Even since childhood Shanika Ocean has been a force to be reckoned with on both the stage and screen, and her reputation of success has only multiplied with time.
Ocean first began honing her skills on the theatrical stages of London, performing in array of well-received productions including the Beck Theatre’s presentation of “Pirates of Penzance,” as well as “Careless” and “Totally Over You” from director Femi Oguns; but it wasn’t long before she was making her name known on the screen as well.
She would go on to land several roles guest starring on the hit CBBC series “Xchange” and “Short Change,” sing live on television on The Saturday Shows’ “Karaoke Kriminals” with UK boyband Blue, do voice overs for USA’s MMG (Maybach Music Group) rap artists such as Wale, Fat Trel and Black Cobain, as well as a commercial for Afrodite, a hair extension company based in the UK. Audiences around the world will also recognize her from her role on the BBC’s BAFTA Award winning series “The Choir,” as well as “The Choir Reunion.”
Since beginning her work as an actress many years ago, Ocean has branched out to include quite an impressive body of work as a television host covering live events for SBTV, RnR Productions, Fashion Thirst TV and The Reel Network, hosting OH TV’s “Real Talk” and “Unplugged,” as well as co-hosting Capital XTRA radio alongside Kojo, who is best known for his work on Nick Cannon’s “Wild ‘N Out.”
Over the years she’s covered internationally watched awards programs such as the MOBO Awards, as well as London Fashion Week and Los Angeles Fashion Week. Aside from bringing audiences live coverage from the cat walk and the red carpets of various awards programs, she has also had the opportunity to interview a diverse list of high-profile celebrities including American R & B singer Lloyd, MOBO Award winning British singer Rita Ora, multi-Grammy Award winning artist Dionne Warwick, music producer and rapper SoundZ and many more.
After establishing herself as a sought after television host both in the UK and abroad, Shanika Ocean has brought her focus back to acting, and what a busy year it has been for this inimitably talented star! She recently took on a critical role in the upcoming film “The Weekend Movie,” played the lead role of Ms. Sesay in the film “My Father is a Hero,” and gave knock-out performances in the films “Do Us Part,” “One Night Plan” and “Digital Love.” She also guest stars as Ella on the hit comedy series “T-Boy Show,” which follows a Nigerian living in London.
Audiences will also be able to catch Shanika Ocean in the upcoming film “One Night Plan,” which was writtern by Kojo and is slated to premiere on Kojo’s new digital platform The Colour Network in 2017. Directed by Sheridan De Meyers (“Kojo: Live & Kicking,” “Wasteman Diaries,” “West End Girls”), the director behind the upcoming film “The Weekend Movie,” “One Night Plan” follows two best friends who go on a double date with two girls only to find out that they are are lesbians, and Shanika’s character brings quite a bit of the comedy to film.
To find out more about actress and television host Shanika Ocean make sure to check out our interview below!
Hi Shanika thanks for joining us! Can you start off by telling us where you are from originally?
SO: I grew up in Northolt which is in West London, United Kindgom.
How did you first get into acting? How old were you?
SO: My earliest memory was playing the Main Snowflake in my school play at the age of 4 (LOL), I loved putting on a costume and being on stage. I was also then asked to join the school choir, which again I loved as I got to be up in front of the whole assembly singing. I continued to enjoy my drama lessons at school and so, at the age of 8, my Mum decided to put me into The Sharon Harris drama School, which was once a week after school.
What was it about acting that made you realize that this was the career you wanted to pursue?
SO: I just loved the feeling of being able to perform on stage. I loved experimenting with characters. I always took my acting very seriously and there was nothing more that I really wanted to do.
Can you tell us about some of the film projects you’ve done?
SO: I had a memorable part in “The Weekend Movie” “Girls on the Street,” which stars massive YouTube stars Mandem On The Wall and was produced by Running Films. The film was written by Kojo and directed by Sheridan Myers, is expected to be released in 2017.
In the film “My Father is a Hero” I played Ms. Sesay, the school teacher. It was fun playing this character. It was my first time working with child actors and I was really impressed with how well they behaved on set and were really focused during filming.
In the film “Do Us Part” I played the lead, Shea, a crazy girlfriend whoe ends up murdering her boyfriend. This was fun to shoot, it was my first on screen kiss and it definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. As we were filming out on Mulholland Drive, tour buses full of tourists kept pulling up and stopping to take pictures, which was pretty distracting but funny all the same. I liked playing this character as she had so many different sides to her. She was sweet and innocent and pretty much the perfect girlfriend and then the next minute she gets a gun and shoots her boyfriend. She ends up killing him because he’s been cheating on her with various woman and she also caught him with a guy. She can’t take it anymore. So when he takes her away for their anniversary, she eventually confronts him and shoots him.
How about television projects?
SO: I guest starred on the BBC series “The Choir” hosted by Gareth Malone. It was the first series I ever did and it was amazing to audition and then be picked along with 20 other people to be part of the choir. We flew to China to represent Great Britain in the World Choir Olympics and it was an experience I will never forget. In 2015, we filmed a 10-year reunion show and it was great to catch up with everyone and sing again. Most people were shocked to learn that I could sing when it aired, I’ve always loved singing, but was too shy growing up to really put myself out there. I’m hoping one day I can be on a show like “Empire,” combining my love for singing and acting.
I played Ella on “The T-Boy Show” and T Boy is a massive online comedian in the UK. He has his own series which will be airing soon. I played a sexy geek in one of the episodes. It was really fun to play as the character looked like the typical hot girl that everyone wants, but it turned out she was into Star Wars and all the nerdy stuff, oh and she has a terrible snorting laugh! In this episode, T-Boy is upset with Abigail, the girl that he loves Abigail; she is not interested in him so he decides to go on a date with my character Ella. Ella is not at all who he thought she was, and to make things worse Abigail catches him in the act! In the end T-Boy runs out and leaves Ella by herself.
I was on multiple episodes of the BBC children’s series “Xchange” and “Shortchange,” which airs on CBBC. I did various episodes from modelling to running around supermarkets comparing different foods and their prices. For “Xchange,” I was modelling Valor tracksuits, it was when they first came into fashion. I modeled the Pineapple dance studio jump suits,which were the cheaper option compared to Juicy Couture at the time, and that episode in particular centered around the fact that there are always cheaper options that are just as good. For “Short Change” I was running around the supermarket with presenter Ortis Deley comparing the prices of biscuits.
They are all very different, what made you choose to participate in these projects?
SO: I was lucky growing up doing all of the CBBC stuff, it just kind of came to me and I thought great I get to be on TV, which was exciting as an 11 year old. The other projects I have all been passionate about or have had the opportunity to work with some great people.
You get approached all the time to work on projects with people, what makes you pick one role over another?
SO: Sometimes when I am given a script to read, I can feel the character and visualize myself playing them instantly. If I have that feeling, I know the role is for me. I have to feel some sort of connection to the character for me to choose the role. Also, knowing you will be working with a great director also helps.
Do you feel that you get cast to play a certain type of character more than others?
SO: I feel that I do get approached to play the crazy girlfriend quite a lot. I don’t know why, as I am far from crazy LOL. But for me, I always like to shock people, so I like to play characters people wouldn’t expect me to play.
Can you tell us about some of the theatre productions you’ve participated in up until now?
SO: Growing up I did quite a bit of theatre. I remember doing the “Pirates on Penzance” during the summer but as I was so young I was only part of the chorus. Throughout college, we did lots of shows too. When studying at Identity drama school, I did their annual showcases at The Arcola Theatre, London.
In “Careless” directed by Femi Oguns I played Olivia, one of the lead teens in the production. She lives in a care home and she struggles with lots of insecurities due to her difficult upbringing. This was a very emotional character to play. Her mother comes to visit her at the care home and she is already very distant towards her mom, but she has to break it to her that she is pregnant. I had to really get into the character and be very emotional and full of sadness and anger. I wanted to make sure the audience would feel my pain and sympathize with me.
In “Careless” I star alongside Malachi Kirby, who just did the remake of the series “Roots.”
Out of all your productions both in the theatre and on screen, what has been your favorite project, or projects, so far and why?
SO: Playing my role as Officer Tores in “Pursuit,” the series I just shot, which was written and directed by Casey Printers. was the most challenging for me. I was running around with a gun, which I had never done before. I didn’t even know how to hold a gun properly when I started. But it was super fun and took me out of my comfort zone and has made me really want to focus on doing action projects. I literally felt like I was in CSI.
Do you have a favorite genre to work in as an actress?
SO: My favourite genres to work in are drama and action. I love comedy too.
Besides your work as an actress, you’ve had quite a lot of success as an on camera television host, can you tell us about your first job as a TV host? Were you already working as an actress at that point or did hosting come first?
SO: I was already working as an actress and a week after leaving Identity Drama School, a friend of mine saw open auditions for a hosting job and said he thought I’d be good at it. I was a bit reluctant, but eventually thought there was no harm in trying. The auditions lasted the whole day and I kept getting through to the next round. Before I knew it, I had been picked as one of the 4 hosts for “Girls Unleashed”. My first interview was with USA rapper Memphis Bleek, who was on tour with Jay-Z at the time.
Can you tell us about some of the hosting jobs you’ve done since and what you were covering?
SO: I’ve been a host on “Unplugged” on OH TV, a platform for unsigned artists to come and perform live on air, SBTV, the UK’s online leading youth channel, where I covered the comedy side of things interviewing international comedians and covering behind the scenes of music videos with top UK artists, and the weekend breakfast show “Capital Xtra Radio,” which aired live with Kojo, the comedian from Nick Cannon’s Wild’n’Out MTV series.
For Cabal R&R I covered the 2012 MOBO Awards aka Music of Black Origin, a massive awards show held every year in the UK, which also attracts a lot of international artists. For the UK’s Fashion Thirst I also covered London Fashion Week 2015 and LA Fashion Week 2016, where I covered the catwalk and interviewed top designers. I will also be covering London Fashion Week in September.
When it comes to hosting, what types of events or awards ceremonies do you enjoy hosting most? Do you have certain specialty or topic where you feel you stand out most as a host?
SO: I love music hosting the best. When I did the red carpet at the MOBO Awards, that was a big moment for me as I had always watched the MOBOs since I was a child and I had always wanted to go and now here I was interviewing celebrities from the likes of Rita Ora, Dionne Warwick, TLC and Emeli Sande. I also enjoy sit down interviews with celebrities as I approach my interviews as if we are just friends having a general conversation, so I tend to get good feedback and some exclusives out of the artist.
Can you tell us about some of the most memorable experiences you have had hosting over the years?
SO: Definitely the MOBO awards and when Kojo picked me to join him to host on Capital Xtra Radio. Joining Capital Xtra was a big moment for me as I was grew up listening to the station everyday on the way to school with my Mum, but back then it was known as Choice FM… so when I first stepped into the studio it felt almost surreal. My Mum was super proud!
Who have been some of your favorite people to interview?
SO: Definitely Lloyd, the USA RnB singer was one of my faves, he was my first major celebrity interview and as I was just starting out on my own then, I was super nervous but he was really cool. Also, earlier this year I interviewed the producer Soundz, who works a lot with Justin Bieber. He was really cool and it was an interesting interview as we spoke about his current transition from being a producer to becoming an artist. I also loved working with Kojo as he is a comedian, so he always had me in fits of laughter.
What are some of that challenges you face when it comes to working as a host that people in the viewing audience might not realize goes on behind the scenes in your day to day job?
SO: Most people assume it’s simple, you have a list of questions and you ask them. The challenges are you never know how someone is going to respond to your question, sometimes especially with celebrities, they may not want to open up to you immediately, so you have to think on your feet to keep the conversation flowing and stay calm if you get an awkward response. You can never predict how an interview is going to go. Also, on the red carpet, your time is very very limited, so you have to make sure you ask the best questions and get straight to the point.
Do you have any advice you can offer for those who aspire to work as a television host?
SO: Get out there and network. Your network in this industry is key. If you are just starting out, just get yourself out there, pick a topic and interview people on the street and post it online. Also, look for local events in your area to host. It’s all about getting yourself out there and getting noticed, you have to put in the work and eventually the jobs will start coming to you.