Issa Rae, if you can believe it, deals with feeling less than successful, too.
On the debut episode of the new podcast “Not My Best Moment with KevOnStage,” hosted by comedian and actor Kevin Fredericks released on Nov. 12, the “Churchy” star sat down with the “Insecure” creator, who revealed she struggles with feeling “stagnant.”
“I know that I appear successful to other people, but right now, no, I feel really stagnant,” Rae admitted in a clip.
The 40-year-old writer and producer added that the feeling is “literal” because she only really feels a sense of success “when my sh— is on the air.”
Rae, who became a cultural force after launching HBO’s “Insecure,” which ran for five seasons and became a defining touchstone of Black millennial life, has since gone on to star in hit films, produce acclaimed projects across genres, release books, and build an expansive creative empire. But as she explained, TV is her true passion. When she’s not on our screens, she’s laser-focused on getting back there.
“Like, I can have the 18 businesses,” she continued. “And those are, like, great passion projects, but like, what I do and what I get excited about isn’t happening right now.”
Fredericks jokingly asked if once a movie is out or once a show finishes airing, she goes back to feeling like “nothing” again.
“Yeah,” she said, laughing. “I haven’t put words to it but that’s exactly how it feels. I am nothing again is crazy … it’s so real.”
The actress has long been open about the hurdles she’s had to overcome to even get one project made. This latest admission arrives on the heels of Rae’s latest release, “I Should Be Smarter Now,” a collection of essays that spans her career and the lessons she’s learned thus far. In it, she writes about one mistake in particular that nearly cost her all of the money she’d earned up to that point, brought on by her “impulsivity.”
“My impulsivity, the character trait I’ve benefited from and paid dearly for, is both a gift and a curse,” Rae wrote. “The gift is that I can be fearless in the pursuit of anything I want to achieve. If I want something, I’m going to be active and go after it.”
