At what age did you know that acting was going to be among your life’s goals?
I was around 8 or 9 years-old when I saw Introducing Dorothy Dandridge starring Halle Berry. That was the first time I was able to see myself as a leading lady, and I just remember thinking, “Wow, I want to be like her when I grow up.” Coming from a family where education was king, I decided to become a neonatologist instead and didn’t find my way back to acting until undergrad. Even then, I was focused on other careers. I was 22 years-old when I actually went all in.
When did you make your performance debut?
I would say my performance debut happened like a lot of actors, behind closed doors. I had to reveal who I was as an actor to myself before I could share myself with the world. That’s so much more important than the first time I saw myself on screen, which was actually a national commercial by the way. It’s even more important than the first role in an actual series or film. I was in an acting 101 class at Indiana University and I took to the center of the classroom playing a woman with split personalities. It made sense as a woman, a Black woman, a neurodivergent woman who has spent my entire life masking — becoming everyone, everywhere, all at once. That day, I realized acting was a truth serum.
What sort of person is going to love your character on Wicked City?
Mona De La Cruz is unheard, misunderstood, and a true force with untapped strength that she has yet to discover. She’s been trying to get away from the coven and all things magic related since Season 1, and that stands out because she is the only witch in the coven who is constantly running. I’d wonder why often during my character breakdowns of Mona. I’d journal about her, listen to music that I believed resonated with her, thought about her upbringing that was so heavily indoctrinated with the Catholic Church, and I finally realized that she’s running from herself. As we all know, we can’t outrun ourselves. I think people who have ever questioned who they are, why they are the way they are and where they belong will gravitate to Mona.
How is your character like you? Different?
Mona and I are both socially misunderstood, but highly relatable and loving to those closest to us as long as we allow people in. We have both struggled with vulnerability, Mona still does and I hope that she discovers like I did that there is beauty in intimacy. I think Mona and I were both groomed to be strong and independent as children and that bled into our adulthoods. However, we’re both actually soft and tender when we feel safe, and that’s my desire for Mona to find that sense of safety within herself.
What’s the biggest challenge about taking on this role?
I think it’s hard for me to watch Mona struggle so much with pushing away the people she cares about the most. She’s so often looking outward as if the problem is her environment, so she runs. However, she has so much self work to do with her inner child and I just want to hold her and tell her that she’s safe, but as an actor I can’t allow her to foresee what the future more healed version of herself already knows.
If someone was going to make your life into a movie, who would play you and why?
Oh my, I can’t imagine who would play me. I pray my life is long. So, it would have to be some unborn child playing me when they grow up and my biopic is being shot several decades from now.
Besides Wicked City, what’s your favorite performance opportunity?
I would say I loved Queen Margaret in Henry IV, Millamant in The Way of the World, and Shylock from The Merchant of Venice – all dynamic characters.
I love Meryl Streep’s subtleness, Jeffrey Wright as he can literally play any role on earth, Anthony Hopkins, Don Cheadle, Jenifer Lewis I mean look at her resume, and I have to say Denzel Washington and Viola Davis because they are both trailblazers.
What’s your perfect Sunday afternoon look like?
I just want to relax, talk to God, catch up with family, and be in nature somewhere with my shoes off (and yes, I’m keeping my black card).
When you have a five-minute break during rehearsal, what do you spend that time doing?
Five-minutes is like five seconds on set, so I wouldn’t have time to break character and then be ready at 100% again. So, I’ll use that time to breathe and ease my mind into shooting another take or going back onstage because that’s the only time you’ll have that quick of a break.
Who’s the funniest person in the cast in real life?
Depends on the type of humor. I’ll say the most in your face funny is Chanel who plays Sherise. The “dang she’s funny and she doesn’t even know it” one is…me.
If you had a magic wand, what show would you do next?
I’d be on Acolyte today, tomorrow, to-always.
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