Karimah Westbrook [Interview]

Happy Friday Folks! Today we have a wonderful interview to share with you all with one of today’s finest performers in the business. It’s Karimah Westbrook! Karimah has been killing it in the world of film and television for close to two decades and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. While probably best known for her starring role on the hit CW series All American, Karimah is also just one of those performers that I have consistently been catching on all the best shows to air in the last couple of decades, as well showing in some of my favorite films, such as The Rum Diary and Baadasssss!.

Yes, whether you have caught her on All American, or other fine programs such as Shameless or Mad Men, also working alongside a plethora of the other fine folks we have featured on the site, you simply have to recognize that Karimah is one of the best out there and has an extremely impressive resume. And only adding to said resume in a great way, is her recent performance in Bolden, a wonderful biopic about legendary musician Charles “Buddy” Bolden, which is in theaters now.

So Folks, please enjoy some wonderful words from the absolutely brilliant Karimah Westbrook!

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What inspired you to get into the world of performance? Was it something you aspired to do since you were a child? Or did you just happen to find yourself in this world one day? 

Acting was very fun for me growing up. It was a huge source of my entertainment. One of my favorite performers growing up was Whoopi Goldberg. In hindsight, there is something very spiritual about acting. I always feel like I’ve just left church afterwards. It is something that I had a lot of fun doing as a child but I didn’t consider it as a career until after high school.

What was your very first paid gig as a performer? And were there any sort of lessons learned form this experience that you still carry with you in your work today? 

I’m not for sure but I think it was for the film Save the Last Dance. I know that movie was my first union paying job. Working on Save the Last Dance, how I even got the role in the film, reconfirmed to me that believing in yourself and being fearless comes with major perks.

I am very intrigued by a biopic that you recently worked on entitled Bolden. What drew you to this project about Buddy Bolden? What made you really want to work on this project?

When I learned that Charles “Buddy” Bolden was a real person and that he made a major contribution to music, I wanted to be a part it. Stories that reveal a bit about history, especially black history, is something that I want to be a part of.  Buddy was truly a hidden figure.

A project I am very familiar with in which you appear on is CW’s All American, where you star alongside fellow wonderful performer, one Taye Diggs. So how has your experience been working on this program?

It’s been great! It is a dream come true working on All American. I think it’s a wonderful show that offers many great life lessons. I’m happy to be a part of a positive yet juicy narrative. What drew me to wanting to play Grace James on All American was the writing. I love my character. I believed that the show had a strong voice and was created in a world that I am very much familiar with. I too grew up without my father in a single-family household.

Karimah Westbrook in CW’s “All American”. Season 1 is currently on Netflix.

When it comes to acting, you have worked extensively on the big screen, television, the stage, and more in some very wonderful roles. I am always curious to know what an actor’s preferred set up for acting would be. So, if you were one day only able to choose one of these ways to act for a living, which would it be?

This is a tough question but I’d say film. I say film because I have a great appreciation for the entire process of making a movie. It really is a journey. For me, to see all of the moving parts of making a film comes together on the big screen, it feels very rewarding.

If you were handed the oppurtunity to create and star in the biopic of any historical figure in American history, who would you want to portray?

Shirley Chisolm because she was the first black woman in congress and the first to seek the nomination for Presidency.

What does the future hold for you? Anything you would like to plug to our readers?

The future for me holds more acting, writing, and producing. We were recently renewed for season 2 of All American so I am so excited to get back to that. And in the meantime you can rewatch season 1 on Netflix. Also Bolden is playing in theaters now.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

The last thing that made me smile was a little chihuahua dog. I was driving home yesterday and a guy was driving next to me in his convertible car with the top down. His little chihuahua was trying to stand on the drivers shoulder as the car was moving. The wind was too much but the dog tried to stand and balance himself with all of his strength. The chihuahua finally got his barrings and was able to stand up completely. The wind was blowing through his hair and his mouth was wide open as if he was catching the wind with his mouth. The dog seemed so happy. That made me smile.