Ayana Workman

Ayana Workman’s first gig was an impromptu performance with tap genius Savion Glover. She was three years old.

Savion asked the audience if anyone wanted to come up on stage and dance with him. Ayana’s hand shot straight up like a rocket. Always prepared, she had her tap shoes with her.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that her parents were legendary jazz bassist Reggie Workman — a veteran of the John Coltrane Quartet — and Maya Milenovic Workman, an internationally renowned dancer and choreographer. Unlike her classmates, Ayana’s daycare was in dance studios and recording studios, where she grew her chops as a dancer and musician, learning how to play the guitar, the piano and the African djembe drum.

But at age 9, she pivoted again, and decided she was going to be an actor.

A New York City native, it was only logical that her first professional gig in her early 20s was playing Juliet in the Public Theatre Mobile Unit’s production of Romeo and Juliet, traveling around to prisons, homeless shelters, and community centers throughout New York’s boroughs. She buttressed her stage resume with roles in plays like Hamlet, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, and Julius Caesar. On top of that, she’s performed on international stages including the National Theatre in Slovenia and London’s legendary Globe Theatre.

These days, she works in television and film, having guest roles in shows like Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Person of Interest, and the film Rustin, playing the role of activist Eleanor Holmes, who is now a delegate from the District of Columbia to the US House of Representatives.

“Rustin is a film that chronicles the incredibly vital and important story of Bayard Rustin, a critically important African-American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin worked with A. Philip Randolph and Martin Luther king on the March on Washington Movement, in 1963, to press for an end to racial discrimination in employment. That’s why this role was a dream come true for me. Telling stories about my country’s black history — particularly about people most Americans have never heard of — is as much of a privilege as it is a necessity. Art moves people in ways no activism or political campaign ever could. The power of film as a medium is undeniable, and I feel like my journey down this path has just begun.”