DETROIT (AP) 鈥� With countless auditions, constant rejection and a calendar that's often in flux, acting professionally can be anxiety-inducing. Once success comes, there can then be added pressure to keep the momentum going, book more jobs, be seen in the right places, and strike while the iron is hot.
Iman Vellani, who had her big break earlier this year as the star of 鈥� 鈥� on Disney+, and will next appear in 鈥淭he Marvels鈥� movie alongside Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris, is pacing herself and not concerned with the Hollywood rat race.
鈥淚 am taking a bit of a break right now," said the actor over Zoom. 鈥�'The Marvels' was extremely stressful on my body, physically and mentally, and it was a lot. I was away from home for like two years and I was only 17 when I left. I am spending time with my family right now and living the nice, calm Ontario life.鈥�
Vellani's maturity, enthusiasm and acting skills have led to her becoming one of The Associated Press鈥� of 2022, alongside stars including Sadie Sink, Simone Ashley, Daryl McCormack and fellow Marvel standout Tenoch Huerta.
Now 20, Vellani could attribute some of her Zen perspective to wise words from Samuel L. Jackson while filming 鈥淭he Marvels.鈥�
鈥淚 remember when Sam Jackson was on set, I had this whole laundry list of questions for him. And I was asking him like, 鈥榃hat are the best characteristics of an actor?鈥� And he was like, 鈥楶atience.' I was like, 鈥榊es, Sam, you鈥檙e right, patience.' After that, I never complained, ever. If anything took longer than 5 minutes or 10 minutes or coming to set and not even working, you know, it鈥檚 all part of the job. You have to understand, there鈥檚 so many moving parts.鈥�
While she wants to continue with showbiz beyond Marvel, Vellani remains open to possibilities and has two criteria: 鈥淚 just want to meet cool people and do cool things.鈥�
"I have so much to learn ... I feel Marvel Studios compared to the rest of Hollywood is such a different world. I want to experience what鈥檚 out there. I鈥檓 in a very lucky position where I鈥檓 able to do that, and I鈥檝e built so many incredible connections at this point. So yeah, I don鈥檛 know where life is going to take me, but I鈥檓 excited and obviously I will work for Marvel until the day I die. I鈥檓 loyal.鈥�
She's not kidding about being a Marvel fan. Vellani read the comics and watched the films before the opportunity to act in 鈥淢s. Marvel鈥� was even on her radar. Because of her own fandom, she's especially encouraging and open to those who recognize her and want to chat.
鈥淚鈥檝e lost my anonymity now. I don鈥檛 really mind," said Vellani. 鈥淵es, it's annoying to kind of lose the ability to have a first impression, but it means so much when people . I鈥檝e had so many great conversations with people. I just like to picture them watching the show."
Vellani says she had 鈥渁 two-year countdown" to prepare her for fame. 鈥淚 got cast during the pandemic. How rare is that that someone actually gets to mentally prepare for two years to know how their life is going to change? Because I鈥檝e seen it happen to like the Tom Hollands and the Chris Hemsworths of the world, I kind of knew what to expect."
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For more on AP鈥檚 2022 class of Breakthrough Entertainers, please visit: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-breakthrough-entertainers
Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press
