At just 21 years old, Zamani Wilder already has quite a few roles under her belt but none quite like Zoe Taylor in American Refugee, which is available to watch now. Zoe and her family seek shelter in a nearby bunker as the American economy is in collapse and the nation is under martial law.
Zamani told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that, despite Zoe living in the midst of the madness, she was drawn to how “relatable she can be to a lot of younger teenagers out there, especially when they’re forced to be put in situations where they have to help their family kind of get everything together if that makes sense. When reading the script, I kind of started to see that she’s like me in that way, so we went through a lot of the same things, a lot of the same issues or mindsets as far as growing up and trying to find out who you are and what’s going on and just being treated like you don’t see everything. Her being relatable and the voice of reason kind of drew her to me.”
While Zoe and her family seek shelter in the bunker, they’re faced with many complications as the adults have differing views on how to handle situations. “I felt like this movie was literally the blueprint of showing you how to play your personal issues to the side and actually have to work together with strangers to survive,” Zamani said. “So putting myself in the mindset was a long process, but I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. I actually really enjoyed preparing for this role and preparing for this movie. I really enjoy being able to put myself in that moment of what would I do if this really happened.”
Erika Alexander stars as Zoe’s formidable onscreen mom, Helen Taylor. For Zamani, getting the chance to work alongside Helen and learn from her was a blessing. “There are so many life lessons that I learned personally, either with myself or with acting or with business. It was just great being able to bond with her and learn her tips and tricks and her skills and things that she learned because she’s been in the game forever. I honestly was really blessed and honored to even get a chance to work alongside her. It was amazing. I mean, to this day, I still talk to Erica. She’s a second mom to me now. It was really good being able to work with her and learn a lot of things from her,” Zamani told HollywoodLife.
After American Refugee, Zamani will star in the upcoming film adaptation of the bestselling book Uglies. Her co-stars include Joey King, Chase Stokes, and Brianne Tju.