Stakiah Lynn Washington knows she landed something special with Primo, the new Prime Video’s Freevee series. The talented young actress, who plays Mya, felt it from the beginning during the audition process. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Stakiah about the road to Primo.
“After I did the self-tape, I told my reps that it was the first time in a while that I felt really, really comfortable with the character,” Stakiah said. “I didn’t have to act. I just had to be myself, and that was very empowering and rewarding to feel that because, as an actor, we do a million auditions for a million different things. We never know which project or which role is going to stick or land. So going into the role of Mya I just felt like I didn’t have to try hard, if that makes sense. It’s funny because I actually have a recording of myself affirming that I got the role. It’s really funny to go back and look at that because it’s like if you believe in something and you have a positive attitude it’s able to manifest.”
Over the course of the first season, which is out now, you see Mya “bloom into a young lady. Of course, she’s 16 years old, and you see more of her personality coming out. She moves a lot because her father is in the Air Force, so she tries not to get too attached to people. And then we see this chemistry between her and Rafa that’s just undeniable, and the other two friends Miguel and Harris as well.”
Playing Mya, Stakiah got to work closely with Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, who plays Rafa. Mya and Rafa are best friends. “Ignacio helped me have fun,” the actress admitted. “Going into it, I’m the type of actor who’s very structured. I’ve got my notes laid out, everything like that. So he just helped me to loosen up and to have fun. I think that ultimately helped our energy on set to become more natural and authentic.”
Leading the cast is Christina Vidal, Rafa’s mom. Throughout the course of filming, Stakiah got to witness Christina’s leadership first-hand. “She has this elegance about her on set and this tone that she sets of professionalism and positivity. Being number one on the call sheet that’s a lot of responsibility within itself, but the way that she enters the room and how prepared she was, she’s basically a light if you think about it,” Stakiah told HollywoodLife. “It just radiates to everyone around her and it helps elevate all of us as the light. Once you have somebody on set like that, it makes the overall experience just a blessing to be around her, to get advice from her, to be in a scene with her. She’s very funny. She’s very nice, and she’s very respectful. I love working with her.”
Her role in Primo marks Stakiah’s first series regular role, and it certainly won’t be her last. On this journey, Stakiah learned how to “have fun and really live in a moment because some things in life only happen once, especially if this is the first time. You can get in your head a lot about if I’m doing this thing right or if I’m not doing enough. I think going into my career just having fun living in the moment giving myself grace is going to help me go very, very far.”
The coming-of-age comedy series puts a Mexican American family at the center. Stakiah believes this is a “step in the right direction” for Hollywood as diversity continues to be at the forefront. “I love that we are taking a step in the right direction and bringing more inclusivity to projects like this. Primo is a story for anybody,” she said. “Everybody can see pieces of themselves, despite whatever your background is, your gender, your ethnicity, it’s a story about a family that just so happens Mexican American. I think people really gravitate to it because it’s so inclusive of anyone and everyone.”