Life & Work with Jameel Shivji

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jameel Shivji.

Jameel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
At 12 years old, I annoyed my parents to the point where they finally gave in and moved our family from Fremont, CA to Burbank, CA so I could become an actor. From there on, I immersed myself in improv and scene study classes which led to me recurring on Nickelodeon’s ‘100 Things to Do Before High School’ amongst other TV shows.

Through the seven years I’ve been acting, I experienced an industry where “diversity” was an empty word that people claimed to support but did little to prove it. Whether it was claiming to be committed to a diverse cast and then casting an all-white or white-passing cast, or being told in auditions to “speak my own language,” or reading scripts where white people were saving stereotyped brown people- I’ve faced the consequences of an industry that scarcely embraces diversity, though year by year it has progressed. From working in these types of environments, I made it my mission to be, promote, and fight for diverse accurate representation. When I began “CastAsidePodcast.com” a few years back, my goal with it was to personalize the word “diversity” by talking to all types of artists who are members of marginalized communities. Though the pandemic sadly put a roadblock in the podcast, I’ll always strive to put accurate representation and diversity at the forefront of my work in acting, podcasting, screenwriting, and hags.app.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In all honesty, I went from living in a predominantly Asian American/Indian neighborhood and school to moving to a predominantly Caucasian neighborhood in LA and working in that kind of industry. The culture shock of it was difficult to realize in myself and then even more difficult to get over. I found myself continuously comparing myself to people I shouldn’t have compared myself to. Because, as a pre-teen, I was insecure about being chubbier than my acting friends and with also being brown and Muslim, I had trouble with confidence. It was then hard to see all the type-castings I would get over and over because even though acting really is my true passion, it got to the point where I believed I, as Jameel, could only be like those side characters. It was through my love for acting and screenwriting, however, that I saw how special my individual voice is. For me, that confidence was everything for me to fight back and say “No. You see me this way, well I see myself in this way” and though I still face struggles as a minority in this industry, I am more excited to face them because I can fight back and hopefully make a difference in the process.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an actor most known for my recurring spot on Nickelodeon’s ‘100 Things To Do Before High School,’ a guest spot on Jimmy Kimmel, a spot on ‘Better Things’ on FX, and my most notable role as Mason on TBS’s ‘The Detour. Though I am proud of all of them, I am definitely most proud of my arc on ‘The Detour.’ That entire experience, from filming in Canada to learning how to drive a stick shift for the show (and almost crashing it) to portraying a character inspired by someone as iconic as Hasan Minhaj and working with Comedy moguls like Jason Jones, it was an absolute dream. I learned so much about myself as a person and as an actor. Before I even got to set, I was ecstatic because not only was I a fan of the show, but I was also going to be portraying a Muslim character for the first time. That meant a lot to me and was a responsibility I felt ready for- it’s not often Muslims are even on mainstream TV, so I wanted it to be unstereotypical. To all roles, I strive for an accurate representation of whatever their origins are and always approach it from a screenwriter’s pov AND an actor’s pov. This way, I can service and perhaps even improve upon the text the best I can.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I like to say I was binge-watching TV before it was a thing. I remember for every birthday, I would ask all my friends to get me iTunes gift cards, so I could binge shows like ‘Avatar The Last Airbender’, ‘House of Anubis’, or anything CW. I have two older sisters, so they influence a lot of what I watched like ‘The OC’ and those types of shows. I am also a Harry Potter fanatic, I even wore a Gryffindor tie to my 4th-grade school photo. No regrets.

Contact Info:

• Website: imdb.me/jameelshivji
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameelshivji/?hl=en
• Other: CastAsidePodcast.com

Image Credits
Main image/headshot: David LaPorte