Monday, May 01, 2006

Sahara Garey: The Akeelah and the Bee Interview

By: Kam Williams

Adorable 14-year-old Sahara Garey was born in Houston, Texas on June 5, 1991.

She discovered her passion for acting at the very early age of nine when while watching a Juicy Juice commercial. She turned to her mom and said that she wanted to be on TV like the kids she was watching. Sahara was already heavily into the pageant circuit and so her mother, who has always been supportive, told her she had to pick which one she wanted to do. Since Sahara was up for trying something new, she chose acting!

The next year, her father’s job took the family to Los Angeles and in one short week, Sahara was signed to an agency. Her first job was in the kids TV pilot “The Pinky the Clown Show,” where she played a puppet who turned in to a real child who turned back into a puppet at the end. She followed that with a recurring role on the hit NBC daytime drama “Days of Our Lives,” and then with a string of guest-starring roles, which included NBC’s “American Dreams,” Disney’s “That So Raven,” and FX’s “The Shield.”

She can currently be seen in a supporting role in the Akeelah and the Bee opposite Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. In the movie, she plays Akeelah’s best friend, Georgia.

When she is not acting, Sahara loves doing typical teenage girl stuff, which includes, talking to her friends on the phone and chatting with them on her computer and she LOVES to shop. She even enjoys window-shopping. She also likes hanging out with her little brother Canyon and with her parents, who have taught her a biggest lesson in life, which is to keep striving for her dreams.

The Garey family currently resides in Los Angeles.

KW: How did you end up in show business at such an early age?

SG: Well, when I was really young, my Mom entered me in pageants. In the beginning, I wasn’t really into it that much, because I wasn’t really old enough to know what I was doing.

KW: What was it like doing kiddie beauty pageants?

SG: We traveled everywhere. And I had training in Tennessee like two times a month.

KW: As you got older, did you ever want to quit?

SG: At one point, my Mom gave me a break, but then I said, “I want to do that again!”

KW: So, when did you make the jump over to acting?

SG: When pageants kind of started getting old. I was watching TV, and I saw some kids, and I thought, “Hmm, maybe I can do that.” So, I asked my mother, “Ma, can I try doing the things those kids are doing on TV?” It was a Juicy Juice commercial. She was like, “Really? Are you serious about it? Is it something you really want to do?” I said, “Yeah, I want to try it.” And so, she said, “Okay, sure.”

KW: Did you find that the pageants prepared you for acting?

SG: Yes, they got me ready for acting, because being on stage and doing interviews built my confidence.

KW: What did you do next?

SG: We moved to California and got an agent. Since then, I’ve been taking acting classes, and auditioning, and dancing, and so many other things to try to get me to where I am now.

KW: Do you sing, too?

SG: Yes, I do. I sing country music. I’ve been singing country since I was little.

KW: Who’s your favorite country artist?

SG: Definitely, The Dixie Chicks! I love The Dixie Chicks!

KW: Are you thinking about a singing career?

SG: I would like to go for a singing career later, but I’m mostly working on my acting, because that’s really what I’m doing right now.

KW: Are you a fan of American Idol?

SG: Yes I am. I haven’t really watched very much of it this year, but I have watched it.

KW: Who are some of your favorites from previous years?

SG: There are so many of them. It’s kind of hard to remember all of their names. I have them in my head. I love them all. I really love Fantasia… and Kelly Clarkson…

KW: Are you planning to go to college?

SG: I have no choice. I have to go to college. During those years, I think that maybe I will keep doing my acting, but if it starts getting too hard, I will take a break. I’m definitely going to try to do both at the same time.

KW: Do you have any siblings?

SG: Yes, I have one brother. His name is Khanyon. He’s 11. He’s really into sports. He plays tennis and basketball, and wants to get into football.

KW: Are you and your Mom very close?

SG: Yes, she really helps me. In the beginning, I thought that I knew everything. But I have to admit that I didn’t know anything. Initially, I wasn’t getting call backs. After I started listening to her more, I was like, “Wow! She really does know what she’s talking about.” So, now I trust her a lot.

KW: Where did your Mom get her knowledge? Was she an actress?

SG: She attended a performing arts high school and graduated from Prairie View A&M with a degree in theater. She did do some acting, modeling and dancing.

KW: What was your big break?

SG: My very first TV show, I think, was “Days of Our Lives,” on NBC.

KW: What’s a kid doing on a soap opera?

SG: [Giggles] Well, there was this storyline where there was a murderer, but no one knew who the killer was. There was this Thanksgiving party where they had a humongous pinata. And you’ll never guess what was in the pinata: a dead body! I had to hit the pinata and then go, “Oh my God! It’s a dead body!”

KW: Was it upsetting playing that scene so young?

SG: It was kind of hilarious to me, but still kind of scary, you know.

KW: You’ve also been on “That’s So Raven.” What was that like?

SG: I had so much fun doing that, because my character was quite mean to Corey and that’s nothing like me. It’s kind of fun being mean and not like myself. She’d steal his popcorn, and he’d say, “I’ll save a seat for you.” And I’d reply, “Whatever.”

KW: How about your appearance on “The Shield”?

SG: Wow! I never, ever thought that I would be playing a girl cutting a baby out of a woman’s stomach, and killing the baby also. I never thought that I would do that.

KW: How did that make you feel?

SG: I don’t even have words for it. It’s kind of scary, you know?

KW: Yeah. What types of roles do you prefer comedy or dramatic?

SG: I think I’d like to try something really serious next. I don’t want to go for the roles that are just “ha-ha.”

KW: Tell me a little about Akeelah and the Bee.

SG: The movie is about so much more than just a spelling bee and a younger girl making it. It’s about all the struggles that she goes through and how she’s able to cope with that through her gift of spelling. There are so many people around her that want to help her do well, that she is able to get the whole community behind her on her way to the national spelling bee.

KW: Tell me a little about your character, Georgia.

SG: Georgia could be a good student but she skips class so many times to go shopping or to hang out. But she encourages Akeelah, because she sees so many qualities in her that she doesn’t think she herself has. Georgia aims lower, but she encourages Akeelah to aim higher.

KW: What school do you attend in real life?

SG: I’m home schooled in a home school program. I’m an independent worker. So, I’ll get my work like once a month, and I’ll do all of it. Every two weeks, I’ll meet a teacher and turn in my work. Then she’ll go over it. Since I don’t really have a teacher, I have to do a lot of reading and research for myself.

KW: Are you as good a speller as Akeelah?

SG: I don’t know if my spelling is as good as Akeelah’s, but I would definitely try to be as good.

KW: What advice do you have for kids who want to follow in your footsteps?

SG: I would tell them to go for it, go to acting classes, work hard, be uninhibited, and don’t ever say you can’t do it. Just do the best you can.

KW: What was it like working with Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett and Keke Palmer?

SG: I loved working with them all. They were all just really, really nice to me, and comforting. Laurence Fishburne would watch the dailies the day after we did a scene. He would come to me and say, “Sahara, you’re doing a great job. Keep it up!” That would just make my day and inspire me to work even harder. Angela Bassett was so sweet. She would talk to me and help keep me calm on the set. I just love her. And Keke was a hoot. She was always doing something that made me laugh. She’s really, really cool in person.

KW: Thanks for the interview. I hope you’ll give me another one, when you get really famous?

SG: Hey, no problem. I’ll keep that promise.

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