Rising Star Wolé Parks On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

The first thing is to find something outside of “the biz” that you like. When you’re in between auditions (which can be anywhere from minutes to months), it’s easy to start feeling lost. I do fitness and volunteering, so I feel like I have some sort of control and routine in my life.

As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Wolé Parks.

Wolé Parks was born and raised in the Bronx, New York City as a first generation American to Belizean mother and Tanzanian father. He got his first taste of acting when he was scouted in high school and landed a national commercial for Kit Kat. He went on to graduate with a double major in Fine Arts at NYU’s Tisch and a B.A. in Mathematics. He first entered the business world as a finance director while dabbling in acting on the side. His first big acting role was alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the feature film PREMIUM RUSH. He decided to make the leap headfirst into acting and moved to Los Angeles where he booked a series regular role on showrunner Marc Cherry’s (“Desperate Housewives”) series “Devious Maids”, executive produced by Eva Longoria. From there he began booking roles back-to-back on some of the hottest television shows, building his reputation as an in-demand actor seamlessly switching between in both drama and comedy.

When he is not in front of the camera, he is busy writing projects and training to become a director, where he has already shadowed directors on “Superman & Lois”. He has been sober for 16 years and practices a healthy lifestyle in his personal life. He is passionate about supporting the LGBTQIA+ community and has biked the AIDS Life Cycle twice (riding from SF to LA) which benefits the community in both SF and LA.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up in The Bronx as an only child, raised by a single mother. It was one of those cases where I knew we didn't have money but we made the best of it. My mom worked at least two jobs at a time, but she was mainly a teacher. It's funny because as a child I would get annoyed at my mother because she was very hard on me; I'd ask her a question and she'd say, "look it up" or I'd ask for cable in the house and she told me to get a job to pay for it, which I did. I didn't realize it at the time, but she was teaching me to be independent. Which I'm so thankful for now that I'm an adult.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path of being an actor?

I went to Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan and one day a woman walked into my band class. She pointed to a bunch of students and I thought I was in trouble, but it turned out that she was a casting director looking for kids for a national Kit-Kat commercial. I booked it and suddenly realized you could make money acting! I started doing school plays, then auditioned for NYU and got accepted. It's weird because if I had cut class that day, my life would be completely different.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

For me, it was moving out of New York to Los Angeles. I'm a creature of habit and love stability, and I had a finance job that I liked - I double-majored in Fine Arts and Mathematics - but it also kept me from truly pursuing acting. My agent gave me a pep talk saying, "you could make it if you tried", so I decided to save up a bunch of money and move. It's interesting to me because it was the first time in my life where I truly took a leap. I've had ups and downs in my career but I'm glad I tried because I would have always asked myself, "what if...?", if I wouldn't have given it a shot.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of my first big auditions was when I went in for New Girl. They had already shot the pilot but Damon Wayans, Jr. couldn't do the show, so they needed a replacement. It moved very fast - I auditioned and three days later was flown to LA to do a chemistry read with the cast. I didn't really have trained comedy experience and they changed the script a lot and wanted to improvise. I guess I got a little excited and gave Zooey Deschanel a very aggressive high five that basically caused her to smack herself in the face. It was funny...until it wasn't. What I learned from that was not to get too wrapped up in this business. It can move quickly or it can move slowly but you can't lose your sense of self. The more grounded I am within myself, the better I am in an audition.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

We're still shooting season three of Superman & Lois, so that's my focus right now.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

"Failure only happens when you give up." I forget where I heard that but I kept that quote on my wall for years. If you're looking for a career that will give you external validation, I'd suggest you do something else. You have to have a strong sense of self and determination to make it in entertainment. You can have days where you cry, scream or break down but you can never give up. Ever.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

I don't know if I have three specific reasons but I know diversity is important because representation is important. A lot of people roll their eyes when "diversity" is mentioned but when you're a child and you don't see anyone who looks like you represented in media, it can throw off your sense of self. One reason why I was happy when Barack Obama was elected president is because I know there's a young black kid who saw that man and thought, "one day I could become president." And he will. I didn't have that growing up but it would have been nice.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example of each.

1. The first thing is to find something outside of "the biz" that you like. When you're in between auditions (which can be anywhere from minutes to months), it's easy to start feeling lost. I do fitness and volunteering, so I feel like I have some sort of control and routine in my life.
2. "If you don't do the work, someone else will." I hear a lot of people complain when they get slammed with auditions. But honestly, producers and casting directors don't care what's going on in your life - they care about what you're doing in front of them. Shake off whatever is going on and do the job. If you don't, someone else will and they'll get the part.
3. Learn not to take things personally. I got let go of my first pilot after we shot it because they wanted a comedian. They stressed that it wasn't because of my performance and even invited me to the network holiday party, but I was in my feelings and didn't go. Now, I know there are so many factors that are outside of my control.
4. Find other people doing what you do and support each other. I've met people who try to hoard auditions and not help other actors. But we should be helping each other. If a role is better for a friend, then I pass along the audition info. I trust that I'll book what I'm supposed to book and don't have to act out of fear.
5. I already said this before but I really want to stress knowing yourself. This can be a cruel business if you try to get validation from it. Acting is what I do, it's not who I am. If I lose a role, it doesn't make me less than I was before. And conversely, if I get a role, it doesn't somehow make me better, because that implies that I wasn't enough beforehand.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

It goes back to finding something outside of the business that makes you happy. If I'm feeling stressed out or lost, doing something fun that I like can give me that feeling of a "win." That boost allows me to go back invigorated and start anew with whatever task I felt stuck in.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

It would be to spread education and knowledge. Education is the quickest way out of poverty, oppression and many other ills in society. I was lucky to have an educator as a mother who stressed learning. I now do the same thing and volunteer with an organization that brings tutors to kids who can't afford proper tutoring (www.schoolonwheels.org). Inspire someone to think for themselves and you never know what they may achieve.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

In life, it's my mother for obvious reasons. But if we're talking about acting, then I'd say my first agent, Paul Reisman. He's the one who encouraged me to leave finance behind and truly pursue my career. For someone like me who is a control freak and likes certainty, the idea of leaving my comfort zone was terrifying. But sometimes you need one person who believes in you, more than you believe in yourself.

Can you please give us your favorite "Life Lesson Quote"? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I feel bad regurgitating stuff, but it's "failure only happens when you give up." My career has been anything but a straight path. My first year and a half in Los Angeles was great: I did a pilot, a guest star, a series regular role and a national commercial...then I didn't work for fourteen months. That completely threw me for a loop but it also humbled me in the greatest of ways. If I could get through that, I could get through anything in the business.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment, read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Jeff Bezos. For a while he was the richest person in the world and I've always been fascinated by what keeps you going when you're literally number one on the planet. Then he stepped away and now lives a different life. What made him change? Does he regret it? There must be so much knowledge that he could impart and I'd love to pick his brain.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!