Rising Stars: Meet Havon Baraka of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Havon Baraka.

Hi Havon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was 5-years-old soon-to-be-cinephile and I was watching some movie with kids in it — I WANT to say “Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom” — but I can’t say for sure. Anyway, I had said out loud that I wanted to be an actor and my father said to me (and I will NEVER forget these words) “you’re too ugly to be in front of a camera”. I took that literally. Not as cruelty, but as a fact to the point where it hadn’t actually hurt my feelings. It was just like “2+2 = 4 and Von is not meant to be on screen” so I quickly gave that dream up before it even started, but I STILL knew I wanted to be involved in film in SOME capacity. I just didn’t know what yet.

Now my path towards writing was admittedly silly and simple. It happened not even a week after. I was watching “Barney” one day with my Mom and I did NOT like the episode’s ending and I said that to her. She casually responded “well, write a better ending”. I, again, took a parent literally and answered the challenge. I quickly wrote up a new ending and I remember the expression on her face. She was genuinely impressed and a bit shocked and THAT had made my day. My mom wasn’t the easiest person to get a compliment from and I enjoyed the process of writing this “Barney Episode: The Von Cut” so much that I wrote more episodes and then I wrote original stories then I wrote different genres and then different mediums and so forth. I had a lot of communication issues growing up that still follow me to this day and I struggled a lot with obtaining and maintaining friendships. It was fine though — I had my characters. With writing, I was able to express my thoughts, wants, fears, curiosities way better with the help of my characters. I communicated in my art in a way that I, myself, couldn’t in the world. Writing was the best friend that I didn’t know I needed.

I remember coming home one day and my father had found my stories. He had them for hours but he wanted me to watch him rip them so shreds stating “reading and writing is for the white man” and he beat the CRAP out of me. Still, it didn’t deter me. Just made me motivated and mad. So I became that cliche kid writer who would wait at night and write with the flashlight in the dark. I needed to write. I had to write. My father took a lot from me, but I refused to let him take writing away from me. I think writing will always mean so much to me because I had to fight so hard just to do it.

I could go into a whole saga of my childhood and adolescence, but to sum it up — growing up an Afro-Latino nerd on the spectrum in the hood was fun, funny and fucked up. I’ve had a very colorful life which has only helped me become a better storyteller and it’s helped shape me to be the eccentric entertainer that I am today.

Fast forward to going to college majoring in “Playwriting & Screenwriting” where I met my de facto mentor who helped me vastly improve my writing skills. He also got me to start doing standup to help deal with my childhood trauma. My mentor’s best friend was another one of my college professors who highly recommended I try acting. She asked me “have you ever thought about it?” and I told her “every day”. I remember telling her as much as I wanted to act, I couldn’t (remembering and restating my father’s words to her) and she was horrified. She was so empathetic though. Her exacts words — “Oh my God, no no no — sweetheart you are NOT ugly… and even if you WERE there’d STILL be a place for you in Hollywood”. She was awesome. Fast forward to me throwing my hands up at a dead end casino job where I left in rather cinematic fashion like a true theater geek — hopped into my car and drove 42 hours STRAIGHT to LA.

I saw a post on Backstage for a scene study course. I thought “fuck it” and in a lame attempt at defiance against my father I applied. What they DIDN’T say was that the entire class critiques your acting performance after your scene. Some actors couldn’t handle it — I was down! I thought “I can’t get any better unless I hear the constructive criticism” because I HAD NO TRAINING. I wasn’t in an acting class. I didn’t have a coach. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I go up. I act my scene. I gave it my all. Probably soiled myself afterwards. And then I waited to be torn to shreds… but it never came. They liked my performance. I was shocked. I even had a few people ask if I could audition for their short film. I was so grateful and I still am grateful for every time I’ve gotten booked, every time I’ve gotten a callback– Hell, every time I’ve even been considered. Because I have been told from Day 1 that I don’t belong. So when a casting director calls me in just to see me for a few seconds regardless of the outcome, I take it as their way of saying “Hey, maybe there’s a chance that you DO belong”.

Alright, 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?
I won’t bore anyone with the typical details of financial strain or drops in confidence and not that those are NOT very real issues that artists face every day. I just don’t find mine to be any more tragic or interesting than ones people have already heard. For me, it’s always been interpersonal relationships. I was supposed to move to LA with two friends — it didn’t happen. I was planning to coming to LA with the girl I was ready to give my heart to — it didn’t happen. And that’s nothing against them. Life doesn’t turn out the way we think and in the end maybe it was a good thing that I came out here expecting failure. Because I often go “fuck it” and just jump in the end of the pool. At least that way I can sleep with the comfort that if it was only ONE SHOT that I had, I gave it the BEST SHOT that I could. That I gave it my all.

Following your dream is an adventure, but it too often is a solo adventure for people. I feel everyone knows that the roads traveled to “success” and “happiness” if you go it alone it is Life on Hard Mode. If you add players and create a team, it can and will become easier. The tragedy is that people will too often choose to go it alone. How many movies do we see where the answer all along was “the power of friendship” or “the triumph of love”. I notice that artists are often only together in loneliness.

I was desperate for friendship and companionship– quickly discovered the hard way that not everyone smiling means you well. I had a HUGE culture shock coming from the East Coast to the West. Yes, I do believe there is a certain level of truth to the adage “West Coasters are nice, but not kind whereas East Coasters are kind, but not nice”– but I also believe that I was my own obstacle for a long time. Probably still. I had/have a lot of self-work that needed to be done before I could consider making close or deep bonds with people.

There was a lot of trauma that I hadn’t dealt with before I made the efforts to find a therapist and support groups and opening up to friends and being even more vulnerable in my scripts. Writing and friendship definitely keeps me going in acting. I think my father’s abuse had left me pessimistic and blind to the possibility that people COULD like me. People might WANT to be my friend. That people might FIND me not horrible looking. It’s still something I have to work at every day. But it manifests in that inner voice saying “you can’t” or “you shouldn’t”. It is incredibly hard for me to believe people see ME and like what they see. That people could look at me and root for me.

So that coupled with being in a city that is notorious for being “dog eat dog”– it messes with your head. It makes you not send in those scripts to be read, even though someone’s been WAITING to know your story. It makes you NOT go for that role even though maybe you were who they were looking for. It makes you NOT tell that person you’re intrigued or infatuated with them and want to see where things could go. I have definitely been one of the greatest obstacles while I’ve been here. I’d like to try and be an ally to myself. I’d like to do things not to just spite my father or make my mother proud– but because I believe in myself. Sometimes we have to clap for ourselves too.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I consider myself a writer who acts. I do enjoy and respect the craft of acting and I’ve been SO BLESSED as to having the opportunity to work with great people and I’m not just talking about the already established. There are a number of people that I’ve had the pleasure of working with and when I see them do their thing, I just smile and think in my head “wow, you’re going to be BIG because you’re already GREAT and I got the opportunity to work with you”.

What sets me apart is I notice in media it’s usually simple characters going through complicated things whereas I tend to have complicated characters going through simple things. Someone once said they love reading my work because as they say ‘it’s a roller coaster that changes every time you get back on again. It just adds to the excitement”. I can be meticulous with my work. No word spoken is throwaway. No deed done is random. As a puzzle enthusiast, I often see my scripts as a jigsaw. Every piece has to be placed in a specific spot.

The goal– the DREAM– is to be a showrunner for either a sitcom or a horror TV series. I specialize in horror, comedy and romance. I’m unfortunately not known for my writing currently– crossing my fingers that will be different in a couple of years. I’m more known for the roles I’ve played (which I emphasize is still a blessing). Writing wise, I’m most proud of a romantic horror novel I came up with right before I left Jersey called “The Ones Who Get Away”. It has by far the best protagonist I’ve ever written. Every person that’s read even a single chapter of it or lets me talk about it is captivated. I love it. I love all of it. I plan to adapt it into a TV series. I’m also proud of a hood thriller I came up with based on my adolescence called “Judas Streets” originally a feature script, but I’ve been currently adapting it into a TV series.

Acting wise, I’m probably most proud of either my role on “Station 19” because it was my first and I felt like a kid in a candy store and my biggest thought was “don’t fuck this up!” and somehow I didn’t. Either that or definitely my role on “The Equalizer” because I got to work with Queen Latifah who I enjoyed watching since “Living Single”, “Set It Off”, “Stranger Than Fiction”– the list goes on! She was so and encouraging. To this day she has said one of the kindest things a co-star has ever said to me. I’ll always be thankful for that show and for her.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
Okay so I am a HUGE Batman fan (would it be best to say Bat-fan? Batmaniac?) Don’t worry, this is important.

Anyway! One time there was a horrible snowstorm and my Mom was at her job at one of the casinos. I was home alone with my oldest brother. They requested she stay at the job overnight and she refused because her kids were at home. She said the only way she’d stay is if my brother and I were to be picked up and safely brought to the casino and could also stay at the hotel for free. Not ONLY did they honor her requests, my mother knew I loved limousines as a kid. Made me feel like a prince for whatever reason.

She had a limousine pick us up from the house and drive all the way to her job. She even was given my own butler! It was awesome! He escorted us to the hotel room. Said we could order anything on cable or from room service and it would be FREE of charge. Now even though I was a little kid I was NOWHERE near gullible. So I made sure to get verification so no fast ones were being pulled on me or my mother. This is how the conversation went.

YOUNG VON: So just to be clear — I can order ANYTHING on pay per view and it won’t be charged.

BUTLER: Yup!

YOUNG VON: And I can order ANYTHING from room service– nothing will be charged?

BUTLER: Exactly!

YOUNG VON: I can have all the pizza and ice cream I want?

BUTLER: Anything you want or need, you just let me know.

YOUNG VON: Can I call you ‘Alfred’?

BUTLER: Absolutely not.

And then he left. He made good on his word though so I was pretty close! I ordered a RIDICULOUS amount of ice cream like I was Kevin in “Home Alone 2”. My brother immediately fell asleep so I watched all the newest horror movies. And I could see my Mom pretty much any time I wanted. I was a kid in heaven. So I may not have been “Bruce Wayne”, but it was the closest I had ever been! I felt like the Prince of Atlantic City that day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackbrucewayne/
• Twitter: https://x.com/bitterblerd

Image Credits
Chris Jon