- I probably first called myself an actress at 16,
'cause that's when I really decided
that I was gonna pursue it wholeheartedly.
It was like this big circle moment
in one of my teacher's classes in high school.
She assigned me this poem called "Our Deepest Fear,"
and I remember my mom coming up to me and she was like,
"I didn't know you were good".
(laughing)
And I was like, "yeah, yeah, I do okay".
I'm Moses Ingram and this is "On the Rise".
I grew up in the church and so most of the things
I really did when I was younger were like
those church plays where you get up
and you talk about Easter and Martin Luther King
and all of those things, which I hated doing.
But I think it was more-
It wasn't that I didn't like being in front of people
because I loved being in front of people.
I just didn't like being told to do it.
And so I think that was the disconnect
but that was my beginning for sure.
I've been doing it since I was 10.
My teacher, Ms. Williams at the time,
she told my mom it would make me more communicative
and control my behavior a little bit better.
It didn't do any of those things,
but it sort of became the dangling carrot
to my behavior and sort of pursued it relentlessly.
And when I was 19, I got my first job at a local theater
called Everyman Theater in Baltimore.
And it was ruined by Lynn Nottage.
And that was sort of the door opener for me, I guess.
A song that I really liked when I was younger...
So I have an old soul.
So it wasn't really one song that I really love,
but my mother would play out
the "Waiting to Exhale" soundtrack and I legit,
I was not, I don't know, maybe like three years old,
knowing that entire album front to back
and still bop to it today.
Cause it just brings me peace when I think about it.
So probably yeah, the "Waiting to Exhale" soundtrack
Our series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, is different
than I think what people might be used to.
It's grittier, it's got a little more bite to it.
Ewan's back and Hayden's back,
which I know the fans are really excited to see.
We were working really hard, so I hope people enjoy it.
When I was auditioning,
I did not know I was auditioning for "Star Wars".
It sort of just were these like loose sides.
And I remember reading it and I was like,
"this is a bad (beep). I dunno who she is, but I'm with it".
You know what I mean?
And I was very excited and I don't think it was until
maybe into my second or third audition
that I realized that it was "Star Wars".
But I definitely didn't know at the beginning.
What does it feel like to be joining the franchise?
I wasn't a huge "Star Wars" fan to begin with.
I didn't know too much about "Star Wars"
so I won't lie to you.
But I've sort of been welcomed and enveloped
into this world that is it and it's very exciting for me
because it's been around much longer than I've been alive.
But it's exciting to think that from the very beginning,
it's been holding a spot just for me,
whether I knew it or not.
So it's lit. It's lit, yeah.
The biggest moment of my career?
I feel like it keeps being topped.
But I'll say the biggest moment that I've had thus far
was probably the Emmy nomination
because where did that come from?
I don't know.
I was very, very shocked and I just remember
needing to get real close to the floor
cause we didn't campaign or anything.
It just was sort of there.
And I think I've also just been blessed
to meet so many people that I admire.
I feel like-
I say often, I feel like I'm collecting infinity stones.
In this business, on the road that I've been on,
I've been really blessed to be able to tell people
that I love, that I love them.
Which can be weird for them, right?
Because it's like, who is this girl
and what are you talking about?
But like, I grew up watching TV, loving TV movies,
and so I have spent some of my greatest and lowest moments
with these people who are only just meeting me.
And to get to see them and interact with them
has been really special for me.
My biggest role model inspiration's gotta be my mother.
My mother, for sure.
She just rock with me, man. She just does.
And like in moments where people were like,
"she need to do something real with her life",
nobody could see the vision the way I felt like
I could see the vision
and she always made room, continues to make room,
for me to talk about it.
And then the work?
I am a Nicole Beharie, Aunjanue Ellis stan.
I go up for them.
Yeah. I just, I love nerding out
over just believing what someone says.
Oh my God.
When I'm watching someone and I'm like,
"you could read me the back of a cereal box
and I would be like, you know what fine. Yeah, yeah.
I would buy tickets to that".
You know what I mean?
If I weren't an actor, I think I'd be a chiropractor.
I think because I like the sound of bone shifting
and I like the idea of feeling that under my hands.
But I didn't like school.
I did not like traditional school.
I would not want to do that, so it worked out.
Why am I excited to have this platform?
I never saw any of...
Like this.
I always just really wanted to do good work.
I think with great power comes great responsibility.
And I can't say that I really know what my place is yet
but I know that I desire to,
as I'm in front of people,
continue to try to be my most authentic self.
When I'm in front of people
and someone's asking me something about something,
is to tell people I don't have the answers
nor do I believe I have the answers.
I just believe that I'm a person trying every day.
Just like everybody else.
My dream scenario in five years?
I will have found the place that I really wanna call home.
I'll be creating opportunities for other people
and being better at multitasking and making time
for my personal life and loving my family.
(gentle music)