We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alikona Shizue Bradford. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alikona below.
Alikona, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
Well first of all, thank you for having me! My journey to get to thriving definitely took a few years before I really found my footing in the entertainment industry. Primarily because, at the time, talent needed to fit into a specific ethnicity/talent category. But I’m a multi-hyphenate and my “look” was hard for people to place. Back then being “ethnically ambiguous” was the next big thing (having your ethnicity be trendy is still a concept that in and of itself is hard to digest), yet agents, managers, and casting directors couldn’t quite pin-point where I fit in.
“She looks Latina. Let’s send her to a commercial audition where she sings a song in Spanish!” Yeahhhhh… I’m not Latina, nor do I speak Spanish. Word to the wise, lip singing “pineapple” over and over again to a song in another language won’t get you the job. On the bright side, I’m sure the casting director had a good chuckle after I left the room. I’d also got sent to auditions for Caucasian women, but wasn’t quite vanilla enough. So my reps decided I should really lean into being Asian. I am half Japanese! Great! Problem with that, apparently I’m not “Japanese enough” to be cast as Japanese. Go figure! So I was told to either dye my hair black or wear a black wig because it will make me more Asian! That wasn’t mildly offensive or anything. I’m Hapa, I was born with light brown eyes and light brown hair, and while I’ve dyed my hair every color of the rainbow, black just doesn’t work. The wigs, no matter how expensive, looked fake and goth. So I said “f- it” and dyed my hair orange. Hey, if I’m going to be an unemployed entertainer, at least I’ll be unemployed and look like me vs trying to be someone I’m not and STILL not book squat. Regardless, I knew that there was still a place for me somewhere in the industry.
So I adopted a mantra that has stayed with me for most of my career, “If they won’t hire me, I’ll just make it myself and hire me!” I created pitch decks, show reels, short films, screenplays, learned how to shoot/edit, attended big boy conferences where I was the minority, pitched to networks, took random execs to coffee, helped a showrunner get his series renewed… You name it, I likely tried it. And throughout that process became the multi-hyphenate I mentioned earlier. One I never intended on becoming, but became out of necessity.In doing so, I have had some amazing wins, an array of disappointments, and a load of possibilities. Through my hustle I went from professional dancer who, to a trained actor and on-camera host for AfterBuzz TV (did some stellar networking and got to appear as an actor on one of the TV shows I reported on, went to a business lunch with Superman- – like the real Superman from Lois & Clark!, and met my future podcast partner, Valery Ortiz, who was on a television show that I was covering for AfterBuzz TV), I also dreamt of hosting my own travel show and after a literal decade I finally garnered a distribution deal for my own show with one of the top streaming companies for travel, wrote three films for television that aired domestically & internationally, had a short film that I wrote/produced/starred in earn accolades in more than 17 film festivals, designed makeup looks for one of Celine Dion’s international tours, did three tours as a host/announcer for a motorsports giant and will go on another tour with Mattel this fall for their motorsports division, and I’m jussssst getting started. Next on the list is a script that I wrote for Dwayne Johnson, whom I do not know, but am in the process of finding the best possible way to connect with him. A big reach? Perhaps. But it’s amazing the things you can accomplish if you just keep going and keep an open mind. Did I also mention that I somehow managed to get myself recruited into professional wrestling? That one was very unexpected, but I’m hoping that’s just the Universe giving me a nudge to say, “Yes, girl, you are on the right path to D.J.! Somehow you’ll find alignment with him.” That said, I’m not training with WWE, but rather, another show that I can’t disclose at the moment.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you? Sure. I’m vegan, it’s a huge part of my identity. Compassion for animals has been woven into every fiber of my being since I was a child. At only five years old I knew something was wrong with that bucket of legs labeled “KFC.” Those legs belonged to someone! And by 12 I finally had the guts to defy my parents and drop animals from my diet entirely. They were not pleased, but they went with it. Fast forward, if you ever watch or read anything that I’ve created you’ll notice that every script, every travel show concept, every chance I get on my podcast to make a mention, there is always an underlying message somewhere that illustrates the importance of being kind to all sentient beings. Always. I don’t preach or shove it down anyone’s throats, but I do take the opportunity as a writer/performer to do my best to give a voice to those who can’t speak up for themselves. My ultimate goal is to become a household name so that I can use my platform to spread compassion, awareness, and kindness towards animals. Mark my words, one day you’ll see me adorned in lettuce on a PETA poster dressed as an exotic salad that wants you to leave animals alone and eat your veggies! LOL! True Hollywood Story.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1- Grit. Having a mentality that “I will outwork you, I will stay up later, I will practice longer, and I will find ways to be more innovative in my approach to my endeavors.”
My advice: Always level up even when you think you’re in the top tier. Write one more page, do five more burpees, memorize two more paragraphs… do the things that you really don’t want to do and get comfortable with being uncomfortable. If something is scary, odds are leaning into it will make you better. Things are scary to me all the time, but I still do them!
2- Be yourself despite what is considered popular. People can sniff out a disingenuous person from a mile away. It takes a lot of energy to be something that you’re not and it also dims your light. My advice: Make peace with knowing that you are not going to be for everyone. And that’s okay! You’ll find your tribe and they will love the sh!t out of you and everything you offer. This can take some self-work and discovery. Especially if you’re a people pleaser. Don’t worry, a lot of us are! Myself included. I highly recommend taking classes that spark your curiosity to see what lights your fire. Do this solo without the influence of friends and loved ones. Also, meditation is an awesome way to settle your mind and clear out some of the external noise. Sometimes trauma can dictate our motivation, self worth, willingness to invest in ourselves, or take risks. I read a lot of self betterment books, took counseling classes in college to learn about some of the things my parents may have done or passed onto me that weren’t so helpful so that I could empathize and understand their behaviors, which in turn allowed me to forgive them. I’m always in some sort of online class finding new ways to expand and align myself with goodness. The more I do those things, the more I am able to sit in the energy of KNOWING. I know I have fantastic ideas. I know I’m a good person. I know I’m worthy of my dreams, I know I’m going to work with Dwayne Johnson, dammit! Haha. Regardless, your “knows” might be different than mine, and
3- Don’t be afraid to ask for a meeting. By the way, I hate asking people for anything. I really had to step out of feeling like I was bothering people. However, how many times have you ever turned down a free lunch or smoothie? I tell you how many times I have, NONE. So my approach has always been, do some homework on the person I want to connect with and get familiar with their work. Then, kindly compliment them on something you wholeheartedly love about their work before inviting them to lunch, your treat since you’d be grateful for some of their wisdom! If the person is a big time agent or CEO then I’ll offer to meet them for a quick smoothie or coffee. It’s less time obligatory and gives them an escape if they are in a crunch.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Well if we’re talking about the most impactful, it was my father’s addiction to alcohol and witnessing his big dreams fade away. Probably not the inspirational answer you were looking for. But I can’t erase the past. It made me who I am. Had he not been so hard on me, had he not had such high expectations of me, had he not set such high social standards, had he not been so scary at times, I would not be who I am today. I am strong and tenacious. I’ve become empathetic and forgiving. I’ve been forced to learn about myself and what makes me tick or crumble. I’ve also had to learn to not be a victim, which many of us fall into the trap of doing. It can easily become the excuse that causes the demise of our dreams.
Through my quest to heal I’ve gained so much self awareness and I love it! I attract people into my circle who are higher thinkers and do-ers, and I don’t know if that would be the case had I had a cozy, ideal upbringing. After all, under pressure a piece of coal turns into a diamond.
That said, my father was a literal genius. From him I got my “artsy-fartsy” right-brain, strong opinions, goofiness, and loud energetic presence. It wouldn’t be fair to discredit his good qualities when those were present despite the shadows of his drinking.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alikonabradford.com
- Instagram: @alikona.shizue.b_official and @yourunpaidtherapists
- Youtube: Your Unpaid Therapists
Image Credits
Headshot type photos are all by Mike Quain Photography. Also in the photos are : Red carpet- Jodie Sweeten, Podcast photo- Valery Ortiz
