Laila Odom: Zatima Actress on her health & wellness journey & the dream fulfilled.

In the second part of my interview with Zatima actress Laila Odom, she talks about her love of travel, the importance of health and wellness and the dream that’s come full circle. Laila stars as Connie in the hit Tyler Perry series Zatima, the spin-off of the series Sistas (my other favourite show!). The show follows Zac (Devale Ellis) and Fatima (Crystal Renee Hayslett) as they navigate the ups and downs of their relationship. Connie is an ex-lover of Zac’s from childhood who comes back into his life.

If you missed the first part of the interview, you can read it here: A conversation with: Laila Odom – Actress & Zatima star: Her Gratitude for Connie & Love for Pepa.

Loving her culture and Black History

Reflecting on her trip to Ghana, Laila was reminded of her heritage, as her surname (Odom) has links to Ghana. Ghanaians were asking her which part of Ghana she was from! Laila found this a heart-warming experience saying, “If they are claiming me, I’ll take that”. This feeling of joy of being welcomed by Ghanaians later became a painful and shocking reminder of slavery. Her visit to Cape Coast, the slave compound, reminded her “It really does show you how deplorable it (slavery) was”.

Her travelling has also deepened her love of enjoying Black history. Being able to see how a “Large concentration of African slaves were taken to South America” and this shows “The importance of knowing our history, for example when you realise that a lot of religion in South America was taken from Africa”.

Her future and leading with her passion for health

Laila is very passionate about her health and wellness. She talked with great concern about the quality of food and especially meat. Educating people on the importance of nutrition is high on her to-do list. Her vision for her future is to go into cancer research and how it affects the Black and Brown communities. “We have to be clear on things that put us (our health) at risk and how we combat that”.

She talked about her decision to be a pescatarian – she doesn’t eat beef or pork and is vigilant about her health after suffering from bouts of anemia and fibroids. Above all, Laila continues on her “journey to understand my body”.

“I want to use whatever influence I have to show others how to move forward  – it’s more than looking beautiful; it’s important to inspire people to ‘leave’ where they are and seek better”.

Her vision for her future is to go into cancer research and how it affects the Black and Brown communities. “We have to be clear on things that put us (our health) at risk and how we combat that”.

Laila Odom

Reflecting on a career crossroads & finding influences

On another trip when Laila flew to Bali, she took the time to reflect on her career and develop her gratitude practice. This was the start of her journey to focus on her peace and calming her fears on ‘scarcity’ of acting projects. Laila believes that it was developing this gratitude practice that led to her receiving the role of Connie.

When talking about her influences, Laila praised the work of Halle Berry and Angela Bassett. She commented, “I also think that Raven Symone is not celebrated as much as she should be – she is incredibly talented. My ‘go to’ actress is Regina Hall – she doesn’t get enough credit. The beautiful thing about Regina is she can do drama very well and then do comedy – she’s incredible!

When I see different actresses I like to see people who can take you on a ride with the story. Anyone can say the lines but do you embody that? That’s important. Those are my go to girls”.

Storytelling for Black actors

AWO: How do you feel about the progress and quality of storytelling for Black actors and actresses?

LO: There’s so much more that still need needs to be done  – we need to look at our storytellers and writers because that’s the generation we need to have English degrees, who can write and know how to tell a story.

I grew up watching Spike Lee – we lived in that time. My favourite Halle Berry role is her in Jungle Fever – but no makeup and you have to know film to know that was a ‘performance’. When I look back at Angela Bassett and her role in “What’s Love Got to Do With It” – she hasn’t aged in 30 years. I’ve had strong women role models and as I’ve moved in my career, I was able to look at their work and say I want that”.

I used to say I want to be on tv, I want to say something, I want to be a series regular on a sci-fi show and I want to be in a studio picture. But it’s changed from what I wanted when I was 11, now I want to win an award, work abroad, do movies in Africa – so I’m blessed to have these experiences but I have a lot of time to grow and do more. I also have to be able to help others – that’s the calling, I want to do that too.

AWO: Your credits include being a comedian, acting, producing – do you see yourself working in these areas in future?

LO: When social media first hit, I was in the first wave of being an influencer and did a lot of that. But the project I want will be an international project, that’s the dream. Something that is bigger, a bigger dream.

AWO: We’ve seen Black women portrayed as either strong or sassy or promiscuous. How do you feel about these roles; do you think there are more balanced roles now being offered? Are we still battling these extremes?

That’s the wellness of loving and accepting yourself; that takes time and it won’t happen straight out of high school. Your heart has to be broken and you have to be at a point of no-return. That is a life experience.

Laila Odom

LO: That’s  a hard question – the meaty roles might go to a British actress, so we need more educated writers, then we (Black people)can be part of projects that everybody watches. So we don’t just tell stories of ‘drugs and jail’, ‘cause not everybody will identify with that and it needs to be written a certain way to bring in other audiences.

AWO: What’s your thoughts about when Black women don’t get the awards at film awards events?

LO: I go back to our storytellers again; we need them to create the story and projects like Wakanda – we need more of those, like a series version and a film of that to continue. I recently enjoyed watching a series called DR from Detroit (on BET +) and it was incredible. It’s about the types of shows where there’s production and backstory, storytelling and character development.

AWO: Who is your support system?

LO: It’s my mom. Knowing that this business is more ‘no’s’ than ‘yes’s’ with a lot of rejections, which leave you questioning your worth. I’ve learned to understand in those situations, “that (opportunity) wasn’t for me”. Sometimes certain rejections really get you but you have to know how to have wellness to support you.

I love hot yoga, as it sweats out all the toxins. To work out your body and mind, so that you can move on from whatever you didn’t get.

On whether Connie deserves to have love: There should be a birthright of love – we should get that. As you get older, we should all be entitled to being loved correctly; whether you are in the projects or elsewhere. As long as the heart is good, those are the deciding factors for me.

Laila Odom

That’s the wellness of loving and accepting yourself; that takes time and it won’t happen straight out of high school. Your heart has to be broken and you have to be at a point of no-return. That is a life experience.

AWO: For women like Connie, where there’s a man like Zac that they want, with love or lust, can women like this get their happy ending? Get their love?

LO: Of course, everyone regardless of education, background – there should be a birthright of love – we should get that. As you get older, we should all be entitled to being loved correctly; whether you are in the projects or elsewhere. As long as the heart is good, those are the deciding factors for me.

AWO: What’s your advice to other Black women getting into acting industry or mid-career in the industry?

LO: I’m still learning. Early in your career you should study and know what you’re talking about; study actors and productions, watch the classics, for example The Shining, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape; masterclasses in acting. It’s not always about watching the most popular film. Watch the things that have heart and soul and what the greats watch. Look at the range of actors- Denzel Washington or Jeffery Wright – actors who make movies.

You are on a journey and study and have your favourite movies and actors. Regina Hall in Black Monday with Don Cheadle, seeing this work and other genres makes it easier. Fall in love with what you do and don’t just do acting for the money. Acting was my way of dealing with other things in my life and has been cathartic for me. I use everything that I feel in the character.

A grandmother’s dream come true

While talking about her mother’s support, Laila mentioned her grandmother whose words she will never forget: “I lost my grandmother who was 103 years old last year. When I previously visited her, she said “I hope you can do something with Tyler Perry one day”.

So when I went back to see her, I cried ‘cause it felt like a full circle moment. I accomplished something she wanted for me. My opportunity to play the role of Connie is very special to me because it’s tied back into my grandmother”.

On that last life-affirming point, Laila smiles with a ‘knowing’ that she will always carry her grandmother’s wish in her heart.

A huge Thank You to Laila and her team for taking the time to share her story with me and the Afrowoman Online community.

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