Yonas Asuncion Kibreab on Youth Acting, Tennis Courts, and Bringing Authentic Personality to Every Audition

As a part of my series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Yonas Asuncion Kibreab.

Yonas Asuncion Kibreab is a 10 year old LA native who has been on the rise ever since his very first appearance on the season finale of Silicon Valley in 2019. Since then he has been on “The Big Show Show” only to move on to have his own show on Yippee TV ‘Yonas gets a Job” where he shadows a different professional each week to try out different jobs! He has also just wrapped his lead role on ‘Blood Moon’ playing Luna. Blood Moon is currently streaming on Hulu and was produced by Blumhouse Production. When Yonas is off the clock he enjoys practicing piano, playing tennis, drawing, and being a kid! Represented by Jessica Olson at Bella Agency LA and Kim Matuka at Schuller Talent.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I am currently 10 years old and I was born in Los Angeles, CA. I have an older sister and live with my parents in LA. I am a very active kid and I play tennis, soccer, running and like to skateboard and hangout with my friends. Besides acting one of my passion is music. I play piano and sing. Being home schooled has allowed me to explore all my passions in depth. My dad once told me “you don’t have to wait until you grow up to do what you want to do,” so I have always remembered that in everything that I do and try to accomplish in life.

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

My journey to acting came through my love of the sport of tennis. I started to play tennis at the age of six years old. Few month into playing tennis, I also started to create tennis related Instagram content that was funny and entertaining. My Instagram content caught the eye of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), so the USTA and US Open, invited me to be a KidCaster at the 2018 US Open in New York City. As a KidCaster I got to create social media content during the tournament for USTA and US Open social media accounts and interview professional tennis players, and participate in press conferences. I enjoyed being on camera and this experience inspired me to pursue an acting career. Since actively pursuing an acting career in late 2019, I have been busy working on feature film, short film, TV shows, commercials, Voice Over, and Internet shows. I really love being on set and working with other professionals. I feel that my true strength is bringing a special energy and work ethic to set.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your entertainment career?

One show that I am a big fan off is Seinfeld. My dad introduced me to that show few years ago and I was hooked. It is a show that both my dad and I watch together. So when I booked my first TV role on HBO’s ‘Silicon Valley’, season finally episode, I got to work with director Alec Berg, who was writer and producer on many Seinfeld episodes. It was a surreal experience for both me and my dad. And few days after shooting the show, my dad and I were in a Westwood parking garage heading to an orthodontist appointment, and who did we run in to? Alec Berg! My second interesting story is: I guest starred in an episode of the Netflix show ‘The Big Show Show,’ starring professional wrestler Paul Donald Wight, aka The Big Show. The Big Show is a BIG guy, he is 7ft 2in and at the time I was 4ft tall, so being next to him I felt pretty short. Also my dad is a huge wrestling fan and seeing him star struck meeting the Big Show was pretty cool.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

On one of the projects I worked on, I was having lots of fun and really connected with my co-star and the director. We were having lots of fun shooting, and in one of the scenes, after shooting several takes, the director told me to “try my own take”. So I just goofed around with the take and acted silly. Afterward someone explained to me that, when a director tells you to try your own take, he/she is giving you the freedom to try your own spin of the scene. This experienced taught me that it’s important you stay focused and to ask if you don’t understand the direction that is coming from the director and crew members.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Who do you think that might help people?

I am currently working on a short film, with a team that I have worked with before. We are currently shooting it in Los Angeles. It’s a comedy about a group of unlikely friends. I am the kid in a group of grownups dishing dating advice and helping our friend to muster the courage to meet up with the love of his life. I am also currently working on my first print project for a major sports company.

Most young people your age don’t have to balance work and school. Can you tell us how you manage to balance your schoolwork, auditions, and time on set?

You have to make choices and truly understand what is important to you. Sometimes I have to cancel plans or change plans, because I receive an audition that might be due the next day. So if you prioritize what is important to you, it helps to balance all the things that has to be done. In addition, it is important that you have parents, siblings or adults in your life that can help you along the way with school, auditions and taking you to set. So I am very fortunate that I have parents that are fully supportive with being there for me and helping me with memorizing scripts, recording selftape auditions, taking me to set and helping me with school work. I have personally found that being home schooled has also provided me added flexibility to balance things.

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?

It’s very difficult to point to just one person, I feel like there have been many people that have helped me along the way. Obviously, my family continue to be huge supporters and continue to help me accomplish my goals. I am also immensely grateful to my amazing manager Kim Matuka at Schuller talent and my amazing agent Jessica Olson at Bella Agency LA. I want to also specially recognize the team that gave me my first lead movie role, Blumhouse Productions, Director Emma Tammi, Casting Director Melissa Kostenbauder, Producer Lauren Downey, and my Co-star Megalyn Echikunwoke; they will forever be in my heart.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s jump to the main part of our interview. 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. To always be yourself: When I first started my acting journey, I thought that the character description provided by casting was something that you had to strictly follow, and that there was no room to bring your own personality into the character. Along the way I learned that the only unique thing that you have going for yourself is once unique personality. So the more you bring your personality into a character that you are auditioning for the more successful you are going to be. I also strongly feel that being yourself is a good advice for life in general. You are the happiest and healthiest when you are being yourself.
2. Not Booking a Role does not mean failure: Majority of actors during their careers, will have more “No” than “yes.” I think that just getting to audition for a role is a privilege, and going further to callbacks, director/producer sessions and network test, is a huge win. So as you go further along in an audition process and you don’t book a role, the disappointments will be bigger and bigger. But, I think that at the end of the day, you are one of a very selected few that made it that far and all the people involved auditioning you will remember you for other projects that you might be a better fit for. Initially I had an easier time accepting a “rejection” early in an auditioning process versus deep into the auditioning process, before I understood this valuable lesson.
3. Don’t worry about things you can’t control: This was an important lesson to learn, because I feel like I spent so much energy and time worrying about stuff I could not control or change. For example, often you will get an audition with a long script that is due in 24 / 36 hrs. So it’s easy to get caught up in a loop where you feel like it’s not enough time and that’s it’s just easier to pass on the audition. In a situation like that, it’s important to remember that neither you or your representatives can control castings request, so all you can do is do the best you can with the opportunity you are given. Sometimes the best work is a result of pressure that is put on you. As a tennis player I always remember the quote from the great Billie Jean King “Pressure is a privilege — it only comes to those who earn it.”
4. Don’t be afraid to pass on an audition: As a young actor there will be situations when you might receive an audition that you might not be right for or the content of the scene or script is not something you are not comfortable with. In these kinds of situations the feeling might be that you should just do the audition anyway to make everyone happy. I have learned that it’s OK to pass on an audition if you are not 100% comfortable.
5. It’s a long Journey so have fun: This is a very important advice. It is important to have fun, to make friends and enjoy the process and the journey. It is easy to feel overwhelmed balancing school, auditions and work. So taking time to have fun with family and friends is very important especially as a young actor with a long future in the entertainment business.

You are a person of enormous influence. How do you think you can use social media as a platform to be a positive influence to your fans, and for society at large?

With Social Media, I think you should be as authentic as possible. You should celebrate both your success and challenges and provide your followers a balance look of your life. In addition, never engage in negativity. I am a firm believer that if you don’t have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything.

If you had the ability to choose to work on any TV show or film, or work alongside any co-star, or with any director, what or who would that be, and why? You never know who might see this article, especially if we tag them. :-)

I am a huge fan of The Amazing Spiderman! Spiderman is just a cool and very relatable superhero. I have been a fan of the Spiderman movies my whole life pretty much, so would be a dream come true to play Spiderman on the big screen.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Instagram: @yonas_k2010

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!