Yasmine Akercan currently be seen on “Good Trouble” playing queer waitress Angelica.
With “Good Trouble,” you never know what’s going to happen.
The writers keep everyone on their toes, us included.
There’s definitely a lot to stay glued to.
You took over this role from Odelya Halevi and made it your own.
What was it like joining “Good Trouble”?
Were you already a fan of the show?
I did come on board after my dear friend, Odelya Halevi, played Angelica prior to me.
I have to create a character that is a carbon copy of what she has done."
Make her your own.
This is your version of Angelica."
It was a very smooth transition.
Once I started watching, I was like, “This is a really good show.”
They are such a lovely group.
Last season, we had that ’90s party shoot, and that felt like a marathon.
It felt like Halloween.
It felt like karaoke.
It was so much fun, but so silly and exhausting and all-encompassing.
All of us were on set all of the time.
We were all there.
The costumes were hilarious.
That would have to be the highlight memory so far.
There’s all these oscillations that keep happening back and forth with them.
I hope that exists in her reality sometime in the future, but we’ll see.
What did it feel like to be chosen and take part in the event?
It was not planned.
I had no idea.
At first, I was like, “This must be a mistake.”
I couldn’t compute.
I’m like, “Why would she choose me?
I don’t understand.
What’s this about?”
To be honest with you, I didn’t think it was true.
I thought someone was pranking me or punking me.
I was like, “Yeah, sure.
Let’s do it.”
I’m like, “Okay, great.”
They’re like, “Then you’re going to go to the dress rehearsal.”
I’m like, “Sure, yeah, let’s do that.”
I showed up at the dress rehearsal and I was like, “This is happening.”
Lizzo comes out, and she’s so sweet.
She is who she says she is.
She’s one of a kind.
I’ve never met people like her, not in our industry where it’s so much navel-gazing.
She doesn’t do that.
It’s pretty crazy.
Have you heard from Lizzo since?
But she’s Lizzo, so you don’t want to be bothering her.
They reached out at one point because they sent beautiful gifts and stuff to all of us.
It’s very minimal communication I don’t have her on my speed dial.
I’m not texting.
Why was that an important story for you to tell right now?
We shot that before the Iranian revolution took place.
I’m Iranian American.
I’m a woman.
For me, the short film was very cathartic.
It was a healing experience after my own personal divorce.
That’s our lived experience when we’re foreigners of the Western world.
We have this very complicated but simple dance between our culture and the culture that we are adopting.
In Afghanistan, women are stoned to death for the accusation of adultery, not even proven adultery.
Women around the world are treated in ways that are unimaginable.
There’s gender apartheid happening in Iran.
We’re not okay with gender apartheid.
Not a lot of evidence is seen.
They have verdicts like corruption against God.
Is this representative of how we have evolved and who we are now as a human species?"
The realities of being an advocate
Is it difficult being an advocate?
How do I protect myself in those circumstances?"
That’s something [activists] have to address and be prepared for to a certain degree.
Aside from that, you have to leave it as an afterthought.
It’s a reality that exists.
Then you also have to say, “What are the chances?
It should be fine.
Things like that, everyone should be practicing in our new world.
Everyone needs to have better internet hygiene, so to speak.
That’s what keeps people silent.
Everyone has had their reasons, but people have stayed quiet for a very long time.
How has your ADHD impacted your career?
I don’t think that I’ve paid much attention to how it’s affected my career.
For the most part, we mask to check that no one knows what’s going on.
I never made eye contact.
It’s just not dawned on me to look into people’s eyes.
Being on set and saying lines, I learned to look in people’s eyes.
That’s one observation that I’ve made, is that eye contact is tricky.
Is there something behind me?”
I’m like, “Oh, no, I’m sorry.”
I didn’t know how to explain it away because I didn’t have my diagnosis yet.
I was like, “I don’t know, it’s shiny.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Dreaming of working with Will Ferrell
Are you planning to direct more films?
I would love to.
It’s something that I’ve always done.
I would love to do more directing.
Do you have any dream collaborators?
This is going to sound absolutely bizarre, but Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon.
That would be amazing.
I don’t know in what capacity.
I would even love to be a fly on the wall and see how they work.
That would be quite a treat to be able to do that.
They could very easily do drama, but they choose to do funny.
I have so much respect for that because life is like that.
Life is this ongoing tragedy that we keep describing as funny.
Then, when we watch movies that don’t have any comedic breaks or moments, it feels false.
I love the ability to be able to do that.
Is there anything else you want our readers to know?
Just that I’m very grateful.
Thank you for amplifying the voices of the women in Iran and Afghanistan.
I know that there’s a lot happening all around the world and we can get empathy fatigue.
We live in a time that’s stressful.
I want to say thank you to everyone who has bravely decided that they won’t do that.
Watch “Good Trouble” Season 5 onFreeformandHulu.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
