student as I’m learning more about the entertainment industry.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My background is a hodgepodge of things. There’s not really a straight pathway to an acting career, so I found myself wearing many hats. In my late teens and early 20s, I competed in pageants then started booking a few modeling gigs. I booked a few local commercials. I performed in dinner theater and even went on tour with a dinner theater company. I also taught acting and dance while picking up clients for pageant coaching. I played Princess Tiana at countless birthday parties in the Raleigh and Fayetteville, NC areas.

When I lived in Florida, I went back into theater for a bit and performed in “Ain’t Misbehavin,” “Big Fish,” “Memphis,” and “Crowns”. I’m eager to learn new skills so I spent time in the costume department learning that side of theater. Throughout all of this, I was learning social media marketing skills, web design, sales techniques, and general marketing. Little did I know, I was learning how to be an entrepreneur. I joined the Navy Reserves to make extra money. I moved to LA when I received orders to be a recruiter for the Navy. I recruited during the pandemic in 2020 and immediately after work I would log into the screenwriting class I was taking with NY Film Academy. The next round of courses I took were for voice acting and I studied with Voice Masters. Yes, I was doing all of this while still being a military recruiter.

Once I left the Navy in 2021, I went straight into working on sets as a Covid Compliance Officer. I worked on 3 reality tv shows and paid close attention to the jobs of others on the set; producers, directors, talent producers, editors, etc. Once that job ended I applied for the Writer’s Guild of America’s year long writing program for veterans. I wasn’t expecting to get into the program on my first try, but I did. I spent a year working closely with 3 accomplished screenwriters on a feature length. I was still auditioning and booking voice over work too. I tapped into my sales and marketing background and started finding voice over jobs on my own. I’ve been able to record voice overs for companies in the USA, US Virgin Islands, Canada, and UK. The voice overs range from quick podcast intros to commercials to explainer videos to video games. I took classes at UCLA Extension Program for the Business and Management of Entertainment. And through all this, I was able to pick up work as the associate producer for an animated web series.

I used to work door to door sales so I’m no stranger to having a door literally slammed in my face. I don’t wait for someone to bring me a project or an audition. I will find my own work. I will create my own work.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Being a creative is a real job and the glitz and glam of the red carpet is just that… glitz and glam of the red carpet. It is one night of pageantry. The other nights are long, dark, dank, yet beautiful. I think non-creatives spend a lot of time looking at the finished product. They are far removed from the creative process. We don’t even see a lot of the behind the scenes TV shows that existed in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. When consumers are removed from seeing any of the processes that lead up to the finished product, it’s hard for them to understand that real people spent hours working to bring them that product.

Many times I’ve heard that we creatives are asking for too much money and that we should get real jobs. What people fail to realize is that the pocket of creatives who make the big bucks is small. The majority of creatives aren’t making as much as people think. And when it comes to the “real” job rhetoric, I would love for more people to see how many jobs that exist outside the entertainment industry exist within it.

While the glitz and glam is marvelous to see, I enjoy it myself, it’s only one part of being a creative. See us for the hard workers that we are and look up some of those jobs listed last on the credits that roll after your favorite movie or TV show.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I’m in the process of rebranding my social media. I’ve spent so many years building up the presence of businesses and other individuals as part of previous jobs, I forgot to build up my own. My current build out involves storytelling. I am a 2 time Cumberland County, NC public speaking champion. Public speaking is a strength of mine and with all my life adventures, I have some stories to tell! Brace yourselves because I’m going to come with some straight talk and may not bring the chasers. Lean into your strengths as you build your audience. Do not waste your time trying to strengthen a weakness; you can do that later. Create within your strengths!

Showing my face is something followers will see me do more. For those who saw me in my pageant years or have seen me at conferences or other events, they already know I’m coming with my lipstick, eye makeup on, and jewelry. Followers will still see me in a sweatshirt too just how I would show up to pageant rehearsals in sweats. This is who I am; I can put it on and take it off. Be yourself! You may think you’re weird. You may think you’re too glammed up. Listen, every pot has its lid. When building an audience on social media, you want to find your lids. You don’t want to attract people who are following because you put on a facade. After a while, the weight of that facade will become heavy and when you drop it, you’ll lose followers. So why not just be your wonderfully made self and attract those who will stay and grow with you?

Contact Info:

• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/angnaomi
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngNaomi8