Meet Zari Rose

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

Hi Zari , so excited to have you with us today and we are really interested in hearing your thoughts about how folks can develop their empathy? In our experience, most folks want to be empathic towards others, but in a world where we are often only surrounded by people who are very similar to us, it can sometimes be a challenge to develop empathy for others who might not be as similar to us. Any thoughts or advice?

Where I get my empathy from is really interesting, because I think it was always ingrained in me. Being an actress and a creative really helps me dive into different parts of the human experience that I never would have encountered in my real life. In a way, it feels like I’ve lived so many lives—whether it’s for an audition, a short film, or a feature—stepping into the shoes of people who are completely different from me while also getting to know myself in the process.
I think my empathy really deepened when I started to see the world as a lot of gray. Personally, I’ve always felt like I have the ability to see everybody’s side and understand why they do what they do. Being a creative plays such a huge role in that, because you play so many characters: the good guys, the bad guys, the sad girls, the happy girls—such a dynamic range of people. When you’re constantly stepping into that many perspectives, it becomes hard to judge others.
A lot of my empathy also comes from my family, especially both of my grandmothers. One of my grandmothers, JJ, worked in social work, was very active in volunteering within her community, and was deeply involved in her church. My other grandmother, Irene, is the kind of person you can call for five minutes and she’ll put you in a great mood. She knew everyone on her college campus, and everyone knew her. She was always helping kids in the community.
Then there’s my mom, who constantly reminded me, “Check yourself before you start blaming people.” She taught me the importance of self-awareness, and I think that was the root of where my empathy really started.
As a creative, my empathy expanded even more when I began diving deeply into characters. I’d find myself thinking, Wow, people actually go through these circumstances. Even if I haven’t lived those experiences personally, someone out there has—and I’m portraying a version of their truth. It made me realize how much shared pain and similarity exists among us, even when our lives look different on the surface.
Being a creative definitely gave me a deeper, almost heightened empathy for everything around me. And just being human—experiencing life alongside everyone else—has made me realize how many of us are going through the exact same things, maybe at different levels, but still connected. At some point or another, we’ve all been there.

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?

Hi, my name is Zari Alisha Rose. I’m a multi-hyphenate creative. I primarily work as an actress, I work in social media, and sometimes I even sew clothes. But above all, I try to live an adventurous life.
I’m going to be in one of my first feature films coming out soon called Short Fuse. I’ll share the release dates when I have them. I’ve been acting for as long as I can remember. I started studying acting formally when I was 15, and I really began acting professionally once I moved to L.A. seven and a half years ago. It has truly been a journey, but I’ve loved it. I’ve had the chance to book work and collaborate with so many amazing people, both in front of and behind the camera.
Outside of that, I just got a cat, and I’m actually developing her social media right now, which has been really fun. I do improv once a month with Imaginary Circumstances. I surf every Sunday during the summer—though right now it’s way too cold.
So yeah, that’s me. My name is Zari. I’m an actress, a multi-hyphenate creative, and someone who just loves diving into life.

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?

Three of the most impactful qualities and skills I’ve learned on my journey start with this: have some semblance of a plan, but be open to complete flexibility. What I mean by that is—plan something, but don’t get stuck in it. Living in L.A. has taught me that things can change at the drop of a dime. I’m type A some days and totally type B on others, and because of that, I’ve learned that sometimes you just have to throw the plan away and ride the wave that shows up. Just like in the ocean—you can’t surf every wave, but sometimes one comes along, and you just have to go with it.
The second thing is resilience. We don’t talk about resilience enough, especially in terms of how life happens whether you like it or not. I’ve been grieving for the past month—I lost three people in October—and it put me in a very different place emotionally. But at the same time, I received a lot of blessings. I had to hold space for all of it, not just be strong, but be resilient. That meant allowing myself to grieve and process, while also allowing myself to accept the gifts that came in without guilt or remorse—just gratitude. I learned that yes, I need time for pain, but I also need time to build myself back up every day. What that looks like for me might not be the same for someone else, but in my case it meant being honest with people that I was going through life, while still being willing to do the work required for my dreams. It meant setting boundaries, finding support systems, and committing to resilience in a real way. For me, that includes therapy and self-help work, both of which I’m doing right now.
The third thing is: have fun. Truly—have fun. Life is going to “life” regardless, so you might as well enjoy it. Have fun with your creative work. Your creativity should feel like play. Have fun in community. Find a community that helps you embrace joy in different ways. For example, there’s Fish and Scripts, where you can just read scripts for fun. And for me, I surf with the Black Surfers Collective. Yes, they wake me up at 6 a.m. on the weekend, but it ends up being the most fun part of my week—being in the water, having adventures, connecting with people.
Be a good friend. Travel to that country you’ve always wanted to go to. Prioritize your life—truly, prioritize your life. Creative projects will come and go, but you don’t get another version of your life to live. I’ve forgotten that at times since moving to L.A., getting caught up in bills and auditions and responsibilities. Sometimes I just need to remind myself that it’s okay to go to the beach, eat a sandwich, and vibe. It’s okay to go dancing. It’s okay to enjoy life.
You deserve to have fun, and you deserve to work hard—but don’t get so consumed by work that you forget to live. As artists, we need real life to fuel our creativity.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

The biggest thing I’ve been going through right now is holding space for grief. As I mentioned, I lost three people in October, which has been incredibly hard. At the same time, I’ve been booking jobs left, right, up, and down—which I’m truly blessed and grateful for. But holding space for both has been one of the toughest challenges for me. How do you make room for such a heavy amount of pain and grief while also receiving blessings you’ve been calling in for years? Years. That has been my biggest obstacle in this moment.
What has helped me so far is, honestly, my community, my mental health therapist, and, most importantly, gratitude. I’ve been deeply grateful for the people who impacted my life, of course, but also grateful for the opportunities that are finally coming in. I am incredibly, incredibly grateful, and that gratitude has carried me through.
I’ve also been embracing all of my gifts—whether that’s bringing people together, whether it’s acting and performing in ways that help me feel alive again and reconnect me to the craft, whether it’s taking classes, or spending more time at the beach. I’m still doing all of those things, and they’ve all been really helpful.
But the most helpful thing has been giving myself permission to feel whatever I’m feeling without regret or shame—just letting myself feel it. And at the same time, being utterly grateful for everything that’s being placed in front of me right now and everything that’s yet to come.
I have this certainty that even through all of these hardships, everything is ultimately working for my good. God and my ancestors wouldn’t play in my face—they’re taking me through this roller coaster because they have something incredible in store for me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zaralisha/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zari-rose-0ab82814a
• Other: UGC portfolio- https://ugczari.my.canva.site/Threads – https://www.threads.com/@zaralisha?xmt=AQF0qQKL4SdXgpiVpnFCTp9DN2Xw1RQnpCha-LbUfNp5aAAIMDB-https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3734012/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Image Credits

Rob Kirk Photography
Kevin Stevenson
Michael Cioni – Strada
DDO Productions LLC