Rising Stars: Meet Khenedi Daniels

Today we’d like to introduce you to Khenedi Daniels.  

Hi Khenedi, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I knew that I always wanted to be an actress, but I didn’t start taking it seriously until my freshman year of high school. I attended Northern High School in Durham, NC, and at my freshman orientation, I saw that they were putting on the show “Annie.” I spent all day looking for the theatre director, “Irving Truitt.” When I found him, I looked him dead in the eyes and said, “I’m going to be your Annie.” He then said, “Well… can you sing or dance?” I shook my head, yes. He then went on to say, “I’ll see you at the auditions.” Ever since that moment, I played the lead role in mostly every show at Northern, such as Annie in “Annie” Jasmine in “Aladdin” and Dorothy in “The Wiz.” For college, I took a leap of faith and moved to Long Island, NY, to attend Five Towns College, the school Truitt actually recommended to me. I loved everything about the school and knew it was the perfect fit for me. While I was there, I played “Lady in Orange” in For Colored Girls, “Jeanie” in Hair, and “Thea” in Pippin. David Krasner, Jamie Gannon, Mitchell Walker, and Andrea Martin have played a huge role in where I am today. They were all my instructors, “acting coaches/voice teachers,” that saw so much potential in me and pushed me to be the best I could. My senior year, I worked so hard and ended up signing with my top agency, “Take 3 Talent”.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being an Artist, I’m not sure that a smooth road exists, but I honestly can’t complain. I’ve lived a good life and I have family and friends that are super supportive. The year of 2020, definitely took a toll on my life. Not only having to deal with COVID, but also going through a breakup with someone I had been involved with for 3+ years. I moved to NY to follow my dreams and left my old life behind. I decided not to return to campus my junior year of college and to just take classes online. I needed to be home with family as I was going throughhard times. As an actor, studying online was very challenging for me. Learning dances, acting techniques, and singing lessons seem more effective when you’re face-to-face with your instructor.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an actress. Playing the role of Jeanie, in the musical, “Hair”, Jenny in the stage play, “Homegirls” and background dancing for a Hulu Television show called, “Reprisal” is the work I am most proud of. I am now signed with “Take 3 Agency” focusing on commercials, voice-over and print work.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I always knew that I wanted to be an actress. I was 8 years old when I did my first show, “The Black Nativity,” at Hillside High School in Durham, NC directed by Wendell Tabb. Believe it or not, I used to be pretty shy, but I was also very confident, so I guess it kindof evened out. At school, I was a social butterfly and never had trouble making friends. I started gymnastics at the age of 4 at Acro Sport Gymnastics in Durham, NC. AsI improved, I moved to Bull City Gymnastics. Gymnastics is a very competitive sport, and moving to Bull City made me realize that my heart was somewhere else. I love the theater, but television/film is something I’ve always dreamed of doing. I was 16 years old when I appeared in my first-ever commercial, for the NC State Fair. I got thejob by walking up to the camera guy and asking what he was doing. The camera guy was Chris Stevens, theDirector/Owner of Mad Toy Box films. He said it himself that I was a natural. Ever since then, he invited me to do more commercials with him and his team.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.khenedidaniels.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khenedi_daniels/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/khenedid/