Lesa Wilson is the definition of a triple threat. A trained pageant queen, literally, American Idol contestant, and a now reoccurring face on the new CW show Starrgirl, Wilson can be defined as more than accomplished. Having spent decades of her life focused on her work, she decided to turn her focus on working to save the planet. She uses her platform to bring awareness to climate change and educating others on the importance of keeping Mother Nature happy. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn more about how Lesa Wilson encourages going green!

Where are you based?
Atlanta, GA.

What inspired you to go into acting?
I’ve always loved stories, but the inspiration that set my career into motion was when I saw The Little Mermaid in the theater as a kid. I was fascinated by cartoon voices (Ariel specifically) and decided that I wanted to be a part of bringing magic to the big screen. From that point forward, I knew I wanted to be a storyteller. Technically I suppose that means that I wanted to be a voiceover artist — the love of acting came a little later. I did theater and was a radio DJ in high school, then I did pageants, then commercials and ultimately made my way into television and film. There’s been inspiration at every step of the way, and I continue to be inspired by the artists that surround me. I think it will always be that way for me.

Can you talk about your background in Radio and Television broadcasting? Do you feel working behind the scenes was effective in building your industry knowledge base?
Production is production, whether it’s the news or commercials, a TV show or film. The behind the scenes always has similarities. I feel the greatest strength I gained from starting my career the way I did is that I became experienced at being on set. I learned set etiquette and what to expect, how to behave around celebrities, professionalism, etc. Before I ever even walked onto a set for a TV show, I already had those things worked out. It was just another day at the office.

Modeling and traveling for gigs was a demanding time in your life. What life lessons did you learn during that time of hardship? Which ones still resonate with you today?
The biggest lesson I learned was to make health a priority. There were times when I missed out on so much sleep because of flights and back to back jobs that I would get sick. It taught me what my body needed in terms of rest, diet and exercise. Besides that lesson, I learned to be really flexible with schedules and last minute changes. That’s proven to be very beneficial because the nature of acting work is that everything can change at the last minute. You have to be able to roll with the punches.

One of your television appearances was on American Idol as a semi-finalist. How does Reality TV compare to your other scripted roles? Do you remember the feeling of your first time in front of a camera?
I learned very quickly that Reality TV is anything but reality. It’s not scripted, but it’s highly directed. You’re always being pushed for reactions that can be tied together to create some storyline that is almost always untrue. The difference between scripted TV and Reality TV is that in a scripted series you’re focused on telling a story through the eyes of the person you are playing on screen, whereas Reality TV creates a character out of YOU and presents it to the world as if it is actually who you are. To answer the second half of that question, I vaguely remember my first time on screen, but vividly remember my first time on stage. Since I started my career in high school, I did a lot of work in my classes that put me on camera. It wasn’t a big exciting moment. It was just about doing the assignments and getting a good grade in class. My first stage experience, however, was different. I was eight years old and was singing a duet with my mother at church. I wore a purple pleated skirt and a horizontally striped shirt. There was a clock on the back of the wall that I couldn’t take my eyes off of because I was so scared, but, in the end, we finished the song and I stepped off the stage feeling like I’d just made it through the biggest event of my life. Gotta love the mind of an eight-year-old. Oh if I only knew then what was in store for me.

Jejune loves the new CW show Stargirl. I think we all feel for your character ‘Bobbie Burman’ and want to learn more about her. Can you tell us a little bit about her? Will we be seeing more of her? Will she fight her way out of her terrible family? How did she get stuck with these people when she seems so nice? So many questions!
Haha! Bobbie is an enigma for sure. Even as I was playing her, I had to create her backstory in my mind to able to bring her to life. She’s a robotic stepford wife that’s been trapped into the Burman family to serve as a babysitter to Cindy more than anything else. She’s always in fear for her life. The story that I created for her goes a little something like this. I imagine Bobbie had a life where she was busy, but unattached. The kind of woman who if she went missing, it would take a while for people to notice because she doesn’t let people get too close. I believe she was kidnapped by one of the Dragon King’s drone soldiers and brought back to his lab where he brainwashed her into submission through his experiments. She comes out as a shell of her former self. She’s programmed to look after Cindy in the absence of her mother. There’s a part of her old self that’s always trying to break out though. You see that a lot in the moments between Bobbie and Pat. I don’t know what Season 2 holds for Bobbie just yet, but I am hopeful that she makes a return and gets to either join the ISA or breaks out and finds her freedom. Who knows though... we have to just wait and see what direction Geoff wants to take the show. Regardless, I’m thrilled that the show is coming back as a CW original series and we get to continue watching the story unfold.

Your role as ‘Bobbie Burman’ on the CW show, “Stargirl,” and superhero ’Rhea Jones’, aka ‘Loadstone’, on “Doom Patrol”, are characters that exist as polar opposites in terms of power. Bobbie has limited freedom, while Rhea is a literal superhero. What are your thoughts on how the two characters compare? Tell us about your experience taking on these roles.
Rhea and Bobbie are complete opposites. Rhea is a wild rule breaker with strength and finesse. She’s extremely confident but wounded from her past. Bobbie and Rhea share the woundedness, but they respond in completely different ways. I see a piece of myself more in Rhea than in Bobbie – she’s confident, powerful, and direct, however, there’s a part of my old self that lives through Bobbie. I was once in a relationship where I was abused, so I found her truth through my past experiences. I’ve fully healed from the trauma associated with that part of my life, but I’m able to revisit the emotions for a moment when it’s needed on screen. Bobbie is the first character I’ve ever had to lend those experiences to. Nothing is wasted in life and I’m so thankful that I have been able to turn something terrible into something wonderful for television.

You’re just beginning your film career with “Coins For Love” and “Stars Fell In Alabama” and already play three completely different characters. Can you talk about your experience transitioning from television to film? Also, tell us about the dual roles?
The transition hasn’t been difficult at all. It’s mostly the same thing, but with different timelines. My film projects shot in relatively short blocks of time and the TV shows were spread out over longer periods of time due to the long form storytelling nature of it. Since I was working on multiple projects simultaneously, I had to spend a lot of time studying my scripts and also had to focus on finding how I related to the characters so that I could use that as I played them on screen. It was thrilling to work on multiple projects! I’m so thankful!!

While many actors are sitting at home, riding out the storm, you have been working on your own YouTube channel “Going Green”, which is 100% in line with Jejune! Can you please tell us a little bit about “Going Green” and what inspired you to start it?
Yes! I was inspired to start my show, Going Green, after working to modify my own behavior around single use plastics and sustainability. I always carry a reusable straw and a reusable bag with me wherever I go. It’s actually a conversation starter. I found that I was so passionate when I would talk about how we can make choices as individuals that actually have a big impact on the environment and it just poured out of me as if I was talking about a new puppy. These conversations would happen at coffee shops, in the checkout line at stores when I’d go shopping or even grocery stories when people would notice my reusable produce bags. It made me realize that people are actually interested in learning more about how they can be empowered to make a change, so Going Green was born. Why not use the down time to create something impactful? Going Green is a weekly segment with quick, easy to digest information that presents a single issue like plastic straws and gives a solution to the problem that’s actionable for each individual. Simple solutions are really the best. We are so busy with our lives that if it’s too complicated, people won’t do it. So my goal was to simplify the message and make it quick and easy to understand.

You were an environmentalist long before your segment, working with Environment Georgia. Can you tell us a little bit about your work with them?
Environment Georgia is an organization that hosts volunteer events like park cleanups, etc. There’s another organization that I volunteer with as well called Trees Atlanta. They also do cleanup projects and tree planting. I feel like it’s important to find a way to give back to your community and both of these organizations are wonderful ways to get involved.

With all the other crazy stuff going on in the world right, now it feels like climate change has taken a bit of a back seat. How can we take this opportunity to move our world in the right direction, even when there is so much going on?
Focus on individual choices instead of looking at the big picture. Masks have become a part of our daily life, so if people could use reusable masks instead of the single use disposable ones, there would be much less of a problem with that. It’s creating a whole different kind of mess that wasn’t there before, but I’m confident that we can continue educating people on the small changes they can make to be aware of the footprint they are leaving on our beautiful planet.

For those looking to start living a more sustainable life, do you have some simple starting steps?
YES!! Not to sound repetitive, but you can get a collapsible reusable straw and keep it on your keychain to reduce the number of plastic straws you’re contributing to the straw problem. The other thing you can do is keep reusable bags in the car with you so that when you go grocery shopping, you’re not throwing a dozen single use plastic bags into the environment from a single grocery trip. Those two things would make a huge difference.

What do you think is the most significant change humans can do to help protect our environment?
Take responsibility for our own habits and start paying attention to the impact we have, just by making choices for convenience at the expense of our earth. If we looked at our impact on the planet through the lens of “we are in this together” and treated it as if the whole world is our own backyard as well as our neighbor’s, then we would rethink carelessly tossing things away. No more out of sight, out of mind mentality. Out of sight just means it’s gone somewhere else to be someone else’s problem... but the truth is, environmental issues impact us all. We have ONE planet and we should treat it with love and respect.

How are you staying positive during these times?
I’ve been really positive almost the whole time. I focus on what I can control — things like projects I’ve wanted to do, things I’ve wanted to write, nurturing relationships that truly matter to me on a deep level. I’ve taken stock of what’s important to me and just view this time as a season of sowing seeds for when we come out of this. I’m working to better myself in a number of ways through this time. It’s easy to stay positive when you’re focusing on the good.

What is your motto in life?
Actually, there’s a quote that’s attributed to Aristotle that is my motto “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I am the product of countless choices that I make daily. If I choose excellence in my individual choices, then I’ll produce excellence in my work and in my life.

To learn more about Lesa Wilson, please follow her via the below platforms:
www.lesawilson.com
Instagram: @hellolesa
Twitter: @hellolesa
www.youtube.com/lesawilsontv
www.demoreel.com/lesa

Photography by Angela Murray Photography.

Lesa Wilson Has Gone Green!