Meet Nikki Mckenzie

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nikki Mckenzie a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nikki, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

Confidence and self esteem are a constant work in progress for me. But these tools have helped me thrive on the days when I’m up and on the days when I’m down.

1. Self love. It sounds so corny but developing a practice of loving myself has been a game changer. I stop my negative self-talk through guided meditations, affirmations and journaling. I use Insight timer and the To Be Magnetic app. I reframe my thoughts by focusing on the fact that I am enough, exactly as I am. I tell myself that I’m special and unique. We all are! This mindset of being “enough” energizes me, attunes me into my authenticity and gets me out of my damn head!

2. Cultivating an abundance mindset. Acting is extremely competitive and it can be brutal because there is so much rejection. It’s easy to fall into “lack mentality” and comparison traps. But when I am intentional about living in the energy of abundance, I know that there is room at the table for all of us. This is so helpful because then I get into an expansive energy of “everyone can thrive”, and a vibe of “wins for all of us”. This way, I feel connected to my community and the only competition I have is with myself, to be the best I can be. Abundance also helps me know and have faith that “my jobs will never miss me, they will always find me”.

3. Attitude of gratitude practice. I try to write down 5 things at the end of the night that I’m grateful for. I’m also intentional about telling the people in my life I’m grateful for them.

4. Exercise. I love to work out! It always gets me out of my head. I am a virgo who can be extremely self conscious and over analytical. Moving my body is the simplest way to get me grounded and present. My favorite workouts are hot yoga, pilates, barre, Pvolve and hiking. On days I don’t have the energy, just walking around the block with my baby helps.

5. Connecting with family and friends! Laughing, good conversation, and spending quality time with my people rejuvenates me. Love and fear can’t live in the same space and my community makes me feel so loved and loving. They help quiet the noise of negative self talk and instantly make me get present in the moment

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Born in Manila and raised in the San Francisco bay area, I’m a Filipina American actress and comedian living in Los Angeles. I’ve studied at The Groundlings and UCB, I perform sketch comedy with my UCB house team Moon Goon and I do standup. I love playing characters with heart and depth. I’m fascinated by people, relationships and the complexities of the human spirit. It’s what drew me to acting. In comedies I’m interested in the duality of humor and drama, and in drama’s I’m drawn to the levity and heart.

I grew up with a single mom, and my sister and I spent a lot of time watching TV. That’s how I fell in love with entertainment. Good films and TV have always made me feel seen. And I’ve always wanted to do that through my work. I want to make people feel connected, whether it’s through a silly laugh or a meaningful recognition of themselves because I pulled on a heartstring.

I’m currently starring in two rom coms, A Wedding Contest and A Vineyard Christmas, both streaming on Amazon. They are incredibly important to me because they are some of the only rom-coms that star a Filipina. I’m so proud and honored to represent my Filipino culture in Mainstream media. I hope these films shed more light on my culture, and create more opportunities for diverse stories to be told . Also, I love a good love story and these films were a true joy to make! I hope they make you giggle and help light up your day. They are special because they have the comedy and goofyness of my favorite 90’s and 2000’s rom-coms, but with a fresh diverse twist.

Next up I’m starring in the indie film A Fantastic Relationship, the anti rom-com, rom-com about a couple who breaks up and pretends to still be together at a dinner party and the multicam pilot presentation Ethel and Ernie, as Ernie a heartwarming Filipina caretaker.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

3 things I’ve learned that have helped me most on my acting journey are:

1. It’s full circle to the self confidence question but know you are ENOUGH. Exactly as you are. Remember that no one else can do you, and what you have to give is interesting and valuable. For so long I tried to be what I thought producers wanted, or tried to be someone else and emanate an actor I looked up to. But the moment I leaned into who I actually am, is the moment I started to work. There is magic in genuinely being you. For me, the fun of acting is finding yourself within the imaginary circumstances. So know who you are, develop a self care practice and operate from a place of authenticity.

2. Study your craft, get specific about what roles you want to play, and commit to it heart and soul. Whether that’s taking acting classes, improv classes, binging your favorite films and TV, filming your own content or studying the works of your favorite actors, become an expert at what you do. My favorite quote is by Steve Martin, and it captures the essence of what I’m trying to say perfectly, “be so good they can’t ignore you”.

3. Cultivate your community outside of acting. Have relationships that support you, love you and make you feel seen and safe. The entertainment industry can feel isolating because of the constant grind and rejection. But when I rely on my community, I feel strength in knowing they always have my back, and I have theirs. Also, having people to depend on makes the wins so much sweeter and the hardships much more bearable.

My advice to anyone starting out is to find a way to fall in love with auditioning. You will most likely spend more time auditioning, than you will spend on set. Nothing happens overnight. One job can change your life, but oftentimes we don’t see all the “failed” auditions that led to that actor’s win. Also there’s so much we can’t control when it comes to booking jobs. The only thing you can have some semblance of control over is your audition. You can control how prepared you are, and how you feel about your work. Use the audition as a space to play and pick takes that you’re proud of and that light you up. That way you can let go of the outcome and the anxiety of “needing to book the job”, and let the audition be enough.

What helped me love auditioning is treating every audition as if I’m on set filming. This way the audition becomes a creative outlet for me to play and express how I would play the part. This helps get me out of low vibes of “what do producers want”, and into a place of artistic power with “this is my interpretation of the character”. Honestly this mindset also helps me have way more fun!

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

My biggest area of growth these last 12 months has also been my biggest challenge and that is navigating motherhood with my acting career. I’m still trying to establish a routine and figuring out how to juggle it all. The biggest thing I’ve learned is the importance of patience. Patience with myself, my goals and the importance of taking things one step at a time. As a new mom, most days don’t go as planned but I’m learning to prioritize and be flexible. If I’m unable to get my “to do list” done, I’m learning to give myself grace and just take one step forward, no matter how small. Even if that step is just taking a shower. I’m also learning to ask for help when I need it, whether that’s asking for childcare so I can tape an audition or asking my friends for a girls night out.

I’m a recovering hustle culture person and overachiever. Sometimes I can get stuck in the rat race of “I’m not doing enough”. When I feel overwhelmed and caught up in results and outcome, I’ve found strength in slowing down. My son has been my greatest teacher about the importance of being present and in the moment. He’s also put into perspective what really matters. From that centered place, I’m learning to pause, breathe, listen to my body and take action by doing the next best thing. Instead of rushing to get everything done all at once, I’m learning to prioritize and do things more intentionally. And at the end of the day if nothing “productive” gets done, I’m learning to let it go and start again the next day.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Stephanie Nelson, Gus Stratigeas, Carlo Orecchia and Mikah Sharkey

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