We were lucky to catch up with Nikita Francois recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikita, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The biggest risk I’ve taken is relocating from NY to Los Angeles in 2017. I found myself at the proverbial crossroads in my life. I could either continue working my “regular” job and live a comfortable, predictable life, or I could take a leap of faith and pursue my acting career with a fresh start in LA. While the decision wasn’t easy, it has been the most profound and amazing choice I’ve made for my life thus far, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. Since moving, I’ve booked amazing projects, created my own content and found a community of fellow creatives who are all working hard and succeeding in the pursuit of their dreams.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began acting in elementary school; school plays are where I caught the acting bug and I’ve been working hard in my career ever since. I not only perform in film & television, but I also create my own content on social media, in addition to writing my own pilots. I’m a huge believer in creating what you want to see, and my career has been heavily influenced by my desire to see more diversity in storytelling. As a 1st generation Haitian-American, I take pride in my family’s culture and how it has shaped my experiences growing up. Haiti’s poignant history is one I hope will soon realize greater prominence in film and television.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

As a society, I think programming needs to better support artists and creatives from a variety of backgrounds. Unlike other career paths, there aren’t really internship opportunities for people such as actors. You either book a job or you don’t. One can learn as much as possible from background work or ensemble theatre work. But aside from acting classes, experience is oftentimes based on luck or chance. I often wonder how cool it would be for acting programs to funnel its graduating class into shows and films, where they can gain true experience in supporting roles.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of my career is knowing that I have lived my life truly giving my dreams a chance to thrive. I don’t wish to carry regrets into my senior years. Pursuing each and every goal I set is of utmost importance to me. Whether I succeed or not has less of an impact on my happiness, compared to whether or not I let fear stop me from living my truth. I implore everyone to take a chance and never give up.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikita.francois/
• Other: TikTok: @nikitafrancois

Image Credits
The Groundlings School, AdeRisa Productions, Amazon Music