Abena Interviewed Tatyana, No Lie

We are all aware of the saying ‘always look your best because you never know who you may run into’, well I forgot this saying when I left my house for work last week. I just couldn’t be bothered; the weather was horrible and I was already running late so I literally put on the first thing I could find and kept it moving. Big mistake.

When I arrived at work I thought it would be another normal day at the office. Little did I know this particular day would be anything but normal. My days at the office are usually the same; I check my emails, do my daily tasks and assist my boss wherever I’m needed. Pretty straight forward so when my boss turned around and asked “Abena can you do me a favour?” I wasn’t expecting her request to be anything out of the ordinary. I wasn’t expecting her to finish her sentence with, “Could you go and interview Tatyana Ali for a feature in the magazine”. At that moment I promise you I nearly choked on the biscuit I was eating. One thing I hate is feeling unprepared, I’m not that kind of person that “goes with the flow” or “lives in the moment”. I like things to be organised and to know plans ahead of time otherwise I feel flustered and anxious. There was no time for my over thinking so I simply smiled and replied “Yes, sure.” I would have been a fool to turn down this opportunity.

On the way to meet Tatyana Ali I kept asking myself “what am I going to ask Ashley from the Fresh Prince” I had to get my act together fast. I’d been waiting for an opportunity to prove myself and here it was. There was no time to worry about how I looked or my nerves, I had to be confident in order to deliver a great interview. I arrived at Tatyana’s hotel 15 minutes early so I had time to freshen up. Luckily I found my favourite lipstick at the bottom of my bag, I wasn’t going to let her see looking a total mess. As I patiently waited  I continuously read over the questions I wrote down on my train ride.  Her representatives had given me 30 minutes to speak to her so I wanted to make sure I had enough questions to make the interview run smoothly. Before I knew it my time to prep was over and Tatyana was walking right towards me with the biggest smile on her face, thank God Americans are so friendly. Her warm presence made everything so much easier, I had nothing to be worried  about. 

We all know Tatyana is beautiful but it is her sweet and genuine spirit that makes her so endearing,  it’s no surprise she's lasted so long in the entertainment business. Did you know she’s 33? Yes THIRTY THREE! 10 years older than me and we look like age mate’s lol. Many child stars fail to make the transition into an adult performer, it is amazing that Tatyana has a career that spans longer than my life time and she hasn’t lost her way. 

You started your career in the early 90’s and you’ve grown up before our eyes to become this beautiful woman...we’ve seen many child stars losing their way. How have you kept your feet firmly on the ground within this industry?

TA: Well I started acting when I was 4 and I think people forget that child actors and child performers are children and so they probably give them more responsibility and credit than they should. If you lose your way as a child star it’s usually because you are a child and you don’t have grown ups around that are guiding you and helping you to grow. I have amazing parents and an amazing family. They really looked out for me and protected me. Even the grownups I’ve worked with in my career have done the same thing. It takes protection and my parents always told me “no” {laughs} Whether I was an actor or not or on a TV show or not. I think that’s probably why. Also they instilled in me that is what I do and I love what I do but it’s not everything that makes me who I am. There are other things that are really cool about me too {laughs}

Overall I would say the interview was a success, its a shame I can't share the whole interview on my blog. I really hope they use it in the next issue of the magazine but if they don't I'm still grateful for the opportunity.  

AK

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