‘Jupiter’s Legacy’ is No. 1 on Netflix Top 10 list and Toronto native Tenika Davis spoke with us on her role as the delightful Petra Small.
Davis is a beautiful Black woman who kicked a** in this film embracing representation in a new role that gave her Mystique and Storm from ‘X-Men’ vibes.
Petra is a character who can shoot energy blasts as her power stems from the sun and light. Not only does she has the energy blasts…her Taekwondo background gives her upside against enemies like Blackstar played by Tyler Mane.
In the Comic and Sci-Fi series, it evolves around parents as superheroes struggling with their children to uphold justice by the law of the land. In contrast to their own perception of justice, characters like Chloe played by actress Elena Kampouris walked her own path suffering from a lack of love by her dad Sheldon.
Davis understood why her character displayed was beneficial to Black America despite the surprise reaction she had to landing the role. Given that she credited her praise to Megan Good for giving her sound advice…Davis sacrificed putting herself in position to rise.
“I don’t really think I believed it could happen that quickly. If I’m really honest about it…it was my first time I took a random bold action. I was like…I’m from Canada, I’m going to take a plane out to the United States, I’m going to Los Angeles, I’m going to find myself a manager and I’m going to get representation and find a way to be viable in that market,” she said. “It was like things just happened boom…boom…boom. It was my first pilot scene one of the first auditions I did. It literally was something that came quickly.”
One revealing moment Davis brought up was not knowing her biological dad while playing a daughter of one with superpowers.
“Part of being an actor is you get to tell stories that you haven’t lived yet right? So, for me personally… I actually don’t know my biological father. I have no idea who he is right? So, for me when I got these sides… I was like what conversation would you want to have had with a dad had he been there? I mean I had other step dads and stuff but my mom got divorced and stuff but having that personal core close relationship with a father is something I never experienced. So, through this charter I was able to have that experience and know what it felt like to have a dad. So, I think finding your truth within that story, within that character and realm is something you have to really be authentic in that moment.”
Davis was featured in films such as ‘Wrong Turn’, ‘Jumping the Broom’ and is currently in production for a new project she didn’t reveal.
Toronto has a rising star with a tremendous background and Davis is well beyond blessed to make all Black women feel beautiful in films.
