Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune
May 5, 2020
“As someone who was on a plane every weekend, I thought I was tired of traveling until now,” says actor Dorian Missick (“Six Degrees,” “The Manchurian Candidate,” “The Good Wife”), who splits his time between Brooklyn and Los Angeles. “My family is already planning a trip to Bermuda after all of this. It’s literally the topic of all of our daily Zoom sessions.” One of the stars of the ABC legal drama, “For Life,” Missick plays inmate Jamal Bishop on the series. Fans may follow him on Instagram.
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A. The Bahamas – Harbour Island in particular. My family is from there, so I get to see them in Nassau and then dip over to Harbour Island for a vacation. Bahamians are the most chill and friendly people in the world. And, yes, yes — I’m biased. (Laughs)
Q. To someone who was going to the Bahamas for the first time, what would you suggest they check out?
A. I highly recommend the Fish Fry, which is a row of restaurants and bars and great folks. I would recommend hitting up Junkanoo, if it’s going on. And my favorite sports bar for some real local chilling (is the) Prime Time Lounge.
Q. What untapped destination should people know about?
A. I’m not sure how unknown it is, but the Maldives was incredible! My wife and I went there for the holidays and it blew our minds.
Q. What was the first trip you took as a child?
A. The first time I remember packing a suitcase and getting on a plane was to see my grandma in Nassau. I loved the plane immediately. I couldn’t get over the fact that I was eating food in the sky!
Q. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A. That people really embrace you when you lead with love and true curiosity about their culture and traditions. You can learn a lot about a culture by the way they party too. I usually go directly to a record store or do some research on the music of the place. That’s my starting point.
Q. Are you a street cart or fine dining kind of traveler?
A. More than likely I would go for the street cart or food truck. Fancy dining is generally a community’s way of putting their best foot forward, which I like, too, but when you eat what the people usually eat, you learn so much more.
Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A. Living in L.A., there are so many different little enclaves and places that feel like you’ve traveled far away. I love to take off and play golf in Palm Springs the most.
Q. Where is the most romantic destination?
A. This is a bit of a cheat, but Mykonos Island in Greece is romantic! Now, my wife went without me because of my work schedule. But between the pics she sent me and all the FaceTime we did, I fell in love.
Q. If you’ve ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?
A. Last Christmas, we went to Dubai, South Africa, the Maldives and Sri Lanka – all in one trip – and it was incredible.
Q. Do you speak any foreign languages?
A. I speak a little Spanish. I am not the fastest learner when it comes to languages, unfortunately.
Q. What are your five favorite cities?
A. Brooklyn, Chicago, New Orleans, Paris, Nassau.
Q. Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?
A. Paris was surprisingly similar to New York in a lot of ways. I really love that city and their culture.
Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A. I cannot wait to get to Egypt. Seychelles in East Africa is another dream trip for me.
Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A. As a married man, I have learned that I always have to have extra suitcase space. No matter how much I ask my wife not to over-shop when we travel, she will inevitably do so and have no place to put it in her own luggage. I need my Beats headphones for my music. I cannot go anywhere without my allergy medicine.
Q. What is your guilty pleasure when you’re on the road?
A. My diet goes completely out the window! I eat my way through every destination.
Q. What kind of research do you do before you go away on a trip?
A. I usually research what the locals are into. I find the heartbeat of any destination is where the working class is. Oftentimes vacation destinations are designed for foreigners to spend money and you end up getting a watered-down expensive experience. I like to get a real feel for anywhere I go.
Q. What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?
A. Hands down the best vacation experience was the last trip we took for the Christmas holiday. The worst were trips as a 10-year-old child and traveling with the whole family. My cousin and my uncle, who are more like my big brothers, are five and 10 years older than me, respectively, and didn’t like being stuck with a kid during those times. I cramped their style on family vacations. Those were lonely times for me. (Laughs)
© 2020 JAE-HA KIM
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