From the age of five, Laila Pruitt has worked alongside some of the biggest names in the industry. Balancing acting and school, Laila is an avid reader, activist and a star in 50 Cent’s latest show BMF.
I read you’ve been acting since five and have worked with actors such as Denzel Washington and now 50 Cent. What’s it been like working with such big names in the industry?
It’s really inspiring! I’ve said before that I’d really like to be a sponge and soak up as much knowledge as I can from industry greats. Denzel Washington is obviously a goat in this industry, so I’ve learned a lot from him. I’ve also learned a lot from 50 Cent from a behind-the-scenes aspect in the industry, but just as helpful.
How does your work in BMF differ from other roles you’ve played?
BMF is different because it’s a true story. So, it wasn’t like I had free reign with all the character’s aspects. I had to sort of embody someone different. With some of the roles I’ve done in the past, I could sort of maneuver and make them more like me, but with Nicole, she is pretty different than me. She’s not necessarily an introvert but, she’s much less of an extrovert than I am. Her brothers are Terry and Meech Flenory whom she looks up to because they’re her big brothers and also because they’re making money, but she’s kind of caught in between her parents and her brothers. So it was an interesting role to take on.
Can you talk about the scene where your boyfriend sacrifices himself for you? How did that impact you?
It was a beautiful scene; it was so well written and so well shot. When I first read it, I actually was kind of worried, first because I really loved hanging out with Raymond Seay, who plays the character of Darius…I was so sad that his character was going away, but also because I was thinking Darius is trying to save Nicole and she’s just running away. .the audience is going to hate Nicole because she’s just running away.
That was actually the first day that I met Kofi, who plays Lamar and is just an awesome actor. That scene was really meticulous and specific to shoot and I think that was one of the reasons why it was so good because we put so much work and effort into it and everybody was on their “A” game that day. It was great to be on set that day.
Is there anyone specific that you would like to work with in the future?
Lakeith Stanfield, Jharel Jerome, Ms. Viola Davis, Marsai Martin, and Ms. Ava Duvernay…I want to work with everybody!
Can you give our readers an idea of what it’s like balancing school and acting as a teenager?
I’m definitely still working on grasping the idea of a schedule, which is key to balancing. When we were actually filming BMF and I was also in school during that time, I was having to balance school on set and work, eating healthy, exercising, etc. so I’ve been perfecting scheduling and getting better with balancing my schedule.
Outside of acting, what are your hobbies?
I love reading. Like dystopian books, and historical fiction…those are my two favorite genres. Lately, I’ve been getting into historical non-fiction. I also like watching TV and analyzing scenes from different movies.
You’re also into activism. Describe what that looks like for you?
For me, I kind of think about it in phases. There is an education phase, an activism phase, where you’re actively protesting or writing letters or sending emails to representatives and then there is the educating phase, where you’re telling your peers and people that you’re surrounded by, to lift each other up, so we can all have a good understanding of what’s going on in your world. I kind of try to coexist in all three phases, and the things that I do know; I try to make sure my friends are up on. I also ask questions to make sure I know and do my own research, watch the news and read books about the different issues going on in the Black community and the world. Just really trying to stay educated. That’s where my head is right now—that’s what I’m most focused on right now.
How would you advise young women your age to get involved?
I think it’s really easy! Everyone has social media pages right now. If you don’t know who your representatives are, do a quick Google search and look up their social media page. You don’t necessarily have to follow who you don’t support on social media, but I think it’s important to know their moves and where the heads of the representative are that you support and don’t support, because it gives you a good idea of “both sides”. Also being educated on the history and the origins of this country and how the world sort of began, gives more understanding as to why the world is the way it is today. Being educated like that really helps prevent ignorance. We don’t know what we don’t know but trying to combat that is important.
At 17 you’ve done so much, but I saw you were also interested in directing. Can we expect something from you in the near future?
Well, I’m in the middle of developing a couple of different projects. One is in the pre-production phase and the other is going between pre-production and actual production…filming because I sort of have to do it as I go, for the type of project that it is. So just be on the lookout for those two projects.
I got into directing and sort of creating my own projects a few years ago. As I got older and started to see just how long and unpredictable the acting and audition process can be, making my own seat at the table, started to become really prominent for me.
LÍs
