Though Imani Hakim has been acting for a long time, it feels like she’s finally hit her stride. The actress is reprising her role as Dana in season 3 of the AppleTV+ comedy series Mythic Quest, starring opposite Rob McElhenney.
In the series, which focuses on the team behind the biggest multiplayer video game of all-time and what occurs in the office, Hakim’s character is a driven and studious video game tester who proves herself in a male-dominated industry.
“It’s been really great to be back because I love the show so much. I’m such a fan of the show and the people involved — from the actors to the producers to the crew. It’s really nice to come back to a job that you respect and just have a great time making!” the 29-year-old exclusively tells GRAZIA USA. “With Dana, it’s really exciting for me to step into this character again — we’ve gotten to know her as the unassuming one out of the bunch at the Mythic Quest office. She’s nice and passionate about video games, but this season we get to see all these new colors of her personality: her drive, her desire for climbing the ladder a bit.”
One of Hakim’s favorite parts of filming the past season was getting to work directly with McElhenney, who plays Ian Grimm, and Charlotte Nicdao, who plays Poppy Li, in the comedy series. “Rob and I didn’t have a lot of scenes together in the previous seasons, so it was nice to work with him and bond with him on a different level,” she shares. “Charlotte’s already one of my closest friends, so it was nice to be silly with her between takes. We had a blast working together!”
Since McElhenney has appeared in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia for many years, Hakim was able to learn from him. “He’s so supportive of us as actors, and it’s nice to have a mentor on-screen,” she gushes. “He always has a door open policy, so whatever guidance you need, he’s in our corner. He’s also very funny.”
Since the brunette beauty has starred in other dramatic features, such as Lifetime’s award-winning The Gabby Douglas Story, it was a “bit intimidating” for her to get into the comedy scene. “But I felt it was so timely for me because it was something that I was craving; I wanted to be challenged,” she notes. “In a way it was just getting back into stretching that comedic muscle again and feeling almost like I am in a master’s class with all of the cast. It’s been a really exciting experience to be thrown into. It feels good to make something that brings joy but can also make them cry at the same time. I love that about our show — yes, it’s a comedy, but it also has so much heart.”
From the get-go, Hakim knew the series “was something special.”
“I remember reading the pilot episode and just getting butterflies in my gut and chills all over my body,” she recalls. “I felt like we were doing something special. It’s nice to hear from other people that they love the show. When they say, ‘I feel so connected to this show’ or ‘Thank you for making it.’ I’m like, ‘Yes, I feel the same way.'”
Since Hakim was seven, she knew acting was in her future. “I was bitten by the creative bug, so I would hand write my own scripts, and I would cast my cousins in roles. I would direct and star in it,” she quips. “I started acting in the neighborhood theater, and I think that’s when the acting bug really began. I was like, ‘OK, I could really do this.’ It just became a nonstop thing where I preferred to hang out by myself in my room so I could act and write and put on plays. Long story short, we took a leap of faith and pursued my career and the rest is history!”
Though there were some ups and downs along the way — Hakim didn’t land every part — she is grateful for how far she’s come. “I’m on one of the biggest streaming platforms and I’ve worked with award-winning actors and have gotten to learn so much from them,” she notes. “It feels surreal, and it’s easy to get wrapped up in the rejection of it all. I am proud of myself and my resilience and my perseverance through it all because it’s something I love. I have tough skin and some people would kill to be in this position. It’s not lost on me to be here.”
After landing the role in The Gabby Douglas Story, Hakim quickly rose to fame. “I hadn’t worked on camera in three years before booking that job,” she says. “I was kind of very much in a dry spell in my career. I started studying and taking my craft very seriously and not too long after that I got the audition. I didn’t originally get the audition, though, but a friend reached out to me because they were doing open casting. My friend said, ‘You’re perfect for this.’ I called my team and I was able to audition. The director loved what I brought and then I landed the role. It was an intimidating journey because I hadn’t worked in three years and then I’m in this movie. I was so focused and really wanted to change the trajectory of my career. I wanted to prove to myself that I don’t have to box myself in.”
Going forward, Hakim, who is also really passionate about advocating for body positivity, wants to keep acting, as it’s a top priority for her, but she is interested in producing and “telling stories from a very specific Black female point of view,” she says. “It’s really important. We haven’t seen these stories in my particular age range a lot. There’s so many people I want to work with, and I’m excited because I know it’s all going to happen. I feel like I’m just getting started at this point, and I’m excited to see where my journey goes.”
The industry is already changing — something Hakim is excited about. “I look around at younger actresses like Marsai Martin or Lexi Underwood, and I’m so proud of them because I didn’t necessarily have that representation growing up,” she states. “We’re moving into a new time where there’s so many of us right now, and it just fills my heart with so much joy. I want to see more representation on the screen.”
She concludes, “It’s fascinating to see how quickly the time goes. I look back at my career and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, almost 19 years in the game.’ I’ve worked with such fantastic people on really great projects. They taught me so much about my resilience. I’ve learned a lot, and I’m so grateful for my experience thus far.”
Season 3 of Mythic Quest is now streaming on AppleTV+.
