by Maja Bebber
Photography: Sergio Garcia // Makeup: Andrea Samuels // Styling: Veronica Graye
In My Life with the Walter Boys, Jackie (played by Nikki Rodriguez) is torn between two boys: Cole and Alex. In real life, the LA born actress knows exactly what she wants – building her acting career and making the world a better place, one step at a time.
Nikki always knew that her path would lead her to acting. “Honestly, my whole life I wanted to be an actress, ever since I can remember," she says. "So, a lot of it was just auditioning or I was in school plays as much as I could. So yeah, I've always wanted to be an actress. So, I'm so happy that I'm finally here. It's crazy.”
A Netflix sensation, My Life with the Walter Boys revolves around Jackie, an ambitious young girl from New York who has to leave her privileged life behind after her parents pass away in a tragic accident. She moves to a small town to live with her guardian Kate and her family. She learns lessons about love, hope and friendship. The show took off in a matter of days after its release in early December of 2023, and all its actors gained major social media recognition.
But how did all of this feel for Nikki? She tells me it was crazy.
“I would have never even imagined. But it's amazing. It felt incredible, honestly. We felt we had something pretty special when we were filming season one. And that's always the hope, right? That it's perceived in that way, but you never really know. So, we had high hopes, but it has really exceeded all my expectations and it couldn't be more amazing.”
Her character is very headstrong, ambitious and directed. One thing Nikki admires the most about her is her independence. “Jackie, she's going through a lot and she is really strong and independent and her journey through season one, I think, is really beautiful," Nikki explains. "She's very uncomfortable and struggling. And you really see her open up and really start to come into her own towards the end of the season, which I think is really beautiful to see.”
The show has been compared to other franchises with similar storylines such as The Summer I Turned Pretty. Both stories surround a live triangle in some way. But what is really at the heart of the story? For Nikki it is more than just the connection her character has to the two brothers Alex (portrayed by Ashby Gentry) and Cole (portrayed by Noah LaLonde).
“I think our show is different. I mean, like you said, Jackie's dealing with an incredible tragedy. And so there's loss, there's grief, there's love, there's finding a new home and a chosen family," Nikki reflects. "And then even outside of Jackie you have the whole family, the whole town. Everyone has a story, and so it's just a well rounded, whole town. I think it's really nice. And everyone has their little storyline. I think the focus shouldn't be too much on Jackie and the two boys. There's so many people at the center other than the brothers and everyone has a little story, so I hope in the second season they'll be able to explore the storyline of the other characters a bit more as well.“ Season 2 of My Life with the Walter Boys wrapped production in November of 2024.
The conversation about who Jackie should end up with has been heated for some time now. Team Alex or Team Cole? Ultimately, Nikki is team Jackie.
“Both characters are great and both actors are incredible. Alex is that sweet, innocent, very kind and sensitive type of guy and Cole is that bad boy, that passionate one, that one that you really shouldn't love but you do anyways type, so it's tough. I really can't pick one. I always say that at the end of the day, I am team Jackie because she deserves to follow her dreams and follow her heart.”
I can only imagine how much fun it was to be on set with so many incredible people, where special memories have been made. Nikki has made so many she can’t just pick one. Regarding her favorite memories, Nikki says, “Probably all of the group family scenes. Filming those together was so fun. It's so chaotic in the best way because we have 15 family members. Not only was filming the scenes really fun, but offset as well. We would always be playing football or basketball or baseball in the yard. When we were filming in the house, it was such a beautiful location. We were in the middle of nowhere. So, we had a lot of space."
"It was really fun. It felt like a summer camp in a way, but we all take it really seriously so it's the best of both worlds.”
Nikki is not only a talented actress, she also has other amazing aspirations that she’s pursuing when she’s not on set. “Something I spent a lot of my time doing this year was volunteering at this animal Wildlife Center in Calabasas. It was really fun because we got to take injured baby animals and then our whole goal was releasing them back into the wild. So, that was my favorite part of the year. We got to work with all kinds of birds and squirrels and opossums, it was really fun.”
But Nikki’s ambitions don't stop there. In 5 years' time she wants to be part of an A24 film. She also wants to work with Greta Gerwig. “I think she's absolutely incredible. There are so many incredible women in the TV and film industry. And I really would love to be in those projects with them. I admire them so much. They're incredible. So, hopefully in five years, I'll be there.”
I know she will get there. And I will be right here waiting and rooting for her.
My Life with the Walter Boys is now streaming on Netflix. Season 2 drops in summer of 2025.
