I Love LA star True Whitaker reveals helpful advice she received from dad Forest Whitaker

True Whitaker is mirroring her real life as she plays Alani on I Love LA, the daughter of a famous producer, and a friend of one of the protagonists. Behind the scenes, the actress did get some helpful advice from her father Forest Whitaker, who is known for his role on projects like Star Wars, Black Panther and The Last King of Scotland.

Speaking to PEOPLE Magazine, True spoke about how her dad taught her an important ethic about working hard as she said,

"[My dad has taught me] when to say no, and also to work hard and just be true to yourself. Working hard for authenticity will get you where you want to go."

In another interview with Shadow and Act, the actress spoke about some resemblances her on-screen counterpart has with her as she told the outlet,

"And to me, I feel the exact same way. I’m proud of my Black ass dad, who made something of himself and is a legend. And to have that so close to me, [and] to be able to pull from that and be so heavily inspired…I’ll never be embarrassed or feel weird about being associated with the greatness that he has created. And I’m hoping that I can be able to do that too.”

More details about I Love LA and True Whitaker's role

I Love LA arrived on HBO in November with the kind of chaotic sparkle only Rachel Sennott could pull off. She created the series, wrote it, and leads the cast as Maia Simsbury, an ambitious young woman trying to break into talent management while juggling a messy and very Los Angeles friend group.

The core group around Maia feels like a very specific snapshot of the city. Odessa A’zion plays Tallulah Stiel, a hyper visible influencer and Maia’s friend from college. True Whitaker appears as Alani Marcus, the daughter of a famous actor who works at her father’s production company. Jordan Firstman steps in as Charlie Cohen, a West Hollywood stylist with plenty of opinions. Josh Hutcherson rounds out the quartet as Dylan, the schoolteacher who also happens to be Maia’s boyfriend.

True Whitaker’s role as Alani becomes one of the standout arcs. She had admired Sennott’s work in Shiva Baby and Bottoms long before auditioning, and even created a vision board in 2024 with Sennott’s image on it. Whitaker discovered the pilot through a friend auditioning for Tallulah and asked her agent to look for available roles, and Alani felt like an instant match.

The writers shaped the character using details Whitaker shared about growing up in Los Angeles and being the child of Forest Whitaker and Keisha Nash. By the time she filmed scenes referencing Clueless or wandered through her father’s production company, the role felt grounded and lived in.

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I Love LA is streaming on HBO.

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