Meet Nadine Marissa

Nadine was born in Houston, TX. She has spent the last four Seasons recurring as “Nabila” on AMC’s hit TV show “The Walking Dead”. Her role on the show has been groundbreaking as the first muslin character in the history of the series. Nadine has appeared on Hit shows such as Better Call Saul and The FX show “Baskets”. She spent over ten years in the Dallas Theatre scene where she completed her degree in Acting before moving to Los Angeles. She has spoken on various panels regarding diversity on the entertainment industry.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all, well, let me change that. We all struggle with things in our life especially when it comes to what we want to do for a living. I was fortunate enough to find my dream early in life, My calling and lucky enough to have the ability to go for it. So when I think about it that would be the part that came easy, knowing what I wanted to do. The hard part was having the guts to go for it. I faced so many struggles along the way. When I first started taking classes, I lived in Houston and my only days off with my company was Tuesday and Wednesday. The closest acting classes I could find was located in Dallas. Which was four hours away. I would drive there and take a class on those days and drive back home, then turn around and go to work the next day. I did that for six months before moving there. This was all while being a single parent. I just had to go for it.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am an actor, storyteller, and writer a all-around creator. If I had to say, I specialized in anything. It would be ability to find the joy in anything. I’m always looking for the silver lining and joy in any situation. I am most proud of myself for going for my dream. Betting on myself was the biggest thing I ever did and it has paid off. I have the privilege of bringing life the only muslin character on The Walking Dead. I think we are all different and have things that make us special. I know my special power is wanting everyone to have a voice and I love that I get to bring that voice to life and tell those stories. I love representation the screen.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
So many proud moments in my life. I would like to think that my best moments are still ahead of me. To be honest, I have so many proud moments. Every accomplishment has been so exciting for me but I would say being on The Walking Dead for the last four years is probably the biggest accomplishment for me that is so far….. but I’m not done yet.