Meet Kondwani Phiri

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kondwani Phiri.

Kondwani, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The present trajectory of my life story is a stark contrast to my origin—and even more so the era occupied in between. But my colorful life, both the positive and the negative, has culminated into the steadily sharpening picture of the future that I see before me.

I was born in Zambia, in the town of Kabwe, as the youngest of four boys. My family immigrated from Lusaka to East Lansing, Michigan when I was in grade school, much to my chagrin. My brothers and I were raised by our hardworking mother—I still can’t comprehend how she went back to college while working full-time to support us. (Shoutout to my mom, and all the dedicated mommas out there and their selfless sacrifices).

Before I could develop a real sense of self, I had to adapt. Moving from my mother country, which was steeped in my culture and boasted a bright array of people that looked like me, embodied my ideals, and judged me only on the content of my character, to a distinctly different, midwestern town, was…character building. The difference was black and white. I was forced to assimilate and learn; each ordinary day was transformed into a series of culture tests. I became accustomed to being the underdog. The overlooked. The discounted. In retrospect, I am grateful for it. Being “the kid from Africa” came with a slew of expectations, and lack thereof. My teachers anticipated a language barrier with a low achieving student from a developing country. What they were met with was a child that spoke five languages and had to be moved up two grades weeks into his arrival. I learned from an early age that you sometimes have to work twice as hard as your peers to prove yourself as at least equal. An unfortunate reality for a child, but it built a competitive work ethic in me, that I may not have developed otherwise.

This was the tune of my adolescent and teenage years. As an outsider of sorts, I grew up not fitting into any one box or wholly identifying with any single group of friends. It didn’t help that I was painfully introverted and quiet. But I was a keen observer of others, while also becoming very self-aware due to being different. So I had to actively transmute my meekness into false confidence to keep up with my hyper-social peers. I had to fake it. I had to act.

I had strong athletic abilities so track & field and football were defining elements of my identity, and I enjoyed the camaraderie. But I had creative interests that were, at the time, just hobbies. I played guitar, sang, wrote music, drew, and painted. I had a profound love for film, so I wrote shorts and directed them with my brothers during the summer. As one might imagine, the midwest offers few paths to a successful career in the arts. So, I was forced to stifle and sideline my creative interests in pursuit of more “realistic career options”. School was always easy for me and I managed to excel, especially in math and sciences. So, I went on to college as a student-athlete and received my degrees in human biology and chemistry. I crushed my MCATs, I landed genetic research position, and an emergency room job at an Ivy League university where I racked up all the necessary connections to open the doors to medical school or a career in scientific research. I checked all the boxes.

I have always adored the sciences and still do. They were stimulating, complex, and challenging. And, to be curt, I enjoyed science because I was pretty damn good at it. But there was something missing. Some lack of contentment. Some glowing ember that would emanate sparks each time I would take the stage with my guitar in front of a crowd with my band in college. Some THING that would charge my brain whenever I would step in front of my brother’s camcorder to shoot a dramatic scene, in the backyard, that we had written. I realized that that something was absent. This missing thing, this lost essence that made me brim with fulfillment, could only be found in the arts. I remember sitting in a genetic research lab miscounting cells under a microscope due to a very sobering thought: “If not now, then never”. I could put this career track on hold. I couldn’t put my dreams on hold. I realized I had to tourniquet the joy that was steadily seeping out of my life, and replenish myself with a more potent purpose.

My ultimate dream has always been to find success as a quality TV/film actor. I had to change my circumstances to make that a realistic possibility. I moved to LA 2.5 years ago with just my wits and a fierce determination. I never saw the value in my ancillary abilities until I moved here. What were considered hobbies extracurriculars in my upbringing, have become assets. My “off the job” skills are now a commodity. I hit the ground running and wasted no time educating myself and sharpening my craft. I was able to join SAG-AFTRA within the first two months of my relocation, I’ve managed to grow a respectable resume and have begun racking up some TV/film credits on major productions. I’ve cultivated personal relationships with notable casting directors, I also managed to land a fantastic manager at Rothman/Andres (you are incredible Lucia Chiao) last year. I have come very close to landing several career-changing roles—but there is a reason for everything, I tell myself. Patience is a virtue I possess in abundance. I am early in my career; I am currently seeking new agency representation across the board, for example, but I am optimistic. Notwithstanding, I have my sights aimed high, and I am working relentlessly until I hit my mark.

As longwinded as I can be when it comes to talking/writing about things that I love, I’d be remiss if I didn’t express my gratitude to some of the talented people that I have learned so much from in these past couple of years. I am still at ground level, but I have come to understand that you can’t make it to the top floor without the help of others. There have been a handful of folks that have placed their faith in my abilities and, subsequently, empowered me. Tamieka Briscoe is one such person. She is a wildly talented writer with one of the kindest hearts I have met in this industry. My longtime friend Will Slanger-Grant has been paramount in the progress that I have made—as a seasoned, LA-based actor, he has helped me avoid many pitfalls and has given me the most critical advice I have gotten since I moved to LA. I can’t thank my manager Lucia Chiao enough. She has gotten me into rooms I would not have been able to enter on my own, and continually provides me with grand opportunities.

The preface has set a strong tone for the coming chapters, but my story is still being written.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has been about as smooth as an unpaved country backroad. I came from a career that determined progress in a formulaic way (Yes. Intended). As an actor, you have to become comfortable with putting your soul out there and being told you’re not good enough even if you feel you may have done all of the “right” things—bouncing around LA multiple times a day, all week to auditions, then getting several callbacks, but ultimately not landing the role is tough on the psyche. So that has been a mental hurdle I’ve had to overcome. As a workaholic, late nights and early mornings are a recipe I’ve become Michelin starred in—I rarely allow myself to stagnate because I have it hardwired in my brain that the competition is not taking a breather. There is always something you can be doing to improve. I am a firm believer that positivity and hard work yields some beneficial results. BUT that can take its toll and it’s not easy to maintain and balance a social life. I’ve also had to overcome financial insecurity growing up, and most recently while transitioning to LA life. Moving to LA without a job, I did what most new actors do, which is wait tables. Working a thankless job for little money was a transition; especially while trying to chase a competitive dream. But progress is beautiful–thanks to booking consistent commercial work, I was able to do away with the serving gig. Hopefully, forever lol. The better times seem that much sweeter thanks to the difficult times.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a SAG-AFTRA actor. I have been in a long list of commercials as well as a few notable TV/Film projects–most recently, I co-starred in Insecure on HBO. I would say that I specialize, primarily, in dramatic acting. Film and TV are what inspire me. I am most proud of how much ground I have managed to cover in a relatively short amount of time. At the risk of sounding self-serving, I’ll say that what makes me different from others is that I have an acute, organic sense of understanding people, their emotions, and their motives/desires. My tumultuous and eventful life has shown me the breadth of what it means to be a person, and that allows me to siphon that into my acting. For example, I have experienced/witnessed love, loss, glee, anguish, greed, and frustration in Zambia, France, USA, and Colombia. Each emotion in a different language with very different cultural bases. I think a multilateral human experience can’t be emulated and adds a unique element to an actor’s performances. I have that.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
My answer is two-fold. My personal attestation would say that our city is a great place for someone in my industry that is willing to put in some hard work to reap the rewards. The opportunities are bountiful and your circumstances could change for the better in the blink of an eye. But, it also depends on who the someone is. Hollywood has come a long way in terms of inclusion, but we still have a ways to go. We can improve by having better representation on and off the screen–more faces of color are gracing the big screen, but casting for non-white, talent still makes up a disproportionately small percentage of available opportunities. We could do with a more diverse pool of casting directors as well. I can count on one hand the non-white casting directors that I audition for regularly or have a personal relationship with. We need more CDs like Vickie Thomas, Zora DeHorter, Anissa Williams, and Leah Daniels-Butler in this realm. This is important because the men and women in casting are people and are not immune to bias. I have also only ever had two black hair and makeup artists in my career. So some improvements can certainly be made, but I would still recommend that a person starting out in my industry start here.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 5179441475
• Email: kon48823@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kphiri/
• Other: https://www.lacasting.com/kondwaniphiri

Image Credit:
Cody Blue, Studio Roy, Randy Sollenberger

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