Wilder Yari: The Multi-Disciplinary Test That Keeps Actors Sane in a High-Churn Industry

As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Wilder Yari — currently starring in “4400”.

This year, Wilder can be seen in The CW’s highly anticipated sci-fi drama series, “4400,” a reimagining of the 2004 USA Network series. The new version follows 4400 overlooked, undervalued or otherwise marginalized people who vanished without a trace over the last hundred years and are all returned in an instant, having not aged a day and with no memory of what happened to them. As the government races to analyze the potential threat and contain the story, the 4400 themselves must grapple with the fact that they’ve been returned with a few…upgrades, and the increasing likelihood that they were all brought back for a specific reason. Wilder shines as Agent Jessica Tanner who is a part of the Department of Homeland Security and working on the investigation into the 4400. She is dating Keisha (Ireon Roach), a parole officer who is also called in as part of the government response. Confident, good-hearted and a consummate professional at work, Jessica is glad to be working with Keisha and is baffled and uneasy about the sudden appearance of all these apparently “kidnapped” people. “4400” premieres on October 25, 2021.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Thanks so much for having me! I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. My mother is an Iranian immigrant who lectured at the Museum of Modern Art for a lot of my childhood, and my father is an American architect. I definitely wasn’t the loudest or the class clown in school by any means, but I definitely caught the acting bug early, and figured out I wanted to be in film/TV when I was a teenager. Being in front of a crowd and making them laugh, or think, or feel afraid, made me feel in control, and being able to play professionally was something that sounded too good to be true. I couldn’t believe people got paid to do this.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

Definitely! Well, I’d always drawn and painted as a kid, but I figured out “hey, this is a really solitary gig”. I didn’t like it. I caught the acting bug when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old but got tired of theater after a few years. I think all the emphasis on the actor, funnily enough, made me uncomfortable. So one year, I got the opportunity to study acting for the camera at the Royal Conservatory in Scotland. We were all supposed to bring in examples of good ‘filmic’ acting, but of course, nobody did, so our TA showed us an example he really liked — the movie Warrior, with Tom Hardy. As a too-cool teenage art student, a movie about grown men hitting each other as a family business was about the most boring thing I could imagine. The whole group of students was sitting in someone’s apartment, drinking two-buck chuck and really intently watching this movie, while I was rolling my eyes in the back of the room like come on. But I remember, as I was tuning out of the dialogue and watching the screen, there was this one frame of Nick Nolte and I was like “whoa. That’s beautiful.” It was like a lightbulb went off. I had never considered before that a film wasn’t just about the actor, that whole departments exist to shape how films look, regardless of who is in them. Visual art + theater = film and TV. From that moment on, all I wanted to do was work with a camera. In front of it, behind it, around it.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Definitely the CW show I’m on, 4400! It premieres on Monday, October 25th, and is viewable for free the next day on the CW app or on the CW’s website. It’s a reboot of the early-2000s sci-fi cult-classic of the same name but revamped for modern times. I’m incredibly excited about it. I’m also developing my short, Neem-Rooni, into a feature, about the queer child of a Persian immigrant who returns to Iran to get to know the family they never knew.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

To be honest, if the prospect of failure is strong enough to deter you from being an actor, you shouldn’t be an actor. Failure in this industry is not avoidable, it’s constant. You need thick skin, dedication, and a very strong support system. Not to say you shouldn’t have doubts — everyone has doubts and fear and confusion along the way — but you just can’t let that get in your way.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

First of all, I think we need to clarify the concept of ‘diversity’ in entertainment. Simply having stories starring actors from traditionally-underrepresented backgrounds is not enough. We need stories written by marginalized communities, directed by marginalized communities, and starring marginalized communities to actually affect any of the positive changes we associate with ‘diversity in the entertainment industry’. According to a 2020 GLAAD survey, 80% of Americans have never met a trans person. So 80% of the United States, literally billions of people, are basing their entire understanding of a vulnerable group of people on what they see in the media. What’s that Allen Ginsberg quote? “He who controls the images, controls the culture”? We need to get people to understand that we have more in common than we think. And that the people that supposedly pose a threat to your way of life actually just want the same Big-Concept things you do: love, security, a place for their kids to play. And that opens the floor for the question “well if these people aren’t actually trying to hurt me, why was I told I should fear them? Who does it benefit to make me afraid?” You can’t know yourself until you see yourself. Everyone deserves to be able to look up to someone, to see themselves reflected back, to learn lessons from people who tangibly remind them of themselves. Pure entertainment value. There are so many millions of stories we haven’t seen yet from people who never got to tell them before now.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Most people you see succeeding in film and TV at a very young age have either been working since they were in diapers or have famous parents.
2. Your career will not end if you go out of town for a weekend, get a tattoo, or don’t religiously submit to Actors Access today. Make sure you enjoy your life while pursuing this career.
3. If your representatives aren’t answering your emails, drop them.
4. The industry is always going, always churning out new material, always casting. If someone tells you ‘we just aren’t seeing roles for your type right now’, do not believe them.
5. Getting to know other actors will help you. This job is brain poison and having people around you who get what you’re going through is more valuable than you know.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

This job can’t be your whole life. Even though the nature of the gig is exhausting and all-consuming, you need to make sure you’re not neglecting the rest of your life in pursuit of your dreams. If you’re trying to grow a big, strong, healthy plant, but the soil is cracked and nasty looking, that plant won’t thrive. My advice is to think about the things that nourish you and make sure to tend those areas of your life. For me, that looks like cultivating hobbies that have nothing to do with the industry, making my home somewhere I like to be, and making sure I get outside every day.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Cap CO2 emissions for oil and gas companies causing 70% of all carbon emissions and destroying our planet in the process and abolish the prison industrial complex in the US.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Man, there have been so many people that have helped me along the way, from casting assistants to my incredible trans community to my ex-girlfriend, who dropped everything once to drive me to a fancy agency party in the middle of a work shift to try and schmooze my way into representation. Overall, though, it would definitely be my parents. I know that’s not one person, but my parents were the people who told me I could do whatever I set my mind to, even if they kinda-sorta figured I would grow out of acting at some point.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them.

Haifa Al-Mansour. I had the opportunity to watch her give a talk with the LA public library and was struck by her intelligence and sense of humor. I would love to ask her questions about her process, her favorite movies, and if she’s maybe looking for a non-binary actor to star in her next film? Haifa, if you’re reading this, please call me.

How can our readers follow you online?

My Instagram is @wilder.yari!

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

Thank you, it was a pleasure!