Dominique Fishback is an expansive force as an actress.
Dominique Fishback is an expansive force as an actress. She’s starred alongside giants like Samuel L. Jackson, Daniel Kaluuya, Jamie Foxx, and so many more, solidifying her talent as undeniable while wowing and wooing Hollywood and the viewing public one role at a time. But
while the world is slowly getting to know the superstar-in-the-making for her immense talents, Fishback is working on getting to know and loving herself beyond that.
“In 2019, I was going through this thing where I realized…I don't know if I love myself?” Fishback admitted. “I know I love myself as an artist. If it wasn't based off of what I could do, do I actually love myself? Do I actually talk to myself and treat myself as if I really love myself?” she pondered out loud.
On a sun-drenched April day, Fishback sauntered onto the set, her attire echoing the audacious spirit of the 1970s - high-
waisted bell bottoms and all. Her radiance was infectious, her demeanor resolute, yet her heart brimming with gratitude for being the focal point. Her feminine charm was inviting and resonated a sense of warmth. Fishback's allure pulls you in, a magnet commanding your attention without having to plead for it. Observing her effortlessly morph into an array of characters is a mesmerizing spectacle, but her most enchanting portrayal is when she's being herself.
“A quote that somebody told me that really resonated was ‘be yourself, love.’” Fishback shared the phrase she’s made a mantra. She’s become obsessed with living those words out loud and sharing its profundity with the world. In fact, Fishback got the phrase, “be yourself, love” tattooed on her left forearm in her mother’s handwriting. She shared, “I was showing up in ways that wasn't fully myself. I edited myself for fear that I would lose love or be alone.”
I was showing up in ways that wasn't fully myself. I edited myself for fear that I would lose love or be alone.”
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Fishback says she has respect for every role she inhabits, and her goal is always to leave room for the person she’s portraying just to be. “When I act, I always pray that I can be a vessel for the character to organically and authentically show up through me, that I can be gone and a clear vessel. It's almost like channeling, like existing as somebody else and allowing myself to do that.”
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I gotta be like Meryl Streep. Even when people don't like a project she does, they won't be able to say she can’t act.
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I believe that I am a divine spirit that is here to evolve this lifetime and learn how to be a master of my own emotions and to really manifest my own dreams.
Journaling has served as a therapeutic process for Fishback and she has adopted the practice to embody her characters more deeply. “Journaling as them [characters] is more like building a world. Even if you don't see it on-screen, you can see it behind the eyes. And so when I tell a story, I want somebody to look and be like, ‘Oh, she really experienced that story.’” This meticulous approach contributed to her standout performance as the supportive, soulful poet in the Shaka King-directed Judas and the Black Messiah, where she was far from a background love interest. Fishback’s discernment brought complex, crucial layers to her portrayal of Deborah.
She shared, “Panthers were very poetic people. So I told Shaka I think we missed an opportunity. If we don't hear one. He goes, ‘I agree. Do you want to take a shot at that poem?’”
That’s Fishback – a daring artist whose instincts she regards as an unwavering gospel, coupled with undeniable talent to back it all up.
When the call came for Swarm, she was initially considered for the role of Marissa (played by Chloe Bailey). But Fishback desired the role of Dre and made her intentions clear to Donald Glover. “I knew that if I didn't ask, I was not going to be
able to sleep at night. I was gonna be tossing and turning, thinking, ‘Why not speak up? Why not say something?’ Because I know I can do it,” Fishback confessed. It’s apparent that this role was predestined for her.
Amidst the rush to seize the next role, to reaffirm to the world that she’s the 'It Girl', Fishback seeks more. She is a woman who contains multitudes and resists the confines of boxes. We are witnessing Fishback in the process of tender transformation.
Her world teems with love. From her family and friends to the neighborhood of East New York and everyone else in between, she exudes love and loves fiercely. This is one of the reasons she is committed to ensuring that her self-love extends beyond her talents as an actress. “When you have compassion for yourself, you're able to extend it to other people a little easier,” Fishback remarked.
She’s not afraid to express her longing for romantic love as well. “I wanna be loved!” she exclaimed playfully, yet a sincere plea was woven in. Our beloved artist is softening, summoning her divine feminine to balance her East New York grit. Growing up, Fishback was always seen as one of the boys, engaging in football, basketball, fence-climbing, etc. Her rugged upbringing made her feel distant from her divine feminine, but she’s gradually discovering it through her sensuality. Now residing in sunny Los Angeles, Fishback has embarked on new adventures: pole and heel dancing classes, making non-dairy yogurt parfaits, and practicing rooftop yoga – a truly softer chapter in her life.
Growth is a blessing and the world is grateful because Fishback is flowering right before our eyes. And oh, what a glorious sight to behold. Through her portrayal of “Donna” in The Deuce, “Deborah” in Judas and the Black Messiah, and “Dre” in Swarm; no matter the role, the effect of Fishback lingers, much like the scent of fresh florals. The 32-year-old woman, who effortlessly transforms into characters on-screen, has always wanted to be seen, be heard and to deliver. “I want to be like Iverson. He's clutch as soon as he gets in the game!” Fishback exclaimed. “I gotta be like Meryl Streep. Even when people don't like a project she does, they won't be able to say she can’t act.”
That acting bug bit Fishback at a young age, and since the nibble, she has been in a chokehold. When she was 8 years old in East New York, a musical theater company visited her school, changing her little life. “I was like, ‘man, I gotta do that!’” Fishback reminisced. Four years later, Fishback auditioned for LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and didn’t get in. She then let her music dreams die (she’ll eventually find herself back with music), but kept pursuing acting and when she was 15, her mom told her she would be a big sister.
“I knew at that moment that my mom was not going to be able to get me into acting. She was going to have a brand new baby and I would have to do it for myself,” Fishback said. She was determined and found a free acting program for kids in New York City and auditioned and once again was rejected. Imagine if she gave up on her dreams after those rejections! When the last company that rejected her called her back for something else, Fishback had no idea their rejection would open doors for the greatness she’s accomplished thus far. A woman told her about The MCC Theater Youth Company and that to be a part of it, you had to write your own stuff. Fishback found fertile soil to plant the seeds of her acting career.
“So I started writing and acting at the same time and finding my voice on stage,” she said. And then she went on to college at Pace University for theater and it was there where she wrote her one-woman show, Subverted, inspired by a racist classmate who claimed that if Black men in low-income communities dressed “normally,” they wouldn't be stopped by police. Who’s going to tell him? Fishback did. Her one-woman show tackles Black identity and equality through 22 characters that Fishback handles gracefully. With praise and support from David Simon, Jamie Foxx and Gloria Steinem, it’s clear that Fishback has staying power in a fickle industry.
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Fishback confided, “A lot of times in wounded, masculine energy in women, being from Brooklyn, it’s like, ‘I gotta do that myself.’ The feminine that is taught to receive, and I can still manifest and get the dreams that I want when I allow myself to receive.” Independence and self-sufficiency are laudable, but there is a softer, more receptive side within that can be nurtured. Fishback is starting to feel this transformation. “Before, I had to get out of my hood and I wanted to so bad, I really had that action drive like, I'm gonna get it at all costs! And then I got there and then that action drive wasn't working for me anymore. I just felt burnt out. I felt tired. It's like why do I have to fight for everything? What if I don't have to fight? What if I get to sit back now and receive and believe that the seeds that I've planted and that God has shown me; my testimony has always been that has been elevated, so why am I going to move as if it hasn't been?”
It’s as if Fishback has been conducting a symphony of her life, and suddenly, she’s shifted the tempo - from a fervent presto to a serene andante. And that's when the magic happened - our gentle, relentless heroine has discovered the tools to anchor herself, emerging as the breathtaking blossom sprouting from the fertile soil. Fishback is blooming.
Her journey resembles a powerful overture that leaves the audience in awe. The spotlight is on her, the curtain is up, and every act of her life's drama reveals a scene more enchanting than the previous. Fishback, a dreamer, a believer, and a woman of many layers, embraces life's grand stage unabashedly and unapologetically.
Our soft girl has discovered the means to anchor herself, emerging as a stunning bloom in the fertile soil of the life she’s manifested.
“I can't have the perspective of, ‘I'm trying to play this character that Will Smith played.’ When Will Smith was doing the original, he was up there really actually being Will Smith. That was him, the character was his name,” he explains. “I use the experiences that I've had, my charisma, and the things that I've been through to empower the character in each circumstance. Half of the character is like I'm playing Will, and then half of it is, ‘this is Jabari, and this is my life that I'm going through.’ I think that’ll grow from season to season.”
Bel Air is just the beginning for Jabari Banks. He’s currently prepping to shoot alongside Benedict Wong and Callina Liang in Bad Genius, a heist thriller about high school students who are cheating on the SAT— an English language remake of the hit 2017 Thai film. He also hopes to play characters in fantasy films because he wants to see more Black people in those sorts of roles. He refuses to be typecast in the role of Will.
Along with growing as an actor, he has taken a couple of lumps growing up in the public eye. During the first press run for the show, he appeared on The Breakfast
Club with DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God, and Angela Yee. He told the co-hosts that he had musical talents and wanted to freestyle on air. They played a few beats at the end of the interview but he repeatedly fumbled his rhymes. Charlamagne teased him for it. Banks says people with the show promised multiple times that they’d edit the segment cutting the freestyle, but the video was published with mention of his freestyle in the headline.
“I remember when that first came out, I was so hurt and I was so worried. But I'm okay with not being perfect, because I feel like a lot of people can resonate with that. I'm not who I want to be yet,” he said. “I'm okay with showing that side and showing that I'm still a developing artist, as we all are. I'm still budding and blossoming, and I'm excited for people to see that. Thank you to the Breakfast Club for giving me
that opportunity.”
With the long career ahead of him that he hopes for, he’ll have accomplishments and mistakes alike. He seems prepared for both.
Langston Sessoms
Bexx Francois
Anita Nixon
Danielle Young
Yesha Callahan
Charlotte Harris
Brandy Allen
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When you have compassion for
yourself, you're able
to extend it to other people a little
easier...
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Fishback regards herself as a vessel in the grand tapestry of life. “I believe that I am a divine spirit that is here to evolve this lifetime and learn how to be a master of my own emotions and to really manifest my own dreams.” This Brooklyn Belle is a dream weaver, and she attributes her belief in her ability to manifest her desires to her current standing. Fishback asserted, “I believe that we create our own reality in the things that we say and the things that we do. I'm conscious of that and so I try to speak that every chance that I get.” She believes her faith in the power of her words will steer her toward a fulfilling life. She nurtures a similar aspiration for the characters she portray, and it all starts with bringing words to life on paper.
Fishback began documenting her thoughts when she was twelve, her journals brimming with ambitious dreams, such as performing a one-woman show, collaborating with Jamie Foxx, and starring in a movie akin to Transformers. Reflecting on her journey, Fishback mused, “When I was a kid, I watched the first Transformers and I said, ‘Man, I want to do something like that.’ I didn't actually think that it would be Transformers!” However, that’s the magic of her manifestation prowess. This past weekend, audiences will witness Fishback shine as Elena, a savvy artifacts researcher in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, alongside her Brooklyn compatriot Anthony Ramos, along with Michelle Yeoh and Colman Domingo. The dreams once confined to her journal pages have materialized into reality!
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