Keisha Shakespear-Blackmore, Staff Reporter
Sundra Oakley beaming. - Winston Sill/ Freelance Photographer
The young, energetic, ambitious, mother of one living abroad has placed Jamaica on Hollywood's map being the only Jamaican to be on the popular, Survivor, a reality series on CBS.
Though she was born in the United States of America to Jamaican parents, Sundra Oakley is an ambassador for the island. She is currently a cocktail waitress at a Hollywood nightclub while pursuing an acting career. She has appeared on CSI: Miami (also aired on CBS), Strong Medicine, Sex and the City, several national commercials and has appeared off Broadway.
Oakley made it to the top four on Survivor: Cook Islands, about 13,000 miles from New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean. The show is about outwitting, outplaying, and outlasting others. You are placed on a deserted island for 39 days without food, clothing or any other necessities while you compete against others both physically and mentally.
"You go from eating regularly to starving. You have to hunt, fish and climb trees; whatever it takes to find food," she said. On the other hand, the mental aspect had to do with forming relationships with others.
"You had to get to know people, see how to manoeuvre and vote out people to keep yourself in a good position."
Survival Training
She pointed out that they did a one-day survival training course before the show where the contestants learned which foods can be eaten and the ones that are poisonous. She told Flair that she
did not have a burning desire to be on the show but decided to give it a try after she was approached. She had just completed a commercial for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City and was heading home. At the airport, a lady who overheard her telephone conversion about the commercial approached her.
"She told me she had a friend who was an assistant casting director for a TV show, Survivor, and asked if I would like to be on it."
Oakley gave the lady her contact information and got a call from the casting director Erika Shay, a few days later. A demo tape followed and the rest is now history.
Survivor
On the island, the contestants were provided with a barrel of water. However, Oakley said, "it was the most wretched-smelling, mosquito- infested water I have ever seen. We were forced to boil it."
The show is a game of strategy and manipulation: "You are forced to operate on an optimal level while you're tired, hungry, dirty and wet. It's no joke."
For her, the experience was the hardest, most anxiety-ridden thing she had ever done. With a sense of accomplishment, she leans back in the chair and reflects: "It was also the most amazing thing I've ever done. I have been empowered. You see, I was at a point in my life where I was searching for something because I knew there was more to life."
Her eyes widen as she says, "You know when you're so raw and close to nature you become very primal." When she is out there in the wild, Oakley notes, she is aware of a supreme being. "Whenever I had a very conflicting question such as who to vote off, I would hear God's voice."
Sleeping With Rats
Sleeping with rats was the most challenging part for her.
"It was mentally hard for me. Even eating maggots did not bother me as much, I was hungry and nothing mattered," she said, her eyes squinting. Her maggot-eating debut occurred after she won a challenge and was rewarded with an invitation to a feast with the villagers. Both she and her teammates took back some of the chicken and pork that was on the menu. Not having a refrigerator to put the food in it attracted insects.
"While we were eating some of the leftover food, one of my team members asked, "Is there something crawling on the food?" I just brushed it aside and said "Oh well," and continued eating."
She notes that she now understands a little bit about starvation and how people who are starving feel. She told Flair that the experience was phenomenal. However, when she was asked if she would do it again, her response was "Hell no!"
"But it is the best thing I have ever done and nothing in my life can compare to that experience. I feel very lucky to have had such an experience," she added. On the show she learnt that she was stronger than she gave herself credit.
"There's a whole world out there, grab it, live fearlessly and seek the impossible."
Wicked Wicked Games
After her Survivor stint, she went back home. She arrived in the U.S.A. on Saturday, August 5, 2006, and by the following Thursday, she received a call that she got a part in the soap opera, Wicked Wicked Games. She had done an audition prior to going on Survivor for the TV show Watch Over Me but being away, they gave her a part in Wicked Wicked Games instead. The show is currently aired on My9 TV (formerly known as UPN). Wicked Wicked Games is a show that looks and feels like Melrose Place. Oakley plays the role of a mystery woman who comes into town delivering messages.
Motherhood
While pursuing her acting career and working in a nightclub, Oakley is also a full-time mother. She said she never saw being a mother and pursuing her dreams as juggling. What she does instead is try not to let things overwhelm her.
"I have a great son and we are blessed. Plus, we have great a support system; family and friends who love and support us." Her five-and-a-half year-old son, Carsun Hall, is used to having a mother in showbiz. In fact, while she was on Survivor, he told all his friends to watch the show.
Her goal is not only to do film but to also do situation comedies, theatre and one-hour dramas. She knew at 13 years of age that she wanted to be an actress and has been doing just that. She notes that for the first time in her life, she is learning a lot about and taking care of herself. Though she is single at the moment, she is open to possibilities but will not settle for less than she wants.
Hobbies
Oakley's hobbies include dancing, travelling to new countries, reading, kung fu and capoeira (a Brazilian form of dance-fighting), snuggling on the couch with her son to watch movies and sleeping whenever she can. Her favourite sports are running and boxing. She said she likes anything that questions the boundaries of the body, anything that lets her search a little deeper. For her, boxing is a sport that allows one to let out one's aggression.
"At first I did not understand it but it's like choreography and I love to dance. I've been doing it since I was knee high."
She is proud to be the first Jamaican on Survivor and is always looking for ways to promote Jamaica to the world. "One of my goals is to be an ambassador of the new image of Jamaica because it is about time."
New Projects:
Oakley has written two children's books inspired by her son. Plans for new projects include:
Designing eclectic children wear - funky, rock, hip and Caribbean-inspired clothing;
Working with Jamaican youth - doing something meaningful not just dumping money into a charity organisation;
Her own television show.
The Auti Four final four contestants in the 'Survivor Cook Island', reality series on CBS making their debut on the red carpet. From left: Ozzy Lusth, Sundra Oakley, Becky Lee and Yul Kwon. - Contributed
