June 21, 2022 • 31 mins
Michelle and Yolonda are coming from the Midwest. They discuss Yolonda’s portrayal of a cancer patient in her role on The Chi and how it inspired her advocacy for black women battling breast cancer. Yolonda also talks about her career and how she deals with grief. CHECK IN to this episode if you want to find purpose in the work you’re already doing!
For more about Yolonda, visit: http://www.yolondaross.com/
Follow Yolonda on social media!
Instagram: @YolondaRoss_Creator
Twitter: @YolondaRoss
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Checking In with Michelle Williams, a production of
My Heart Radio and The Black Effect. I'm so excited
about my next guest. You've definitely seen her in the
(00:22):
hit show The Shy. She plays a woman by the
name of Jada who has breast cancer, and I'm so
excited to get her perspective and her take on how
she brings this role to life. So stay tuned for
this episode of Checking In. I'm excited about it. All right,
(00:43):
ladies and gentlemen, this is another dynamic episode of Checking In.
Yes I've judged my own episode, Yes I did. It's dynamic,
it is wonderful, it is fabulous. I really like to
dig in with actors of so much respe fact that
I know are committed to their craft versus what comes
(01:04):
with the notoriety of the craft. And I've got Yolanda
Ross checking in with us today. She has worked with
Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Lena Waite, and even
David Momutt. So please welcome to my podcast. Actress, director,
writer and producer. She does everything, y'all. Welcome, Yolanda rouss Hey,
(01:30):
I'm so good to be here. It's so good to
be here. By the way, one of the reasons why
I got excited is because you're from the Midwest, like
the Midwest, the Midwest. How is it then to be
in Chicago coming from the winter into spring. It went
(01:51):
from winter to summer. I don't know about the spring.
It went from winter to summer. Like last week, it
just went it was like ninety degrees right, thank you,
And we were outside and I can't tell you. There
was swept everywhere everywhere. It wasn't cute. So did it
affect filming. It's just it just affected us being hot,
(02:12):
being hot, because I didn't know if it was like
set in the winter and then all of a sudden,
it's ninety degrees outside and y'all got a turtle and scarves.
That's very true. That could that does happen sometimes, because
I remember last season there was a day where it
just suddenly got cold. It was warming up, everything was good,
and then I had an outdoor scene where it was
(02:32):
like we went back to forty you know, after being
in like the seventies and eighties. Yeah, that's definitely, as
my grandmother would sayy pneumonia weather and the Midwest, that
is the Midwest but I wouldn't trade anything for grounds
and foundation of the Midwest. Yes, I think we're the
(02:55):
coolest people, especially when you work in the industry. There's
some people that might get mad at the same thing.
I don't care. I feel like we don't let success
get to our heads. Yeah. I feel they're grounded, you know,
if they're grounded in what life is about, what matters. Yes, ma'am.
That's what I found with the people that I know
from the Midwest. It's just we still have the same sensibilities. Yeah,
(03:18):
we do. So we connect because we're from the Midwest.
But I also feel like we connect because we like
to do things like you, like train rides, luxury train rides. Yes,
Like I can't even tell you. I was just talking
to a friend about this yesterday. It's like I'm just
waiting for the thing that I can celebrate and take
(03:41):
like I don't maybe like ten friends go to Europe,
book a train and us like just take over. Yes,
that just be like a seven eight day trip, you know,
dressed for dinner, listen to music, go to like the
dinner car like yes, the dinner card and the back cart.
And people don't realize like you could actually have bedrooms
(04:05):
on the train, your suite. That's the whole thing. That's all.
I mean. The train trip is the vacation, you know,
so it's your room and and like I said, going
to dinner in another car and just meeting your people,
having a drink, watching the scenery. Like planes can definitely
(04:25):
get you places faster, but if you have the time,
it's nothing like even just going from like l A
to San Francisco or l A to San Diego. Just
go up the coast. That is a beautiful ride. And
they have those like little destination um Amtrak has them
when they go through a few places back and forth.
(04:48):
I just gotta say, like the trains, the actual trains
in Europe are a little better, a little bit, a
little more advanced. Yeah, it's just the whole other experience.
They're just beautiful. And I think it's because also we
don't take the train as much. We don't look at
that as a luxury to travel that way. We're always
(05:11):
trying to get somewhere fast, whereas I feel like people
in other countries sometimes enjoy where they are in the moment. Yes, yes, yes, yes,
And I feel like that is what you have done
in your career, enjoying things during the moment, at the moment.
One of your first roles you played alongside Denzel Washington
(05:34):
very early on in your career. Yeah, how was that?
Did you expect that? No, like for real, because it
was so early on. I was not up for doing
it because I read that script like twice and I
was like, you know, I don't think I can do this,
told my agent and he was like, look, this is
(05:57):
Denzel's directorial debut. Just take a look at it one
more time before you pass on it. And I looked
at it again, and what was sticking me was the
molestation of the child. I didn't think I could do
that one screen. And then this third time that I
read it, I saw that it was all like behind
the door or behind the window, like so you didn't
(06:19):
actually see it one screen, and I was like, Okay,
I can do this. You do this, and so, you know,
I did the tape for it, and Nzel called me
like I was on I remember, I was on Mail
Rose Place. I just left, like Fred Segal almost got
hit by a car because I'm like answering my phone
was like wait what and I just stopped dead in
(06:39):
the street. Like Denzel's calling me. It was amazing. It
was amazing. He was so great as a director because
I hadn't done a whole lot. But to watch this
man that you know is an actor learning this business.
He knew everything he wanted he did, it was smooth.
Do you feel like that step was something divine to
(07:00):
happen for you at that point? I mean, right now
you've got over sixty acting credits to your resume. But
to look back and be like, but I started here,
Anton Fisher, like Denzel Washington, I mean, I think that
is amazing because you have some people you gotta cry
before you walk. You can't work with these people until
you've had sixty acting credits. But early on, I just
(07:23):
think that's just a testament of your gift. Thank you.
I do too, Like, literally, this whole career is your gift.
The whole career is what I'm supposed to be doing
because I was in a fashion business. So for me
to get into this, I feel like I came in sideways.
Nobody knew who I was. I didn't mean it's behind me.
(07:44):
I you know, book something and book something else four
years later. That really got me going. All of it though,
I'm learning from as I go. I'm learning about me,
I'm learning about life. I'm learning about things that I,
as Yolanda, would never ever really find out about. So
(08:05):
I feel like the whole trajectory was already laid out,
and I, if I'm paying attention, will go in the
right direction. I would say, even like even at that time,
like I still didn't maybe fully fully fully know what
I was here for, but I feel that I do now.
I feel that I'm here for us. I mean, if
(08:27):
you look at the people that I play, they are
women that a lot of times you don't look at people,
don't pay attention to people, don't get to know these women.
But I bring them to life with heart. I don't
objectify them. I don't put anything on them. I am
just them because you know, it's like I don't want
(08:48):
to put anything on them. You feel how you feel
about them, but I'm not putting any judgment on them
when I'm playing them. So I just want you to
see the humanity in people, because we don't take the
time to get to new people. We don't take the
time to see And speaking of taking time, you mentioned
from twenty eleven to now that's been eleven years and
(09:08):
you say you're kind of just now figuring things out.
That's something to say to the listener. Sometimes it can
take eleven years for you to figure you out. And
as long as we're living and breathing, there are parts
of us that we're still going to be figuring out.
I'm forty three this year, and there's something about me
that I've just now discovered. And I shared it with
(09:30):
a friend of mine last night and he said, but
I've always known that about you. I know I'm discovering this,
So thank you for sharing that as someone is so
awesome as you are that you were able to admit. Like, yo,
from two thousand eleven, you're saying two up to now,
you're just kind of figuring out who you are. Do
(09:51):
you mean just as a human or in your career
as an actor? I think it's all of it. I'm
an actress for a reason. I'm a writer and a
director for a reason. I am getting stories out, I
am getting characters out, Like I said, things that you
don't get to see all the time or take the
time to get to know. So I feel that is
(10:11):
my purpose. So when I like eleven, that's when I
kind of figured things out. It was like I was
getting bits and pieces of what I feel I should
be doing. But why am I writing this kind of thing?
Why are these kind of characters coming to me? You know,
it's like looking at it because you keep looking at
what you've done in the past to see wow. So
(10:33):
there's a pattern of things that come to me. So
looking forward, it's like, I know there's stuff that I
have to get out because I don't write just to write.
There are people in situations that we need to see.
That's why I have the gift that I have. M
You're talking about writing, and I'm like, man, I want
(10:54):
to see you in theater. I want to see you
on Broadway. M too. You just revealed to us that
you just got through wrapping up The Shy because you're
in Chicago as we speak, and your character Jada on
the series has breast cancer. You're saying how the role
(11:16):
changed you and was this the role that made you
advocate because I know you talk about disparities and healthcare
among people of color. Like last season when Jada was
going through cancer, I started working with three organizations here
in Chicago and just you know, meeting with women because
it was still a ton of lockdown, so not a
(11:37):
lot of people were coming out, but I didn't to
meet with them in person a couple of times and
then on Zoom as well, and it was just really
interesting to hear what women of color have been through
the experience and just sad, you said, because it shouldn't
be that way. You shouldn't have to go to three
different doctors to find out you have cancer. Nobody's sending
(12:00):
you in for a cat scan or m r I.
They're sending you home with some tyler all, like, really,
they don't take you seriously, they don't take you seriously.
I had an incident where I had a doctor's appointment
and thank god, she's a black O B G y N.
And she took the time and said, Hey, is there
anything new, anything you want to tell me about whatever
(12:22):
or whatever? And I told her something. But I feel
like I don't know if I would have said anything
had she not asked asked, which is horrible because I've
been in situations where the doctor's office is like our
a farm or like a cattle. Just get him out,
get him out, out, get him, and you don't have time,
or you're made to feel bad to ask certain questions
(12:45):
about your body, and I've seen reports where women aren't
taken seriously when they come in and have a question
about their bodies. Black women for sure. And the great
thing about what we do is some times you never
know that your gift will make you be an advocate
for something that you never even thought you'd have to
(13:06):
advocate for. No. I would have never. I mean because
I lost a dear friend to breast cancer. She was
misdiagnosed and then it went to our liver and it
just that was that she didn't even make it to forty.
And we've all been touched by it, so it's not
something that we don't know of or don't know somebody
(13:27):
who has either lost their life or is going through it.
But to really then be somebody who is going through it.
As a character, I wanted to be able to bring
to life everything possible because like when people are writing stories,
they're not looking at details. A lot of times, you
know they're writing the story. He is the actor. It's
(13:51):
giving me the homework to go find out as much
as I can. So whatever's not on paper, I can
bring that to life. Like having dark nails because chemo
did that to you, or taking my brows off, taking
my hair off, showing a black woman go through that
hair loss was so important to me because of our
(14:12):
hair is so major to us. We lose jobs over it.
We get talked about because of our hair. So much
of our identity is our hair. And I feel like
when I see TV, people are suddenly like, oh they're
wearing a scarf. Oh you gotta cancer, you gotta scar
from your head. Okay, that's as far as a go.
(14:33):
And it's just like, I just wanted to show the
women we see you you're going through and we might
not always be able to verbalize or say how we
feel because we don't know. We don't want to overstep
any boundaries or data DA, but I wanted to let
them know that we see you and truthfully see Yes.
(14:54):
How do you think a woman should advocate for her
own health? It's hard, hard because just like what you said,
you might not think to ask certain questions, but listen
to your body. If something it's not what it usually
feels like or whatever, like it doesn't matter, go to
a doctor and make them see you. Push, push, because
(15:19):
you don't know exactly what it is, but they should
know or they should be able to run tests to
help everybody find out. But you know, take care of
your body and get mammograms, go in and get those
things started early because people are like coming down with
cancer earlier, the younger and younger. Don't don't wait till
like a fifty or whatever. To me, I think thirties personally,
(15:43):
because people are getting diagnosed really young, way earlier. Mammograms.
There's even a snogram that you can do. Also, you know,
checking yourself. I know several people who found lumps themselves.
So you did the search. You did everything to bring
(16:03):
truth and dignity to women who have breast cancer, but
you didn't exhibit. Yeah, that whole exhibit of those women
like they just touched me. I was going to a
group here in the South Side, thea Tasha to See
Joiner Foundation, which is in the South Side of Chicago,
and it's women of color. It's primarily black women. And
(16:28):
what I was just talking about with the hair loss,
it's like, that's the real thing when you have breast cancer.
Out of all the cancers, that's where you lose your
hair with breast cancer. And I just wanted to I
just wanted them to see their own beauty, because times
people don't feel themselves, don't feel as womanly, as beautiful
(16:50):
as they felt before. And so five women came through
and I photographed them. I was going to just give
them the portraits, but we got this whole thing about
because we got a donation, a gift of a hundred
thousand dollars to my We're gonna so I was like, well,
let's make up, let's have a party, you know, and
unveiled the photos at art gallery here and it was just,
(17:14):
you know, I want the women to like just be
joyous and just see themselves with all of the beautybody
see them and I love the photos. I have all
the photos. That's beautiful. Yolanda, like I said, you just
wrapped the shy. Are you taking a trip? What do
we do it? Are you onto another project? What's going on?
(17:37):
It's kind of both. I'm going to Florida, you know.
Actually some art that I have from Geo Swabia is
going on tour, so I'm gonna go there for a
few days and then I'm working on American gigglow. Okay
she just said it so casually. Well, yeah, you know,
for that guy working with John Burnthal is amazing. He's amazing,
(18:01):
and so yeah, I mean, I'm just keeping the train moving. Absolutely.
The film television, I'm like, gosh, she hasn't done theater yet. Well,
you know I have. Actually, I'm part of the Laborate
Theater Company in New York and I will be doing Broadway.
It's just not announced yet. I promise you. I didn't
(18:24):
know that. But do you just have a Broadway as
type glow? There are certain actors that I get to
interview and I'm like, man, they would be something incredible.
I could already see a nomination, a Tony Award nomination,
for sure. So I am excited in the roles that
(18:45):
you play. You play some very interesting roles that you
gotta dig deep, Like you said for the role in
The Shy, have they ever affected your mental health where
you like, wait a minute, this is just the role.
This ain't me, but some of it is you. You
bring all of you into a character at times. Yeah,
(19:07):
I feel for me. I feel like the characters come
through me, so I feel like there might be bits
of me that come through with it. But like Jada
is probably the most like me as a person. I
will say this as far as, like when you said
that about the mental health and separating the two. Last
(19:27):
season was the one time where I really was careful
about separating the two because I feel I can manifest things,
and I feel we can manifest things. The brain is
very powerful and it can make things happen to the
body that it's just like, dang, I didn't realize like
(19:49):
I made that happen, you know. So I just didn't
want to get into too much of a dark area
with the cancer. So I just, you know, was really
just making sure that I separated the two absolutely, and
y'all were filming some especially during the pandemic, so many
(20:09):
people were isolated. That changed the way we worked. How
did you keep yourself okay in a healthy space during
the pandemic? As creatives, folks, what do we do now?
I like to be indoors. So when when they lacked
us down, I said, this is all right for me,
I was standing, okay, okay, you know, but it's different
(20:34):
when because I don't live in Chicago, so it's different
being somewhere that's not your home and being kind of
isolated because we were isolated while shooting last season. It
was a weird season. It wasn't comfortable feeling, and I
had to keep myself from going to dark places because
you know, you sit in a place for so long,
(20:55):
you're not really going anywhere, you're not around people. I
don't think it's ever good for anybody. Me. I found
myself what made me happy last season was buying black art.
I found myself purchasing pieces of art, learning about black artists,
and it really that's what brought me joy last season.
(21:18):
Can you name one that I should probably look into?
I did before, because like I said, I'm going to
Florida next. But GEO g I O mhm. Last name
is Swabbi s w a b y. She head styles
and I just fell in love with her pieces and
(21:39):
I bought a couple about got a lot of stuff
last year. Yes, yes, yes, okay, I'm moving soon and
I want to make sure the art is on point.
You need to get a portant one of my portraits
of my ladies because they are beautiful. I'm here for it,
will do, I'm signing for you and yeah, absolutely, I
(22:04):
just want to see them at everybody's home because they're
just they're so regal. And that's fact. That is that
is fact. You mentioned how the mind is very powerful.
Some people think that the mind and brain are the
same thing. There are two separate things. Don't judge me.
(22:24):
I was just a couple of days old, about a
year ago when I discovered that the mind is where
we think, fill and choose. And I've heard you say
a few times about not going into a dark space.
That's intentional, obviously. Can you share with us what you
do intentionally to not get in a dark place? Depression
is real, anxiety is real. It is so real. Is
(22:48):
there anything that you do on a daily basis, because
sometimes our business is not kind either, you know. I
think for me, social media is something to stay away from. Definitely,
it's part of our work. So I mean, I post stuff,
but I can't sit and read stuff because you go
down a rabbit hole of that. I need to see light.
(23:11):
I'm not good in apartments or houses that are dark.
I need sunlight. I need to feel air, otherwise I
feel like a shut in. And then, like I said,
you know earlier, it's like I have no problem staying
in the house all day. You know, So you're not
an introvert? Are you? A bit? Sort of? But it's
(23:31):
what it's like what I do like being outdoors, Like yeah,
get out there, you know that's the thing, Like going
out and seeing some feeling air, seeing plants and things
like that. Like I just I love all that stuff.
Going to dinner, having a meal with friends, good food,
(23:51):
good drink, good conversation. I'm set. What's your favorite food?
Oh my gosh, I want to say steak, but I
do love a burger. It's like, you know, what could
I say? I'm from Nebraska, so red meat. Yes, absolutely absolutely,
But I'm excited and thank you so much for your time.
(24:14):
I asked you definitely about mental health, and you use
the word even manifest a few times about how the
mind is powerful, and I just want to ask you.
You were very close friends with Michael Williams, an amazing
actor who we felt is gone too soon. On this podcast,
we talk about grief and loss and how it can
(24:35):
affect people. What can we share with listeners. I'm always
in my dams and I tell listeners to send me
questions whatever you have about your mental health. I'm not
an expert, but I've lived through it, or I'll have
an expert to answer as far as grief and loss.
When you've lost someone so close. You even mentioned losing
her friend before the age of forty. What can you
(24:58):
say that gave you length that could possibly give somebody
else strength that's never lost anybody so close. Well, looking
at life in a way where it's part of a cycle,
we're all gonna go through it. And I do feel
like I functioned in this body, but I also function
(25:19):
outside of it, and I feel like we've accomplished. When
people are taken out of this life, Yes, ma'am, they've
accomplished what they needed to do here, because sometimes the
life is not necessarily for us. Maybe we have to
do something to make something happen for somebody else, and
they're going on to another place. I don't think it
(25:41):
ends at all. It's just we're in another form. Mm hmm.
So much wisdom and that it makes me want to
ask you, how did you get so grounded even to
have that perspective about grief and loss. I'm not exactly
sure it's all been coming to me. The acting is
(26:01):
part of it. That's why I just feel like learned
more as I've lived and just looked at things differently,
like the world in us and everything is bigger than
just us, so you know, I feel like we've all
been here before. I do talk to readers like I
have one year in Chicago, one in New Orleans, and
(26:25):
I just talk about stuff and they talk about stuff
to me, because I mean, I've lost a lot of people,
and you know, you want to know, like are they okay?
What were they going through? Because it's you know, as people,
we have questions about people in our lives that we
can't always get the answers to. And sometimes they do
certain things that just don't make sense to you, but
(26:47):
you don't know what's going on inside of them. So
I don't know absolutely. Your perspective of about grief and
loss is bringing tears, and I just feel something like
my chest that just wants to break down, because when
we go through grief and loss sometimes not that we're selfish,
(27:10):
it's just we make it about us and what we've
lost versus your answer of it's part of the life circle.
It is part of it. So thank you for sharing
that to give comfort to people, to let us not
to say, listen, we're born to die. You didn't say that,
you know, it's like what you said, Yeah, it's like
(27:34):
I don't want to lose that person. You know, it hurts.
Oh my gosh, you canna make me cry because it's
like somebody that we love is not here anymore, you know.
So I understand, I totally understand. I was trying to
find something to post, and it's so random. I ran
into a picture of my father, who I lost in
(27:56):
December of besides some of my grandmother, probably one of
the only two close losses to me. And I saw
that picture and I wanted to delete the pictures of
my dad out of my phone because they can be
so random when you're trying to find something and you
just see that picture of them, and so I was like, no,
(28:18):
I'm gonna keep this picture of him, and whatever comes up.
When I see this picture of my dad, I'm just
gonna let it it. It hasn't been long, you know.
He was my dad for forty one years. So it's
I'm not gonna delete a picture. We all deal with
grief and lost differently. It's the selfishness that I've got
(28:39):
to work through about why I want a person here
versus their time here. Their contribution is enough, They've done
enough and left great impact. Yeah, you know what, that's
the time. And it's like everybody's different. So that's true.
That is so true, Yolene. I'm thankful for you. I'm
(29:00):
thankful for your time today. I'm excited about the new
season and everything that you've got coming up. Thank you
for your gift. Thank you for your integrity and character
with the gift, and I'm excited to continue following your journey.
Thank you for checking in. Yeah, yo, thank you for
having me. It's a great talk. Thank you so much. Absolutely,
(29:22):
we try to keep them conversation like and talk like,
so I'm appreciative again. All right, well thanks again. We'll
talk again soon. Okay, y'all. I did not know that
this interview would who make me a little weepy or
make me feel like somebody's cutting the onions. I just
(29:43):
loved her perspective on grief and loss, especially of such
a tender, fragile topic, especially of the passing of her
close friend, amazing actor Michael Williams. And we didn't expect
to be brought to tears sometimes. I'm grateful for checking
in and how you guys allow us to have a
(30:05):
safe place and how I want you to also be
safe and be vulnerable to as a listener. I'm so
thankful for y'all. I really, really am so thankful to
have y'all listening and downloading episodes of Man season two
of this podcast. You guys are my joy. I look
(30:26):
forward to speaking with y'all, and thank you guys so
much for being engaging in the comments as it relates
to checking in through d M s or just in
the comments section when I post the audio snippets. I
love y'all so much and just keep checking in, all right,
take care, m yeah. Checking In with Michelle Williams is
(31:19):
a production of I Heart Radio and The Black Effect.
For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I
Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Welcome to Checking In with Michelle Williams, a production of
My Heart Radio and The Black Effect. I'm so excited
about my next guest. You've definitely seen her in the
(00:22):
hit show The Shy. She plays a woman by the
name of Jada who has breast cancer, and I'm so
excited to get her perspective and her take on how
she brings this role to life. So stay tuned for
this episode of Checking In. I'm excited about it. All right,
(00:43):
ladies and gentlemen, this is another dynamic episode of Checking In.
Yes I've judged my own episode, Yes I did. It's dynamic,
it is wonderful, it is fabulous. I really like to
dig in with actors of so much respe fact that
I know are committed to their craft versus what comes
(01:04):
with the notoriety of the craft. And I've got Yolanda
Ross checking in with us today. She has worked with
Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Lena Waite, and even
David Momutt. So please welcome to my podcast. Actress, director,
writer and producer. She does everything, y'all. Welcome, Yolanda rouss Hey,
(01:30):
I'm so good to be here. It's so good to
be here. By the way, one of the reasons why
I got excited is because you're from the Midwest, like
the Midwest, the Midwest. How is it then to be
in Chicago coming from the winter into spring. It went
(01:51):
from winter to summer. I don't know about the spring.
It went from winter to summer. Like last week, it
just went it was like ninety degrees right, thank you,
And we were outside and I can't tell you. There
was swept everywhere everywhere. It wasn't cute. So did it
affect filming. It's just it just affected us being hot,
(02:12):
being hot, because I didn't know if it was like
set in the winter and then all of a sudden,
it's ninety degrees outside and y'all got a turtle and scarves.
That's very true. That could that does happen sometimes, because
I remember last season there was a day where it
just suddenly got cold. It was warming up, everything was good,
and then I had an outdoor scene where it was
(02:32):
like we went back to forty you know, after being
in like the seventies and eighties. Yeah, that's definitely, as
my grandmother would sayy pneumonia weather and the Midwest, that
is the Midwest but I wouldn't trade anything for grounds
and foundation of the Midwest. Yes, I think we're the
(02:55):
coolest people, especially when you work in the industry. There's
some people that might get mad at the same thing.
I don't care. I feel like we don't let success
get to our heads. Yeah. I feel they're grounded, you know,
if they're grounded in what life is about, what matters. Yes, ma'am.
That's what I found with the people that I know
from the Midwest. It's just we still have the same sensibilities. Yeah,
(03:18):
we do. So we connect because we're from the Midwest.
But I also feel like we connect because we like
to do things like you, like train rides, luxury train rides. Yes,
Like I can't even tell you. I was just talking
to a friend about this yesterday. It's like I'm just
waiting for the thing that I can celebrate and take
(03:41):
like I don't maybe like ten friends go to Europe,
book a train and us like just take over. Yes,
that just be like a seven eight day trip, you know,
dressed for dinner, listen to music, go to like the
dinner car like yes, the dinner card and the back cart.
And people don't realize like you could actually have bedrooms
(04:05):
on the train, your suite. That's the whole thing. That's all.
I mean. The train trip is the vacation, you know,
so it's your room and and like I said, going
to dinner in another car and just meeting your people,
having a drink, watching the scenery. Like planes can definitely
(04:25):
get you places faster, but if you have the time,
it's nothing like even just going from like l A
to San Francisco or l A to San Diego. Just
go up the coast. That is a beautiful ride. And
they have those like little destination um Amtrak has them
when they go through a few places back and forth.
(04:48):
I just gotta say, like the trains, the actual trains
in Europe are a little better, a little bit, a
little more advanced. Yeah, it's just the whole other experience.
They're just beautiful. And I think it's because also we
don't take the train as much. We don't look at
that as a luxury to travel that way. We're always
(05:11):
trying to get somewhere fast, whereas I feel like people
in other countries sometimes enjoy where they are in the moment. Yes, yes, yes, yes,
And I feel like that is what you have done
in your career, enjoying things during the moment, at the moment.
One of your first roles you played alongside Denzel Washington
(05:34):
very early on in your career. Yeah, how was that?
Did you expect that? No, like for real, because it
was so early on. I was not up for doing
it because I read that script like twice and I
was like, you know, I don't think I can do this,
told my agent and he was like, look, this is
(05:57):
Denzel's directorial debut. Just take a look at it one
more time before you pass on it. And I looked
at it again, and what was sticking me was the
molestation of the child. I didn't think I could do
that one screen. And then this third time that I
read it, I saw that it was all like behind
the door or behind the window, like so you didn't
(06:19):
actually see it one screen, and I was like, Okay,
I can do this. You do this, and so, you know,
I did the tape for it, and Nzel called me
like I was on I remember, I was on Mail
Rose Place. I just left, like Fred Segal almost got
hit by a car because I'm like answering my phone
was like wait what and I just stopped dead in
(06:39):
the street. Like Denzel's calling me. It was amazing. It
was amazing. He was so great as a director because
I hadn't done a whole lot. But to watch this
man that you know is an actor learning this business.
He knew everything he wanted he did, it was smooth.
Do you feel like that step was something divine to
(07:00):
happen for you at that point? I mean, right now
you've got over sixty acting credits to your resume. But
to look back and be like, but I started here,
Anton Fisher, like Denzel Washington, I mean, I think that
is amazing because you have some people you gotta cry
before you walk. You can't work with these people until
you've had sixty acting credits. But early on, I just
(07:23):
think that's just a testament of your gift. Thank you.
I do too, Like, literally, this whole career is your gift.
The whole career is what I'm supposed to be doing
because I was in a fashion business. So for me
to get into this, I feel like I came in sideways.
Nobody knew who I was. I didn't mean it's behind me.
(07:44):
I you know, book something and book something else four
years later. That really got me going. All of it though,
I'm learning from as I go. I'm learning about me,
I'm learning about life. I'm learning about things that I,
as Yolanda, would never ever really find out about. So
(08:05):
I feel like the whole trajectory was already laid out,
and I, if I'm paying attention, will go in the
right direction. I would say, even like even at that time,
like I still didn't maybe fully fully fully know what
I was here for, but I feel that I do now.
I feel that I'm here for us. I mean, if
(08:27):
you look at the people that I play, they are
women that a lot of times you don't look at people,
don't pay attention to people, don't get to know these women.
But I bring them to life with heart. I don't
objectify them. I don't put anything on them. I am
just them because you know, it's like I don't want
(08:48):
to put anything on them. You feel how you feel
about them, but I'm not putting any judgment on them
when I'm playing them. So I just want you to
see the humanity in people, because we don't take the
time to get to new people. We don't take the
time to see And speaking of taking time, you mentioned
from twenty eleven to now that's been eleven years and
(09:08):
you say you're kind of just now figuring things out.
That's something to say to the listener. Sometimes it can
take eleven years for you to figure you out. And
as long as we're living and breathing, there are parts
of us that we're still going to be figuring out.
I'm forty three this year, and there's something about me
that I've just now discovered. And I shared it with
(09:30):
a friend of mine last night and he said, but
I've always known that about you. I know I'm discovering this,
So thank you for sharing that as someone is so
awesome as you are that you were able to admit. Like, yo,
from two thousand eleven, you're saying two up to now,
you're just kind of figuring out who you are. Do
(09:51):
you mean just as a human or in your career
as an actor? I think it's all of it. I'm
an actress for a reason. I'm a writer and a
director for a reason. I am getting stories out, I
am getting characters out, Like I said, things that you
don't get to see all the time or take the
time to get to know. So I feel that is
(10:11):
my purpose. So when I like eleven, that's when I
kind of figured things out. It was like I was
getting bits and pieces of what I feel I should
be doing. But why am I writing this kind of thing?
Why are these kind of characters coming to me? You know,
it's like looking at it because you keep looking at
what you've done in the past to see wow. So
(10:33):
there's a pattern of things that come to me. So
looking forward, it's like, I know there's stuff that I
have to get out because I don't write just to write.
There are people in situations that we need to see.
That's why I have the gift that I have. M
You're talking about writing, and I'm like, man, I want
(10:54):
to see you in theater. I want to see you
on Broadway. M too. You just revealed to us that
you just got through wrapping up The Shy because you're
in Chicago as we speak, and your character Jada on
the series has breast cancer. You're saying how the role
(11:16):
changed you and was this the role that made you
advocate because I know you talk about disparities and healthcare
among people of color. Like last season when Jada was
going through cancer, I started working with three organizations here
in Chicago and just you know, meeting with women because
it was still a ton of lockdown, so not a
(11:37):
lot of people were coming out, but I didn't to
meet with them in person a couple of times and
then on Zoom as well, and it was just really
interesting to hear what women of color have been through
the experience and just sad, you said, because it shouldn't
be that way. You shouldn't have to go to three
different doctors to find out you have cancer. Nobody's sending
(12:00):
you in for a cat scan or m r I.
They're sending you home with some tyler all, like, really,
they don't take you seriously, they don't take you seriously.
I had an incident where I had a doctor's appointment
and thank god, she's a black O B G y N.
And she took the time and said, Hey, is there
anything new, anything you want to tell me about whatever
(12:22):
or whatever? And I told her something. But I feel
like I don't know if I would have said anything
had she not asked asked, which is horrible because I've
been in situations where the doctor's office is like our
a farm or like a cattle. Just get him out,
get him out, out, get him, and you don't have time,
or you're made to feel bad to ask certain questions
(12:45):
about your body, and I've seen reports where women aren't
taken seriously when they come in and have a question
about their bodies. Black women for sure. And the great
thing about what we do is some times you never
know that your gift will make you be an advocate
for something that you never even thought you'd have to
(13:06):
advocate for. No. I would have never. I mean because
I lost a dear friend to breast cancer. She was
misdiagnosed and then it went to our liver and it
just that was that she didn't even make it to forty.
And we've all been touched by it, so it's not
something that we don't know of or don't know somebody
(13:27):
who has either lost their life or is going through it.
But to really then be somebody who is going through it.
As a character, I wanted to be able to bring
to life everything possible because like when people are writing stories,
they're not looking at details. A lot of times, you
know they're writing the story. He is the actor. It's
(13:51):
giving me the homework to go find out as much
as I can. So whatever's not on paper, I can
bring that to life. Like having dark nails because chemo
did that to you, or taking my brows off, taking
my hair off, showing a black woman go through that
hair loss was so important to me because of our
(14:12):
hair is so major to us. We lose jobs over it.
We get talked about because of our hair. So much
of our identity is our hair. And I feel like
when I see TV, people are suddenly like, oh they're
wearing a scarf. Oh you gotta cancer, you gotta scar
from your head. Okay, that's as far as a go.
(14:33):
And it's just like, I just wanted to show the
women we see you you're going through and we might
not always be able to verbalize or say how we
feel because we don't know. We don't want to overstep
any boundaries or data DA, but I wanted to let
them know that we see you and truthfully see Yes.
(14:54):
How do you think a woman should advocate for her
own health? It's hard, hard because just like what you said,
you might not think to ask certain questions, but listen
to your body. If something it's not what it usually
feels like or whatever, like it doesn't matter, go to
a doctor and make them see you. Push, push, because
(15:19):
you don't know exactly what it is, but they should
know or they should be able to run tests to
help everybody find out. But you know, take care of
your body and get mammograms, go in and get those
things started early because people are like coming down with
cancer earlier, the younger and younger. Don't don't wait till
like a fifty or whatever. To me, I think thirties personally,
(15:43):
because people are getting diagnosed really young, way earlier. Mammograms.
There's even a snogram that you can do. Also, you know,
checking yourself. I know several people who found lumps themselves.
So you did the search. You did everything to bring
(16:03):
truth and dignity to women who have breast cancer, but
you didn't exhibit. Yeah, that whole exhibit of those women
like they just touched me. I was going to a
group here in the South Side, thea Tasha to See
Joiner Foundation, which is in the South Side of Chicago,
and it's women of color. It's primarily black women. And
(16:28):
what I was just talking about with the hair loss,
it's like, that's the real thing when you have breast cancer.
Out of all the cancers, that's where you lose your
hair with breast cancer. And I just wanted to I
just wanted them to see their own beauty, because times
people don't feel themselves, don't feel as womanly, as beautiful
(16:50):
as they felt before. And so five women came through
and I photographed them. I was going to just give
them the portraits, but we got this whole thing about
because we got a donation, a gift of a hundred
thousand dollars to my We're gonna so I was like, well,
let's make up, let's have a party, you know, and
unveiled the photos at art gallery here and it was just,
(17:14):
you know, I want the women to like just be
joyous and just see themselves with all of the beautybody
see them and I love the photos. I have all
the photos. That's beautiful. Yolanda, like I said, you just
wrapped the shy. Are you taking a trip? What do
we do it? Are you onto another project? What's going on?
(17:37):
It's kind of both. I'm going to Florida, you know.
Actually some art that I have from Geo Swabia is
going on tour, so I'm gonna go there for a
few days and then I'm working on American gigglow. Okay
she just said it so casually. Well, yeah, you know,
for that guy working with John Burnthal is amazing. He's amazing,
(18:01):
and so yeah, I mean, I'm just keeping the train moving. Absolutely.
The film television, I'm like, gosh, she hasn't done theater yet. Well,
you know I have. Actually, I'm part of the Laborate
Theater Company in New York and I will be doing Broadway.
It's just not announced yet. I promise you. I didn't
(18:24):
know that. But do you just have a Broadway as
type glow? There are certain actors that I get to
interview and I'm like, man, they would be something incredible.
I could already see a nomination, a Tony Award nomination,
for sure. So I am excited in the roles that
(18:45):
you play. You play some very interesting roles that you
gotta dig deep, Like you said for the role in
The Shy, have they ever affected your mental health where
you like, wait a minute, this is just the role.
This ain't me, but some of it is you. You
bring all of you into a character at times. Yeah,
(19:07):
I feel for me. I feel like the characters come
through me, so I feel like there might be bits
of me that come through with it. But like Jada
is probably the most like me as a person. I
will say this as far as, like when you said
that about the mental health and separating the two. Last
(19:27):
season was the one time where I really was careful
about separating the two because I feel I can manifest things,
and I feel we can manifest things. The brain is
very powerful and it can make things happen to the
body that it's just like, dang, I didn't realize like
(19:49):
I made that happen, you know. So I just didn't
want to get into too much of a dark area
with the cancer. So I just, you know, was really
just making sure that I separated the two absolutely, and
y'all were filming some especially during the pandemic, so many
(20:09):
people were isolated. That changed the way we worked. How
did you keep yourself okay in a healthy space during
the pandemic? As creatives, folks, what do we do now?
I like to be indoors. So when when they lacked
us down, I said, this is all right for me,
I was standing, okay, okay, you know, but it's different
(20:34):
when because I don't live in Chicago, so it's different
being somewhere that's not your home and being kind of
isolated because we were isolated while shooting last season. It
was a weird season. It wasn't comfortable feeling, and I
had to keep myself from going to dark places because
you know, you sit in a place for so long,
(20:55):
you're not really going anywhere, you're not around people. I
don't think it's ever good for anybody. Me. I found
myself what made me happy last season was buying black art.
I found myself purchasing pieces of art, learning about black artists,
and it really that's what brought me joy last season.
(21:18):
Can you name one that I should probably look into?
I did before, because like I said, I'm going to
Florida next. But GEO g I O mhm. Last name
is Swabbi s w a b y. She head styles
and I just fell in love with her pieces and
(21:39):
I bought a couple about got a lot of stuff
last year. Yes, yes, yes, okay, I'm moving soon and
I want to make sure the art is on point.
You need to get a portant one of my portraits
of my ladies because they are beautiful. I'm here for it,
will do, I'm signing for you and yeah, absolutely, I
(22:04):
just want to see them at everybody's home because they're
just they're so regal. And that's fact. That is that
is fact. You mentioned how the mind is very powerful.
Some people think that the mind and brain are the
same thing. There are two separate things. Don't judge me.
(22:24):
I was just a couple of days old, about a
year ago when I discovered that the mind is where
we think, fill and choose. And I've heard you say
a few times about not going into a dark space.
That's intentional, obviously. Can you share with us what you
do intentionally to not get in a dark place? Depression
is real, anxiety is real. It is so real. Is
(22:48):
there anything that you do on a daily basis, because
sometimes our business is not kind either, you know. I
think for me, social media is something to stay away from. Definitely,
it's part of our work. So I mean, I post stuff,
but I can't sit and read stuff because you go
down a rabbit hole of that. I need to see light.
(23:11):
I'm not good in apartments or houses that are dark.
I need sunlight. I need to feel air, otherwise I
feel like a shut in. And then, like I said,
you know earlier, it's like I have no problem staying
in the house all day. You know, So you're not
an introvert? Are you? A bit? Sort of? But it's
(23:31):
what it's like what I do like being outdoors, Like yeah,
get out there, you know that's the thing, Like going
out and seeing some feeling air, seeing plants and things
like that. Like I just I love all that stuff.
Going to dinner, having a meal with friends, good food,
(23:51):
good drink, good conversation. I'm set. What's your favorite food?
Oh my gosh, I want to say steak, but I
do love a burger. It's like, you know, what could
I say? I'm from Nebraska, so red meat. Yes, absolutely absolutely,
But I'm excited and thank you so much for your time.
(24:14):
I asked you definitely about mental health, and you use
the word even manifest a few times about how the
mind is powerful, and I just want to ask you.
You were very close friends with Michael Williams, an amazing
actor who we felt is gone too soon. On this podcast,
we talk about grief and loss and how it can
(24:35):
affect people. What can we share with listeners. I'm always
in my dams and I tell listeners to send me
questions whatever you have about your mental health. I'm not
an expert, but I've lived through it, or I'll have
an expert to answer as far as grief and loss.
When you've lost someone so close. You even mentioned losing
her friend before the age of forty. What can you
(24:58):
say that gave you length that could possibly give somebody
else strength that's never lost anybody so close. Well, looking
at life in a way where it's part of a cycle,
we're all gonna go through it. And I do feel
like I functioned in this body, but I also function
(25:19):
outside of it, and I feel like we've accomplished. When
people are taken out of this life, Yes, ma'am, they've
accomplished what they needed to do here, because sometimes the
life is not necessarily for us. Maybe we have to
do something to make something happen for somebody else, and
they're going on to another place. I don't think it
(25:41):
ends at all. It's just we're in another form. Mm hmm.
So much wisdom and that it makes me want to
ask you, how did you get so grounded even to
have that perspective about grief and loss. I'm not exactly
sure it's all been coming to me. The acting is
(26:01):
part of it. That's why I just feel like learned
more as I've lived and just looked at things differently,
like the world in us and everything is bigger than
just us, so you know, I feel like we've all
been here before. I do talk to readers like I
have one year in Chicago, one in New Orleans, and
(26:25):
I just talk about stuff and they talk about stuff
to me, because I mean, I've lost a lot of people,
and you know, you want to know, like are they okay?
What were they going through? Because it's you know, as people,
we have questions about people in our lives that we
can't always get the answers to. And sometimes they do
certain things that just don't make sense to you, but
(26:47):
you don't know what's going on inside of them. So
I don't know absolutely. Your perspective of about grief and
loss is bringing tears, and I just feel something like
my chest that just wants to break down, because when
we go through grief and loss sometimes not that we're selfish,
(27:10):
it's just we make it about us and what we've
lost versus your answer of it's part of the life circle.
It is part of it. So thank you for sharing
that to give comfort to people, to let us not
to say, listen, we're born to die. You didn't say that,
you know, it's like what you said, Yeah, it's like
(27:34):
I don't want to lose that person. You know, it hurts.
Oh my gosh, you canna make me cry because it's
like somebody that we love is not here anymore, you know.
So I understand, I totally understand. I was trying to
find something to post, and it's so random. I ran
into a picture of my father, who I lost in
(27:56):
December of besides some of my grandmother, probably one of
the only two close losses to me. And I saw
that picture and I wanted to delete the pictures of
my dad out of my phone because they can be
so random when you're trying to find something and you
just see that picture of them, and so I was like, no,
(28:18):
I'm gonna keep this picture of him, and whatever comes up.
When I see this picture of my dad, I'm just
gonna let it it. It hasn't been long, you know.
He was my dad for forty one years. So it's
I'm not gonna delete a picture. We all deal with
grief and lost differently. It's the selfishness that I've got
(28:39):
to work through about why I want a person here
versus their time here. Their contribution is enough, They've done
enough and left great impact. Yeah, you know what, that's
the time. And it's like everybody's different. So that's true.
That is so true, Yolene. I'm thankful for you. I'm
(29:00):
thankful for your time today. I'm excited about the new
season and everything that you've got coming up. Thank you
for your gift. Thank you for your integrity and character
with the gift, and I'm excited to continue following your journey.
Thank you for checking in. Yeah, yo, thank you for
having me. It's a great talk. Thank you so much. Absolutely,
(29:22):
we try to keep them conversation like and talk like,
so I'm appreciative again. All right, well thanks again. We'll
talk again soon. Okay, y'all. I did not know that
this interview would who make me a little weepy or
make me feel like somebody's cutting the onions. I just
(29:43):
loved her perspective on grief and loss, especially of such
a tender, fragile topic, especially of the passing of her
close friend, amazing actor Michael Williams. And we didn't expect
to be brought to tears sometimes. I'm grateful for checking
in and how you guys allow us to have a
(30:05):
safe place and how I want you to also be
safe and be vulnerable to as a listener. I'm so
thankful for y'all. I really, really am so thankful to
have y'all listening and downloading episodes of Man season two
of this podcast. You guys are my joy. I look
(30:26):
forward to speaking with y'all, and thank you guys so
much for being engaging in the comments as it relates
to checking in through d M s or just in
the comments section when I post the audio snippets. I
love y'all so much and just keep checking in, all right,
take care, m yeah. Checking In with Michelle Williams is
(31:19):
a production of I Heart Radio and The Black Effect.
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