Dana Heath is an actress and book enthusiast who is navigating her way through fame at an early age.
The 16-year-old who plays Mika on “Danger Force,” recently stopped by rolling out to explain how she’s dealt with her rise in the Hollywood hierarchy and what she plans to do in the future.
Do you feel like you had a different type of childhood?
I did. I’m definitely an older soul, so I kind of grew up a little earlier than kids my age did. Getting the responsibility of a full-time job definitely matures you and gives you a level of professionalism that you didn’t originally have, but I did have a childhood. I have great memories. My mom always made sure that despite having a full-time job, I still got to do kid things and act my age. I never really grew up older than I was supposed to be. I don’t really wear adult clothing, I kind of stay my age with clothes, but I mean my mom … I have so many great memories of her, and even though I grew up with a small family, it was still like a very close-knit happy family.
What is the importance of family, especially in an industry like Hollywood as a child actress?
It’s very important because Hollywood is a very iffy place. They will break you down. For example, something I struggled with was my body image. As soon as I started going on TV, I felt I was gaining weight and all this and that. I don’t like how I’m looking, my hair looks dumb, my make-up’s weird. When it happens, Hollywood isn’t going to be like, “No, no you’re fine!” They’re going to be like, “Yeah. Maybe you should be like this person over here who got some plastic surgery, I’m just saying.” So you end up in a place where it can be a very toxic environment, especially for a child. You can have like really bad experiences there, but family is very important for that [reason], because they’re there. My experience was my mom and my grandmother were always there to be like, “Hey. You’re fine. You’re doing great.” They kept me humble, but at the same time, they kept me strong and very grateful for what I came into.
Has your mom ever had to wolf up to someone to protect you?
I’ve definitely experienced people who are in the industry who did not know how to deal with African American hair. I’ve had experiences where they had no idea what to do with makeup and my skin tone and things like that, so my mom definitely had to be like “OK. That’s enough, we’re not doing that.” There were times when she would re-do my hair and make it look decent. … [when] I moved to Nickelodeon, and I started making a name for myself, mom was like, “We can’t have that happen again.” My mom has done me justice and has been amazing with that.
