‘Tis the season to celebrate the holidays… Fantasy Island style! 🏝 Fantasy Island has been bringing viewers on a trip of a lifetime, adding its own modern flair and reimagining the classic 1970s series we all know and love. The series has a lot of excitement in store (Fox recently announced its pickup of a second season of the show), but now fans get to join the Fantasy Island crew for some merriment with a holiday special titled, “Welcome to the Snow Globe” airing Dec. 21 at 8/7c on Fox. And, there is a spectacular guest who is joining in on the fun – none other than the brilliant actress, Geri-Nikole Love!
Love’s terrific talent always leads to a knockout performance. She has an impressive list of projects she’s been a part of and is known for her notable role in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as her impeccable work in projects including Westworld, The Young and the Restless, Lethal Weapon, and many more.
Acting on screen isn’t the only place where Love’s talent shines. She’s also incredibly passionate about taking her talent onto the theatrical stage. In fact, while she was in college at NYU in the Tisch Program, she also set up a theater company called Movement Theater Company in Harlem.
Now, Love will be gracing our screens and decking the halls in the Fantasy Island holiday special as Dr. Maya Schmidt, who comes to the island to solve the mystery of her missing husband Daniel Jones (played by Mackenzie Astin). Any fantasy a guest has is fulfilled at Fantasy Island, and it looks like our greatest fantasy has been answered by getting to see Geri-Nikole Love in this phenomenal special. Love always blows everyone away with her marvelous gift for acting and what a great treat it truly is to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with a whole lot of love on our screens!
AlexisJoyVIPAccess had a stellar time interviewing the outstanding Geri-Nikole Love all about what it was like for her working on this magical Fantasy Island episode, what would be her greatest fantasy to live out in honor of the Fantasy Island spirit, what’s her favorite episode that she’s worked on from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and so much more only in our VIPAccessEXCLUSIVE interview. A fun fact about Love’s work in Fantasy Island is that she actually auditioned for the role on a Wednesday and by the weekend, she was flown out to Puerto Rico to film for the show – learn more about the memorable experience in our VIPAccessEXCLUSIVE interview below.
Read my VIPAccessEXCLUSIVE interview with the fabulous Geri-Nikole Love below and be sure to catch her in Fantasy Island‘s “Welcome to the Snow Globe” special airing Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 8/7c on Fox!
AlexisJoyVIPAccess: Congratulations on all of the excellent success with your career! We always enjoy watching you in all of your sensational projects. Can you first off tell us what inspired you to focus your life around acting?
Geri-Nikole Love: In high-school, I auditioned for the Governor’s Honors Program in Georgia. I was accepted into the program as a drama major and had the opportunity to study acting on a university campus for the summer prior to my junior year. For the first time, I wasn’t just putting on a play at school. We were studying the history of theatre, acting methods, and human (including personal) observation. After that summer, I became very aware that acting is a craft that can be studied, explored, and developed. Since I could remember, I had always wanted to be a lawyer, and prior to that summer, my long dream of becoming an attorney had morphed into a fascination with forensic pathology. However, after that program I knew that all I wanted to do was study acting.
AlexisJoyVIPAccess: You star in the highly-anticipated Fantasy Island holiday special airing on Dec. 21 on Fox. What was the experience like for you working on this marvelous special?
Geri-Nikole Love: It was honestly a whirlwind. I submitted my self-tape on a Wednesday, found out I booked it the next day, and flew first class to Puerto Rico that Saturday. After that, every step of the process was amazing – from the resort that they put us up in, to my cast-members, the crew, and of course, Puerto Rico.
AlexisJoyVIPAccess: You also got to film this special in Puerto Rico. What was that like for you?
Geri-Nikole Love: Getting the opportunity to not only work on a show in PR, but also be surrounded by a local crew that had so much pride in the project and the work that we were doing, was such a pleasure. Puerto Rico in its own right is such a beautiful and resilient island, but that is magnified in the way Puerto Ricans live life – so much laughter, candor, and soul. It was a truly special experience.
AlexisJoyVIPAccess: Is there a moment from working on this special that sticks out to you the most?
Geri-Nikole Love: My two episodes wrapped up the season and the last scene we shot had a majority of the cast present. Once we officially wrapped, a band playing Bomba music came out, and even though it had started to rain (which it had done a lot that day), everyone started singing, dancing, hugging, and celebrating season one together. It’s a feeling and a moment I will never forget.
AlexisJoyVIPAccess: Fantasy Island takes place on a luxury resort where every fantasy requested by guests is fulfilled. What would be your greatest fantasy to live out?
Geri-Nikole Love: So, I’ve always loved dancing. I was the choreographer on my middle school cheer squad, loved studying dance at my musical theatre studio at NYU, and was once even voted #2 Best Zumba Instructor in NYC. I’m definitely an ‘actor who moves well’ and nowhere near a technically trained dancer, but on Fantasy Island!? I’d be the most proficient dancer in ballet, jazz, ball room, contemporary, even tap, and I would spend each day performing. Some of my favorite dance movie performances are the finale of The Wiz, Footloose, Center Stage, and so on. I would just love to feel that free and expressive in my movement for a week…or two.
AlexisJoyVIPAccess: You’ve also shared your talent in the hit series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. What was your favorite episode you’ve worked on from that show and why?
Geri-Nikole Love: Episode 607 ‘Toldja,’ hands down. Natalia Cordova-Buckley, who played Yo-Yo, and I got to do some fun on-set special effects that ended up having amazing VXF by Mark Kolpack. A Shrike was busting out of a module, the cargohold of the Zephyr One was opening, objects were flying past our heads while we were holding on for dear life. Action packed. I also love that in that episode, it was strong women saving each other. Pretty cool.
AlexisJoyVIPAccess: What would be your dream role to portray?
Geri-Nikole Love: I love Shakespeare. I studied at NYU’s Advanced Classical Studio. I would love to put any of Shakespeare’s work on film. I got to perform Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well while at NYU, directed by Tim Carroll. The rehearsal process and performances of that show are definitely rungs on my Actor Tree. I grew so much during that show and I’d be interested in exploring it again, but on film. Maybe one day I’ll produce it myself. That’d be a milestone for sure. Helena, Countess, director – I’ll take any of those roles.
AlexisJoyVIPAccess: Lastly, if you could bring out one message to all of your fans, what message would that be?
Geri-Nikole Love: Anyone who likes my work, please know that it is a work in progress. I’m a work in progress. I’m moving through life exploring, risking, and leaping. It’s about the journey. Your destination is only filled with the memories and experiences you bring with you, so be that person who packed too much. Unlike a commercial flight, you won’t be charged for extra bags.