Young Rock's series actress Stacey Leilua could be tagged for an Emmy!

Stacey Leilua’s performance in ‘Young Rock’ has had viewers talking from the get-go. Her performance has been described as magnetic, captivating, and Stacey has also been named a ‘scene-stealer’ for her role as Ata Johnson. A role and performance that might even snag the Samoan actress an Emmy.

The nomination process for the 73rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards kicked off last week, where the TV academy posted their ballots online. Amongst the ballots was Leilua for her role as Ata. If she makes it past this round of ballot votes, she’ll be in as an Emmy nominee. She finds herself in good company with fellow Young Rock co-stars also in the ballots for their categories. 

‘Young Rock’ is the American sitcom series based on the life of almost every Samoans claim to fame, Dwayne The Rock Johnson. The series gained rave reviews, a huge fan base, and was picked up for a second season. Stacey plays The Rocks mum Ata Johnson. 

Before she was well known for being the strong Samoan mother she is, Ata was Feagaimaleata Fitisemanu Maivia. She was adopted by the popular Samoan-American professional wrestler Peter Maivia when he married her mother Ofelia 'Lia' Fuataga. This meant that Ata Johnson was involved in the Wrestling world from a young age and went on to raise one of the most famous wrestlers in the world.

Ata Johnson being the iconic and strong woman that she is was not an easy role to cast, but Stacey has proven to be the perfect fit. Being a strong Samoan mother herself, Ata and Stacey draw many parallels in each of their own lives.

We got to speak to Stacey about these parallels she has with Ata Johnson, the atmosphere onset of a big Pasifika production, lessons she learnt while playing Ata, and so much more below.

Ata Johnson is such an iconic woman and Young Rock beautifully displayed those layers to her as a strong Samoan mother. There were scenes like Ata (played by yourself) just wanting to buy the non-off-brand creamer for her coffee that Poly mums on Twitter said they could relate to. Was there any scene you filmed in particular where you felt connected to Ata and her experience as a fellow island mum? 

One of my favourite scenes in the show was when Ata sits teenage Dwayne (played by Bradley Constant) down and has a talk with him after finding out he has been shoplifting. After initially trying the tough route with him and realising that it wasn’t getting her anywhere, she sits him down and talks to him as a grown up. The scene was written beautifully, and showed a tenderness and vulnerability between the two characters that definitely resonated with me. 

While giving such a magnetic performance as Ata you must have had to spend a lot of time in the mind and story of Ata Johnson. Did you learn anything from playing Ata that you feel you will use forever as Stacey? 

There are a lot of Ata’s own life experiences that are similar to mine, so being able to play her and at times reflect on my own journey was special and I think helped make the performance richer. I think she is a shining example of leading with love and respect that I hope to emulate in my own life, especially as a mother. 

What was the atmosphere like on set of such a big production? 

The team behind Young Rock are some of the hardest workers I have ever met. Everyone was great at what they did - from the Art Department dressing sets in such minute detail, the Hair and Make-Up team who worked on hundreds of cast and extras every day, even the Transportation guys who would be relocating our trailers in the dead of night. It was just incredible to see all those inner workings every day and realise that you’re one part of a huge picture. I think the positive atmosphere on a huge production like this really starts with exemplary leadership from the top, and Dwayne and the other Executive Producers are all really good people who were committed to making a great product. 

Dwayne Johnson has always acknowledged his mother's pivotal role in his life and career. The series showed this powerfully in the way Ata was very visibly strong, independent and resilient. What do you hope young Samoan women could learn from her that they could use to feel more empowered as tama'itai Samoa? 

The thing I loved about how Ata was written for the screen (and full credit to our wonderful creators Nahnatchka Khan and Jeff Chiang for this) was that they presented her as a whole person - a fallible human being. Yes, she is strong, but we also see her softer side...her vulnerability, how she carries herself as a wife and daughter. I hope that this serves as a reminder to anyone that you don’t have to always have it all together; it’s okay to cry it out sometimes or admit that you don't have all the answers. Being resilient in the face of adversity is admirable, of course, but feeling okay about speaking up when you need help (like Ata did in Young Rock with her friend Diane) is just as important.

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Watch Young Rock on NEON if you're in Aotearoa or NBC.com and the NBC App if you're in the US.