When it comes to the list of people who always keep a job, there’s Keke Palmer and Shaq amongst many others. A new addition to the list is Issa Rae. The producer and actress is in two blockbuster films, “‘Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse,” and “Barbie.” She sat down with Ebony Magazine to discuss finding balance and living a soft life.
Catching Up With Issa Rae
On top of the two current projects she’s in, Rae has also done some work for her own company, Hoorae Media. She just wrapped up shooting the second season of her HBO show “Rap Sh!t” and has entered a deal with Netflix to stream all five seasons of her first hit show, “Insecure.” Rae says that although being a boss is amazing, she wanted to take a break and work on projects where someone else is in charge.
“Insecure was such an all-encompassing task for me. And it was amazing to be able to wear so many hats and to bring my vision to life in that particular series, but I was tired,” she said. “I wanted to branch out and do more ensemble pieces, just to be able to check on my own skills and learn from other people.”
She felt comfortable in “Barbie” particularly because it was led by women.
“It’s produced by Margot Robbie and directed by Greta Gerwig, two women I just immensely respect,” Rae gushed. “To be able to observe them and watch how they work and watch their processes — as actors, that was just super cool and fulfilling for me. I’m putting their processes in my own pocket for when I do take the reins again.”
Now that she is intentionally taking a break, she said she wants to focus on traveling.
“I feel good when I’m lounging in hotels; I plan to be in hotels and villas for the rest of this summer,” she explained. “My ‘Barbie’ promotional tour is taking me all over the world — I get to go to Australia for the first time, and to Germany and London. So while that’s for work, I’m still finding the pleasure in it.”
Although living the life of an entrepreneur with several hats to wear can be hectic, Rae says she takes none of it for granted. She says she has learned so much since gaining fame.
“With hindsight, you get to see so much of the journey, and so many fork-in-the-road moments and decisions that were made that could have gone the wrong way, or that could have not led me to where I am now,” she said. “And I am very happy about where I am now.”