Questlove Supreme: Salli Richardson-Whitfield

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quests.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. Can we start
the theme? Steve, You're ready?

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Bill? You're ready? Why are you ready?

Speaker 3 (00:13):
I'm ready?

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Let's do it. Oh that's out forward. Yeah for it.

Speaker 4 (00:21):
Supremo Roll came Supremo, Supremo. Role came Supremo, Supremo, Supremat Supremo.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
What love is my name? Yeah, Supreme is the squad
Yeah region.

Speaker 4 (00:40):
Yeah, suprem Supremo.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Roll came Supremo Supremo. My name is Fante. Yeah, I'm
in my prime.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (00:54):
Shout out to Sally. Yeah, we need some more winning time.

Speaker 4 (01:00):
So sup.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
Supremo Suprivo roll Call.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
My name is Sugar Yeah, and we and Cali Yeah,
and I am so glad that rhymes with Sally.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Rivall.

Speaker 6 (01:22):
I'm unpaid Bill, Yeah, and.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Hold the phone.

Speaker 7 (01:26):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:26):
Shout out to our guests and her tailbone.

Speaker 4 (01:33):
Suprivo roll suprivavs like.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
Yeah, that's here to teach.

Speaker 7 (01:42):
Yeah if I was damn Yeah, this is a firseprimo roll.

Speaker 6 (01:52):
Sup roll.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
My name is Sally.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
They call me Mustang yeah because.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, you got that thing thing.

Speaker 8 (02:07):
So Supremo Suprema So so somo.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
Don't feel mad. I have done that many times.

Speaker 3 (02:21):
That was over soon, he's done.

Speaker 6 (02:24):
I've done.

Speaker 7 (02:24):
Sally's here to teach.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
I came for class like no, I got class like
Angela and a mouth like peaches.

Speaker 7 (02:31):
Damn. Yeah, it was like Angela in the mouth.

Speaker 6 (02:37):
Like anyhow.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Anywhere rhythm and rapping.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Yeah, we were in trouble.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
I'm all right.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
So this is another uh Los Angeles in person in
studio quest love Supreme love in person. Yeah, in person,
it's it's my favorite type of tapings that we do.
I enjoy it. It's amazing. Anything else.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
I'm looking at you, Bill anyway.

Speaker 6 (03:07):
I'm just having me here.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
We never get to do this. We always do this
on us in person? Is weird to be? I love?
I love being in person. No, we're here especially, I
know you have.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
To ask Afield. I'm sorry. DeAndre gonna go home in trouble.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
We just.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Decided to call him DeAndre right now, call him Robert Andre.

Speaker 3 (03:35):
Get me in trouble, all right, No, talk us through that.
He will talks.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
We've been calling him Robert forever.

Speaker 3 (03:45):
Literally, he probably that's worse. That's not as bad as DeAndre.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
People call him Robert still from absolutely absolutely.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
I'm so sorry.

Speaker 7 (03:54):
Andre Andre Andre.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
We're already getting off the shaky start, all right.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
So look, the I would say the order of the
day for this podcast is we often talk about pivots,
pivots in terms of where we were creatively at the
beginning of our career, towards where we've.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Learned that idiom from LL cool J taking walks to the.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Light, you know, And so I will say that that's
a major theme of this program, and of course our
guest today, I believe in bodies sort of that motion.
We first fell in love with her as an actress
and many a classic film a name like Posse Low Down,
Dirty Shame.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
Uh eureka, right, I have so many questions about that exactly.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
I do want this to be the low down, Dirty
tribute program. Not to mention, you know, I am legend
just countless of sitcoms and dramas and whatnot, which basically
leads to her calling as an executive producer and a director.
Sitting in that director's chairs, it's mighty a task that

(05:05):
you know isn't for the faint hearted. And I will
say that between her directing on Queen Sugar, one of
my favorite programs, by the way, not to mention scandal
Luke Cage, I'm so wow, right exactly Blackish, the shy
not to mention winning time, the story of the classic

(05:30):
era of the Los Angeles Lakers, and right now we're
celebrating the guilted age and we're going to talk pivots,
the art of storytelling, and just her journey creatively.

Speaker 1 (05:42):
And I would.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
Like to welcome to quest Love Supreme without stutterying, Sally Richardson,
you look at me.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
I gave you that look.

Speaker 2 (05:58):
I know, yeah, like I already felt the pressure, right, yes, no,
Please welcome Sally Richardson Whitfield to Questions.

Speaker 3 (06:07):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited
about being here.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Well for startists, for those that don't know you. Where
are you from? Where were you born?

Speaker 3 (06:15):
I'm from Chicago, part of Chicago, south side of Chicago.

Speaker 1 (06:20):
Is everyone really from the south side between Detroit and Chicago.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
If you black, you mostly from the south side of Chicago,
unless maybe the West Side. You're from the west to
the south side.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
So I'm assuming that the south is the realest.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
End quote, because it is Chicago. As much as I
love it can be a segregated area. And we didn't
grow up with you know, we didn't we didn't grow
up with a lot of money. And you know, so
you're on the South side of Chicago or the West
side or the projects.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
So for you, what was your formative years like creatively speaking,
what was your family situation and growing.

Speaker 3 (06:58):
Up sort of you know, parents divorced. I was very
lucky that I was able to go Instead of my
father paying like actual like child support directly, he paid
for me to go to private school. So I went
to Lab School, which is part of the University of Chicago.
So it was sort of this mixture of going to
going to this fabulous school and then kind of going
back to, you know, my neighborhood and being able to

(07:22):
live in both of those worlds, which it has worked
very well for me now in life. I can kind
of flow anywhere I need to go. And then my mother,
both of my parents my father were at University of Chicago.
My mother at the time, she used to work. I
think my mom was working at The Defender at some point.
She which is a black newspaper in Chicago. She worked

(07:44):
at a recording studio for many years, which is where
I don't remember the name of it, but that's growing up,
I was around a lot of music, so I was singing,
and that's kind of where I met my first manager.
And I think what sort of sparked me wanting to
be in the arts because I was not around it
at all. And then at some point at the Lab School,

(08:05):
they shot Endless Love there and I yes, and that
is where I really got the bug because I was
always a basketball player in school, so if theater, I
didn't do a lot of because it always came in
during basketball season. So but they came there and they
did that movie with Brooks Shields and I saw all

(08:25):
of that and I was like, oh, I don't know,
this seems interesting, which is kind of started my path.

Speaker 1 (08:32):
Okay, did you have siblings or.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
I have three brothers who are about fifteen years younger
than me, so most of my life I was an
only child.

Speaker 1 (08:40):
So you were older than them.

Speaker 7 (08:42):
Yeah, yes, that's interesting for them to have an older
sister that was fifteen years old.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:46):
I was ready for you to be the younger sister
that they beat up everybody.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
No, I but you were there.

Speaker 3 (08:52):
I'm gonna beat you, but you know, I was the
I don't know, I don't know have that mixture of
only child but then having really young ones that me
and my mom. You know, she was working a lot,
so me and me and my brother. Yeah, that's my
that's my baby there.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
Okay, I see that default. Yeah well quasi parents, Yeah,
I get that now, all right. So here's the thing,
like a lot of us that are not in the Midwest,
especially now in this political climate.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, hashtag what about Chicago? What about Chicago?

Speaker 2 (09:26):
What is your view or description of your formative years
in Chicago because oftentimes I feel like, again especially now,
all you do is hear about the bad side of
Chicago whatever like is but is there a rosy memory
of Chicago or is it like I have to get

(09:47):
out of Chicago.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
So I spent a lot of time in Hyde Park.
So although I'm like this mixed girl, which can not
work for you, Well, at times it was a very
mixed area. There was a lot of white and black
couple so it was okay for me hung out at
the point beautiful. Then later on we moved to sixty
first Street, which we're now moving more and more south.

(10:11):
Now we're on ninety fifth Street off of Stony Island.
It's a little it ain't it ain't mixed. No more
so again, but I never I don't know. My mother
kept me in a bunch of stuff. I'm going to school.
I didn't really encounter too much. When I go back

(10:31):
and see some of the places I walked around in
I go, I can't believe I was walking down that
street to the grocery store. You know, I would always
say around seventy fifth and Saint Lawrence. People from Chicago
know what I'm saying. That's where you just churches and bars, church, bar, church, bar,
all everything's behind glass and the grocery store. That's when

(10:52):
I look back and go, God, I just walked over
there to the grocery store. Now, I don't think I
would know how to flow through that area anymore the
same way. And it's much worse now.

Speaker 2 (11:03):
Okay, So well that was my next question, like has
your area been gentrified or is it?

Speaker 3 (11:08):
No, No, it's it's probably worse over there now.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
Now you mentioned you mentioned manager. I don't know if
you were talking about manager then or manager now. But
when you spoken manager, are you you mean in terms.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
Of acting or like? Did you have aspirations to sing
at one point?

Speaker 3 (11:24):
I did so when I first started because of the studio.
I played piano. I used to study opera. Uh so,
I thought when I first went to LA it was
sort of acting and singing. I thought I would do both.
There are a lot of demorels somewhere of me singing.
And I think I shot a not think I did.
I shot a video.

Speaker 1 (11:45):
Okay, did you come to La?

Speaker 6 (11:48):
Wow?

Speaker 3 (11:48):
I was twenty five. I don't know, I graduated eighty five.

Speaker 7 (11:53):
Whatever Giddo's real numbers.

Speaker 3 (11:55):
Look, I don't care. I'm old. And uh yeah, I
thought I was gonna be a singer.

Speaker 1 (12:02):
I kind of you in LA in eighty five, eighty six.

Speaker 3 (12:06):
Yeah, during Pebbles all that time. Yeah, and I could do.

Speaker 1 (12:13):
Hip hop and now you are you fell in the hole? Now.

Speaker 3 (12:17):
It was a perfect time because I didn't really have
to dance well neither. It was like, this is good.
I can sing, I have no rhythm, I can't dance.
And this video, I'm really I haven't looked at in
a long time because it's in I have like the
tape of it, you know, it's in a real realm.
I need to digitize that. I'm a little afraid to
see that one.

Speaker 6 (12:37):
Nice.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah, nice?

Speaker 2 (12:44):
What is the spark that prompts your move to Los Angeles,
as in like okay, in order for me to pursue
my dream, And what is your dream that makes you
go to Los Angeles?

Speaker 3 (12:56):
You know? At that time, a lot of things were
being shot in Chicago, a lot of movies, you know,
but you so I could get little guest spots, so
I didn't remember. I did Prelude to a Kiss. I
played one of Meg Ryan's bridesmaids. You know. So you're
getting small things like that Rocky Carroll. That's where I
met Rocky Carroll because he was he was in that movie.

(13:18):
And so you see that you can get small things,
but you can't it's it. And then I did a
screen test for what is that Bill Duke movie? He
directed with Robin Gibbon. So I screen test for that. Yes,

(13:39):
so I was there. It was me, Robin and this
other actress. And I just knew, you know, like I
did it in the makeup art. This is when don't
listen to know. But this is when I learned, never
get too excited. More than likely you didn't get it
or it's not big. And I just knew I did it,
and I was cute and I thought I had my

(14:00):
little southern accent. I was ready and I did not
get it. Robin, Well, that's when you find out Robin
Gibbons's sort of popular.

Speaker 1 (14:10):
At the time.

Speaker 2 (14:11):
Like when you are auditioning, and this is the part
I really want to do, like the audition process. Are
you in a room collectively with everyone or is it.

Speaker 3 (14:20):
Just like no, No, they did a real screen test.
They don't do this very often.

Speaker 1 (14:24):
Now.

Speaker 3 (14:25):
I did the same thing for Nutty Professor, which was
a real screen test. They put you through here and makeup.
I had on a dress.

Speaker 1 (14:31):
It's dress. Yes.

Speaker 3 (14:34):
In the movie it's with Forrest Whittaker, like it's a
real screen test. They are on a kind of set
like it's a thing that's somewhere too. I would love
to you know, look, I'm like, where is that stuff?
Now'll find out why I didn't get it. You weren't good.
So anyway, I'm doing small things like that, and just

(14:56):
something went. You got to make a decision, you got
to go to New York or LA And I don't know,
I mean, I think it was just an accumulation of
all those little things. And so I was waiting tables too.
I saved up my money for a year waiting tables.
Bought this six hundred dollar car. But I am a planner,

(15:17):
so I flew to la first, got an agent. One
of my agents in Chicago helped me set up some meetings.
Somehow or not. I've always been this person. Things kind
of fall in line for me. So I at the
time I met with William Morris and another one. I
have no idea how I got in this meeting. I
really had no tape, and they're like, do you have tape?

Speaker 2 (15:37):
I'm like, I do not, But so you had to
have even back then, you had to have real Yeah.

Speaker 3 (15:45):
They were asking they want to see something, and I
was like, oh, I had done. I had done this movie.
How you like me? Now? That was my first I
think that's my first film.

Speaker 1 (15:58):
I see you in this film.

Speaker 3 (16:00):
I got remind I was like, okay, I look crazy
because Halie Berry had just like hit it. And so
the guy who was producing it was a white guy
who was producing it for this black director.

Speaker 1 (16:15):
This movie.

Speaker 3 (16:16):
He decided because my hair is so right now, my
hair is curly, but my hair is very straight. So
he decided that I didn't look black enough, and he
wanted me to wear a short wig with more what
he considered black hair. And so I'm wearing this wig
so it looks more halle Berry's shortcut to look more black.

(16:38):
It's really bad.

Speaker 1 (16:40):
Try that, but you.

Speaker 3 (16:43):
Know, you like, I'm gonna do this movie. I'm gonna
wear this wig. But yeah, and some days the wig
look good and some days it did not. It wasn't this.
It wasn't nowadays where you can get good wigs. You know.

Speaker 1 (16:55):
You just this film, I've seen it. I've seen this,
I have to.

Speaker 3 (16:59):
It's with Darnell william Oh, yeah, I found the roster Williams. Yeah, baby,
like I am. I'm like twenty two or something, So
I think that was. But I have another one. I
don't know the name of it. It's with Marla Gibbs

(17:19):
and Stony Jackson.

Speaker 1 (17:20):
Whoa wow.

Speaker 3 (17:23):
No, and we shot it in Chicago. Those are my
two films that shot before I moved it set up
against the the wall.

Speaker 5 (17:33):
Yes, this is why we need to be, Yah, Mars,
we need to be.

Speaker 3 (17:40):
So I'm not really showing that I had just did
how you Like Me? Now? Now, I didn't have anything
to show myself. But I just did this film in Chicago.
So I was just I'm a good talker in a room.
So I was like, but I'm great, I'm a work
I'm just met a table full of old men, and
I'm selling. I'm selling. And I at this agency called

(18:01):
Triad at the time, which was a big agency then,
and I went with Tryad And so I went back
home and packed my car up. I also had found
a place to live out there, rented from this woman
in her house, and then I drove up to l A.
And I saved up enough money and had a little
help from my then manager who used to run my

(18:25):
mother's studio, who was helping me, and I didn't have
to work for a year. And then within that year,
before my money was just about to run out, I
got posse.

Speaker 2 (18:37):
Wow, wait the way she told that story, it was
like a cliffhanger, and.

Speaker 3 (18:46):
Hear everything I know know how to hit the bullet points.

Speaker 1 (18:51):
We are literally rabbit hole city.

Speaker 3 (18:54):
But I mean I had gotten you know, a few
I think I did a pilot.

Speaker 1 (18:57):
Uh and how many pilots have you done?

Speaker 7 (19:02):
A number of them, didn't I see the rock is
on your IMDb two do you do an episode of
a rock Rocky Carrol? So I was like, wondering at
that translation to the rock it's been a long Yes
you can't remember.

Speaker 2 (19:13):
Yes you've done, Yeah, yes you.

Speaker 3 (19:16):
Have Okay, Oh I did, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (19:18):
Yes you.

Speaker 7 (19:20):
Have.

Speaker 3 (19:21):
I forgot I did a Jamie Foxx show.

Speaker 6 (19:23):
Yeah you did.

Speaker 3 (19:24):
Yeah, Yes I forgot that.

Speaker 1 (19:25):
Okay. So this is why I'm asking this.

Speaker 2 (19:27):
So there's a friend of mine who was the star
of her own, uh successful series, and she told me
that even though they were hit out the box, she
wanted to wait until season three to buy the house.
You know, when you're like, hey, I'm on a hit show,

(19:49):
I've been nominated for a few Emmy's, I'm established, let
me buy that house. And then out of nowhere, and
I don't know why, but suddenly the show got canceled.
And it wasn't like dude to low ratings, Like something happened,
a freak accident, maybe like one of the executive producers
died or something. And now she's stuck with this house.

(20:11):
And the whole point was she told me it took
her like maybe eight years to finally get this off
of her hands, like she's been stuck with this house.
So I always wanted to know on the acting side
of things, when you're in this city.

Speaker 1 (20:26):
When you get a.

Speaker 2 (20:28):
Guest role on a rock or you know the office
person number twelve and living single whatever, sustainability wise, how
safe do you feel like if the imagined grim Reapers
behind you is a guest spot on a show, a
jump for you for at least four months of safety

(20:50):
to breathe before the grim Reaper catches up and then
you have to get your next series.

Speaker 3 (20:55):
Like how four months? No? No, that's why be born
strike you. I can't make no. Luckily, I've always lived
as if whatever this check is, I may not work
for months. I may not work for a year.

Speaker 2 (21:11):
So even when you have something good, it's never a.

Speaker 3 (21:16):
I haven't felt comfortable and secure in this business, and
I still have an actor's mindset that at any point
some shit might change. Until I started directing and really
started hitting my stride. Have I sat back and relaxed

(21:37):
for a second. And my husband will tell you there
have been many flights where he's like, I'm like, it's
only a four hour flight. We can fly coach. I'm cheap,
and that's how I live. I live as if I
may not work for another year.

Speaker 2 (21:53):
But does that also prevent you from dreaming, and I
not to sound real naive, saved, yes, but it really
wasn't until like I allowed myself to Like.

Speaker 1 (22:10):
It's almost like you have to tell your body, like, Okay.

Speaker 2 (22:12):
This is what I want and this is my dream
I'm pursuing hook cook crook or whatever, because I used
to be the careful smurf like, oh, man, like we're
never going to d D D D d D, so let.

Speaker 1 (22:21):
Me save up and that sort of thing.

Speaker 2 (22:24):
So how do you ride the line between safety and
this is the dream that I went?

Speaker 3 (22:30):
Well, I did. But I did do that because by
really pivoting to directing, I had to take a chance.
I was working a lot as an actress and that
was working well for me. And when you first started directing,
it's a good living. But if I'm on a hit show.
When I started directing, I could still make more money
acting as long as I was on a series, because

(22:52):
I have a you know, my my rate for an
episode is going to be pretty good compared to the director,
which takes a little longer to do an episode.

Speaker 1 (23:02):
But oh damn, so I chose the wrong profession again.

Speaker 6 (23:07):
Every time.

Speaker 3 (23:07):
No, But so I had to really make a decision.
I was looking at the long game. I knew that
in directing, you know, there's not a lot of and
I'm just I don't care. I'm fifty five now, I'll
be fifty six this year.

Speaker 1 (23:23):
They are not awesome.

Speaker 3 (23:25):
There are not a lot of women my age, especially
people of color, who are big, huge movie stars or
you know, the lead of a TV series. As you
get older, things are going to change, so you have
to make a decision where you're going. And so looking
at directing, I knew it was going to take me somewhere,

(23:45):
and I just had faith that. Besides that, I feel
like it's my calling. I knew that this was going
to be my longevity and this is where my wealth
was going to happen.

Speaker 1 (23:58):
When did you realize that directing was you call.

Speaker 3 (24:00):
It honestly the first time I did it, really, which.

Speaker 1 (24:04):
Was the first Eureka, okay.

Speaker 3 (24:09):
I did Ava DuVernay's first film, I will follow.

Speaker 1 (24:13):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (24:13):
She had done some docu she had I think she
had directed a documentary or two before that, but this
was her first narrative film. And during that process, I
always say, I must have been a little one of
those actresses that was given too much of their opinion,
because at some point she said to me during that process,
she said, I think you're a director and you don't

(24:33):
know it.

Speaker 1 (24:35):
How did you feel when you were told that.

Speaker 3 (24:37):
There's something about when it was you know how someone
just says something to you and you kind of see
your life flash and I go like, moment, I had
a Eureka moment. Thank you. It was like God put
something in her to give to me and it changed

(24:57):
my life. And I was on I was I want
a break from Eureka. At that time, it was like
you know our hiatus. And Ava said that to me
and I went, huh, she's doing it. She was a publicist,
she can do this. And I called this director. I
knew Eric Laanaville, who does Who's done Black Black? Director

(25:21):
used to be an actor on I Think Saint Elsewhere
with Denzel. He came up with him and he started
directing that show. Anyway, he had directed me on Eureka,
and I called him. I said, hey, I want to
ask them about directing. I think I want to do this.
Can I shadow you? He said absolutely, So went in
shadowed him on a few like two shows during my break,

(25:44):
and Ava gave me some tapes I got some books.
I have many years of you know, learning on the set,
which you find out how much you really know when
you do it. And I asked my producer producers, and
they tried me and gave me an episode. And when
I did, I still remember when they called me and

(26:07):
said yes where I was standing, and that moment of
being excited and then literally the next moment going holy shit,
now now it's real. Now I have to really do it.
And after doing that first episode, I went, oh, I
understand this. I get this.

Speaker 5 (26:26):
This is great and directly for you was something you
learned strictly just from shadowing other director.

Speaker 1 (26:31):
It's not something like.

Speaker 3 (26:32):
You went to school for Well, I say, I went
to school because it was like twenty five years of acting,
so what I realized. So then I did. I did
the Sony Film program at the studio and then I
remember during that I'm in this program and I was
feeling a little intimidated because they had all these students

(26:54):
who had gone to AFI and Yu and blah blah blah.
They had done their little films and stuff, but they've
all been in school and I the more they talked,
the more panels, I mean, the more like little group
classes and speakers would come all of a sudden, I
became part of the speakers because I knew so much
from being on the set right, so I the mixture

(27:18):
of doing the work I needed to by really shadowing
and paying attention. And when I say shadow, because I
tell people who come to shadow means shadowing means you're
there through every bit of pre production, every meeting, every
when I go to set. If I get to work
an hour before, you should be there an hour, Yeah,

(27:42):
you're there every minute. When we edited, I was there
every minute. And so you really that's a different than
just sitting on a set. I learned a lot. You
shadow me. It's it's I learned a lot doing that.
And then but honestly, you don't you don't know if
you're can be good at it until you do it.

Speaker 2 (28:02):
So now that you're knee deep in it, have you
accepted that this is your actual calling? Because for me, though,
they're still it's almost you know, like in Heat where
you got to walk away in thirty seconds or else,
And there is that moment sorry to spoiler for those
that have not seen the movie Heat. Yeah, no, there's

(28:26):
a moment at the very end where de Niro can
just he executed it, He got the guy, he can
walk off.

Speaker 1 (28:34):
With the girl. This is a little itching he has
to go back and see.

Speaker 2 (28:38):
And of course you know, I won't spoiler what happens,
but it does. So my whole point is there is
a part of me as a musician that still feels

(29:01):
like I didn't scratch that itch yet.

Speaker 1 (29:04):
Yeah, you know, like.

Speaker 2 (29:05):
I've done everything in the music world except arrived at
this platform on my own without aiding someone getting there
or that sort of thing. And even though I'm having
a hell of a life and a hell of a
journey everywhere else, this part of me that's still like, man,

(29:26):
none of this like there's an asterisk there, like, none
of this counts until I can do for music what
I'm able to do for these other ventures. So for
you in acting in terms of like that, have you
resolved that? And just like, hey, if the universe always
wanted me to tell stories behind the.

Speaker 3 (29:46):
Camera, no have I. So when I started directing so much,
I in the beginning I thought that I would be
doing both. I would I'll direct this part of the
year and then I'll be on a series use and
do this part of the year, and then all of
a sudden, I was getting booked so much that it

(30:06):
made sense for me to just keep on directing. So
I always thought I would be acting. I didn't know
I was quitting at the time. And then you look
back and it's three years later, and you know, because
I was still dabbling and doing small little things, or
more than three I mean, it's been many years now
that I haven't really acted.

Speaker 1 (30:25):
You know.

Speaker 3 (30:25):
Every once in a while, I've done a show where
it was directed and they're like, oh, why don't you
just do this role. I'm like, oh, yeah, I'll do it.
That'll be fun. So I would never say never. I
would love to do something that would be truly challenging
for me. I think at the end of my acting career,

(30:46):
I was doing a lot of the same kind of role.
I was like the powerful black woman in the office, attorney,
head of the company, deag you know, I was just
the same Yeah, you know, I'm telling everybody what to
do and then I go back in my office. That
was becoming a kind of boring and not very challenging.

(31:06):
And I do think that I never was given the
opportunity to really show how good I can be and
to really really do amazing work. And I don't think
I ever had. Part of the way the reason I
direct the way I do is that I really push
people because I felt like I've never had that one

(31:30):
director who would not accept anything but everything they knew
they had in me. And so when I work with actors,
if I know you have more, if I know if
I'm watching your performance and I know what kind of
actor you are, too, say you've done three takes and

(31:51):
it's the same. It's a good performance, but I noticed
it's the same. Then I know you werehear set at
home and now and I like it. I'm watching it.
Other people are impressed. But there's something in my gut
or in my heart, in my body that I know
when it's real, and I hope to push you to

(32:12):
give me that moment where I really feel it and
then I go, now we have it. And I've never
had that person do that for me.

Speaker 2 (32:25):
Yeah, I guess in the past ten to fifteen years,
they come in I won't say shots fired, but there
have been words from the US brothers in terms of
their experience with Denzel on.

Speaker 1 (32:43):
It's a book of right, of which I guess you know.

Speaker 2 (32:48):
One of them was joking about like, and I've heard
this before from other actors, where like Denzel would be like,
I'm only going to give you two performances, so you
better capture it now, like I don't have it, And
established actors I know, like I didn't know that that
was an option, Like, you've better capture me now. And
I've heard de Niro stories and all that stuff from

(33:10):
established actors. How do you know how far to push
your actors, especially if you're in a situation where like
time is of the essence. You know, there's always some
serious micromanaging producer in the background, like Okay, we're losing light,
or you know, we don't have enough for overtime or whatever.

(33:32):
How do you know when to press a button, when
to make someone do a fourth take?

Speaker 1 (33:39):
Yeah, like, how do you know that?

Speaker 3 (33:41):
I think it's everyone's different and you have to take
cues from the people you're working with. Sometimes I will,
especially with the bigger actors, I will I have conversations
with everyone before I shoot, you know, because how far?
How far can I push you? How far are you

(34:02):
comfortable with?

Speaker 1 (34:04):
I apologize?

Speaker 2 (34:05):
Guys, this is really going to just be the Sally
Mirror because morse he's talking.

Speaker 1 (34:10):
The more I'm like, oh god, I didn't think about
them of this.

Speaker 2 (34:12):
I gotta confront people and talk, and I talk to
them a lot of my actor friends, and they'll tell me,
like if a list person's being an asshole on the
set and that sort of thing.

Speaker 3 (34:23):
There's some people I know that, there are some actors
I can I can on the side of the camera
say things that I know that will give you an
emotional response. I can come whisper in your ear and
tell you you're a piece of ship and that's why
you ain't never this. I'll talk crazy in your but
I know that we have, we've had a conversation.

Speaker 1 (34:45):
Just get excited.

Speaker 3 (34:47):
I see you doing that.

Speaker 1 (34:49):
Actors on the Gilday I just went off the.

Speaker 6 (34:56):
I am a piece of ship.

Speaker 1 (34:58):
I'm like, what do you like?

Speaker 3 (34:59):
What are your bring Christine Baranski's ear. I am not
saying that, But there are certain people I can go.
I can look at you and go, I don't believe
you right now.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
So but should you have to go through Jediah, you
just have to go through Jedi.

Speaker 3 (35:19):
I have to figure out. I have to figure out
how to get the best out of you without you
shutting down. Now, there are some there's some big actors
who are a little more persnickety, but I also don't
have to put they they're good people. They know what
they're doing. So I have to figure out what little
things I can say to you to get what I want.

(35:41):
And sometimes it can be uncomfortable for me, but that's
by earning their respect and not being afraid to give
them the note even though you know they're gonna give
you an attitude about it.

Speaker 2 (35:54):
So as a woman, as we you know, and I've
heard this many times in any professional setting, like women
often have to fight for to stand their ground as
leader and to get oursts and it's sort of us
not look kind of sitting and all those things.

Speaker 1 (36:12):
So how deep is the.

Speaker 2 (36:17):
Mental preparation that you have to do when you know
that you're dealing with an actor or actress whatever that
sort of might have closed that won't submit to you.

Speaker 3 (36:32):
I don't there is something about my personality that does
not give you the feeling that you should not listen
to what I'm asking you to do. And first of all,
I'm very prepped and prepared, which is part of them
starting to respect you, and again, there's not much you

(36:56):
can do to me that will, at least outwardly, will
break me down.

Speaker 1 (37:04):
So people attempted.

Speaker 3 (37:07):
I've had. I've had some early on, some volatile people.
But that's where Chicago comes and in my mind because
people I've had producers say to me, Okay, other women
have cried here and this and that, and I'm like,
ain't nobody gonna see me cry? Like that's just not

(37:28):
like it's not happening. I don't cry in life. Really,
it's not a good thing. My husband says, I didn't. No,
I'm a sad, but you know, I just I come

(37:48):
from that that, you know, I come from that black
mother where there is there is like just suck it
up and move on. So there's times I feel it
and of course cried in my life. I believe I
need to learn how to cry. My husband was I

(38:08):
remember when he goes, if you walk down this aisle
and I don't see you cry, and the whole time
going down the aisle, I was like, fuck, figure how
to cry? Real upset. I didn't cry when I had
I gave birth to two children with no drugs and yeah,
but no tears, with no drugs, natural child. I just

(38:29):
not a crier anyway. So let me tell you you're
you're not that. I've had, you know, different things in
my life. I'm not ready to do. I'm not doing
hotel all I need to be on one. But I've
had enough trauma that you being a disgruntled actor or
even cursing in my face and like seeming physically intimidating

(38:54):
in front of me. In my mind, I'm like, I
wish you.

Speaker 8 (39:01):
Now.

Speaker 3 (39:01):
I wouldn't say that, but that's the look. I'm like,
what you got? So so that mixed with what people
think I look like and how But I also have
this mom voice that will come what I was. What
I'm telling you that I need you to do is
go from there to there. And but then I'm nice

(39:23):
to you too, like you have to pull everything out.
I gotta be your mother. I gotta be your girlfriend.
Sometimes I gotta be your sister. I gotta be your boss,
I gotta there's a whole uh my job, and what
I'm very good at is figuring out what you need.
What does this actor need for me to get the

(39:46):
best performance. And at the end of the day, they
most of them, I would I think have left feeling
like I know what I'm doing and they trusted me
and and you know, and then some of them want
to be friends with them. Some I hope I never
see you again, but but they would never know it.

Speaker 1 (40:05):
But don't you feel that way about the band? Like
you're a suit me saying this?

Speaker 2 (40:12):
She's saying this now, and I've learned so I learned
already that when a person worries, you're basically politely praying
that something bad does happen to you. I hope I
don't get attacked in this subway. I hope I don't
get ran over by a car. I hope my wife

(40:32):
don't catch me, you know, like weird weird one. But
for the last two years sort of riding the fence
of why me and why now and what's the catch here?

(40:53):
And then she's saying this, and I'm realizing, Ah, fucking universe,
I get this now. The universe knows I hate confrontation.

Speaker 3 (41:03):
I don't like confrontation either.

Speaker 1 (41:05):
I despise. I know I have Richard Nichols for that.
Don't let that verse go?

Speaker 2 (41:12):
Yeah, you know, but you know now I'm realizing, ah, damn,
this is.

Speaker 1 (41:19):
God because this thing.

Speaker 2 (41:20):
It's one thing when you're doing documentaries, like for me,
I will say that what I'm working on now is
it's not summer of soul, you know what I mean
in terms of like people talking about a joyous time whatever,
like because I'm talking about.

Speaker 1 (41:36):
Trauma and shit.

Speaker 2 (41:37):
So getting answers out of my subjects is like, like,
I feel like I should be a qualified paralegal, like
the lawyer levels that I'm going to get the answer
that I need you to give and coax it out
of you. And it's just like, ah, damn, what if
this is the universe forcing me in this, like to

(41:58):
be a people person something.

Speaker 1 (42:00):
That you're from. I hate people, you know.

Speaker 2 (42:06):
But now that you're saying this, and I'm realizing, damn,
this is what the next six years of my life
is about to be.

Speaker 1 (42:14):
Like I'm gonna have to talk to people.

Speaker 3 (42:17):
And you'll learn so much about I don't know, I say,
grace right now, I'm here, But you learned so much
about communication with people. I mean, Okay, he don't do
he needs help with it because I have to deal

(42:40):
with so many different people and as. But really, in
the position listen, I can't argue I'm not going to
argue with any actors. I'm not going to argue with
your stars, not really argue because you could walk off
the set. Now I can't shoot, so because my job
is also so let's get this day going. So sometimes

(43:03):
I'm like, in my mind, you may be talking crazy
to me. Do I engage?

Speaker 1 (43:09):
No?

Speaker 3 (43:10):
I can't engage because that's an argument.

Speaker 1 (43:12):
Is that what?

Speaker 2 (43:14):
Because whenever I'm on to set, I'm talking about like
when I was doing videos, whatever, the annoying person, the
guy that yells and all that stuff. Like I always
know is that the directors just sits in front of
the watch the daily's screen and all that stuff and
really doesn't say much.

Speaker 3 (43:30):
It comes the AD doesn't talk to the actors for me.

Speaker 1 (43:35):
No, you don't allow that for you or in.

Speaker 3 (43:39):
General on it on the kind of shows that I'm doing,
absolutely not Okay. He can call and tell you it's time,
you know, it's time to shoot or something, but any
if to No, it's all me.

Speaker 2 (43:52):
I always thought the job of the AD would sort
of be the bad cop, so that you don't have
to that would.

Speaker 3 (43:58):
Be my bad cop. As far as production, let let
them know this information. This is why we're not shooting
right now. This is why it's going to take longer.
I'm sorry we brought you in earlier, but this is
this happened that kind of thing. But any problems on
a set when we're talking about the work, what I

(44:18):
need you to do, what this character is going to do,
why it's not working, blah blah blah, that's all me.
So yeah, So.

Speaker 2 (44:26):
When you're doing a series, yeah, and you aren't the
showrunner of said series, how do you navigate your job
as a director? Because okay, for instance, there was there
was an episode of Boardwalking Pyre that I watched that
Marty Scorsese directed, okay, and I would have had no
clue that he did it because I didn't see none

(44:47):
of the film A school marker, like none of his trademark,
yeah scorsesesms or whatever. And I realized that, oh well,
he sort of has to fit into the shell of
what the show is. How do you know when you
get called for a show, how much leverager leeway are
you allowed to or are you even one of those
directors that's thinking of like what your trademark is like

(45:11):
you know.

Speaker 3 (45:13):
Yeah, so you find a way. And again that's why
I kind of had a goal of the platform, Like really,
my end goal was to get to a platform like
HBO where you have more freedom to be who you
are as a director. So when you're going on some
of these earlier shows, absolutely there is a style you

(45:35):
have to fit into it, but you find a way
to infuse some of you into their show. Otherwise they
could hire anyone. So why do they Why do they
bring you back? So maybe I have a few shots
that maybe pushing the envelope a little bit, but it's

(45:58):
definitely what I like to do. I always say I
like the camera moving a lot, and I love doing
long runners. So most of the time you'll find that
in my episode somewhere in there might be a long runner.

Speaker 5 (46:12):
Yeah, I was going to ask what was some of
your I guess your techniques and winning time that you use.

Speaker 1 (46:17):
That's a good example. That's the show which it has
to look like vintage, you know.

Speaker 3 (46:23):
Yeah, he came in second season too, Well, I start,
I did the first season. I did the last two
episodes of the first season.

Speaker 2 (46:31):
So how much micromanaging does the screenwriter do in terms
of like, so, what have you decided I don't want
to use this grain of like are you allowed to
make a radicus.

Speaker 3 (46:42):
No no, no, no, no, that is established what the look
is going to be. But I find that particular show
we're using so many different formats that I really have
a lot of freedom. So I definitely there's a lot
of that style in me. I mean, they're is a
lot of I say, in the action, you'll see a

(47:03):
lot of pushing and pulling shots that are mine. Again,
there will be a lot of shots where it's a
long wonner, where there's a lot of handoffs. That means
think of a classic uh, good fella shot I love

(47:24):
at the table, good fellow, the whole restaurant when you
first I well, I love blocking, and so blocking a
shot like that with that that takes a lot of prep,

(47:47):
and that would just everything about that shot is perfect.
I love that shot. There's a shot in this movie
called Rush that does about Yes, there's a big long
shot like that too, love it, love it. So you'd
see a lot of that in my work. You'll see
a lot of energy, pushing and pulling. You'll see lower angles,

(48:08):
You'll see that stuff that comes in really intimately. So
I could winning time was perfect for that. I could
pretty much do whatever I wanted to there within even
though the format of how we shot it was set
in stone, I could still do most of me in
there too, which is I think part of the reason

(48:29):
they brought me back to produce the next season and
to direct half of it, because they liked what I
did in the last two episodes. And I feel like
the show, you know, kind of found its real sweet spot.
You know, it takes a show a second. You know,
Adam set up an amazing pilot, but then it takes
a second for things to really you know, get mixed
and work, you know, bake, and by the second season,

(48:53):
you know, we could really get in there and fine
tune some things.

Speaker 1 (48:56):
Do you question I had to that point.

Speaker 5 (48:58):
So a lot of times with TV, we're talking to
directors and talking to just a lot of actors. A
lot of times they'll tell you most television shows don't
really hit their stride until probably like season three or
you know, but now shows don't even get that much
of a chance. How do you, as a director, how
do you adapt to that this kind of landscape.

Speaker 3 (49:18):
Whit I mean, there's nothing you can do it just
hope that I don't know, it's so hard. I think
with you know, Winning Time. It's also a very, very
expensive show to make, so it's hard to just let
it hit its stride. Although I felt like this second
season so you were really falling into a nice spot.

(49:43):
But you know, the things have changed down here, and
you know, in the business, who knows. I don't know
the decision making. I know I did what I was
supposed to do and people are loving it, and you know,
I just kind of blow where the wind takes me.

Speaker 2 (50:04):
How do they determine what is a successful series and
worth investigating as opposed to not nowadays? Because I mean,
if we're Winning Time, they're not going on or they're
not sharing.

Speaker 1 (50:20):
Nielsen rating still.

Speaker 3 (50:22):
For network TV, it's different on on those platform I.

Speaker 2 (50:27):
Know, for streaming or whatever, they don't share the numbers.
You don't know, So I mean to to sort of
prematurely yank it before it gets its chance to really
unfurl and reveal itself.

Speaker 3 (50:41):
Like I think, there's so many factors. There's so like
is it getting is it getting awards? Is it getting
nominated that maybe even if it wasn't.

Speaker 2 (50:53):
Getting Lovecraft like that got so many that left for
another reason, right, Like that didn't even have anything to
do with no that was creative.

Speaker 3 (51:01):
Yeah, I think there were some things going on. Yeah,
So there's so many there's so I heard Casey Bloyse,
who's you know they head to HBO. I heard him
on a podcast talking and there's just so many factors.
It can be a show that is like artistically fantastic,

(51:22):
that doesn't cost them a lot and may not be
getting but is getting all the great reviews, may not
be getting all the numbers, but maybe that show can
come back because it's getting some of the artistic things
they want and doesn't cost that much to make, so
it works, you know. So there's all these different factors
he was talking about on this podcast.

Speaker 7 (51:43):
So again, so do you attribute the success of the
Gilded Age to that?

Speaker 1 (51:49):
To the what you just.

Speaker 7 (51:49):
Said about awards and whatnot, because now there are I.

Speaker 3 (51:52):
Mean, we got things for behind the scenes, but actors
weren't getting it the show, you know, but we don't
even know. I mean this is the second scene and
Gilded we had our second season winning time. I think
Gilded is going to be you know, and we don't
know about the season three of Gilded until it's out
and we see what the numbers are. I think that

(52:13):
the second season of Gilded is fantastic and fun, you know,
so who knows? But also about winning time was about
you know, I don't know right right?

Speaker 2 (52:21):
So okay, when you when you got the Gilded Project,
what was your please?

Speaker 3 (52:28):
I was like, how did I get this?

Speaker 1 (52:30):
Please? Tell us?

Speaker 2 (52:31):
But yeah, like, what was your knowledge of life in
the eighteen hundreds?

Speaker 3 (52:35):
At the same knowledge that anybody else has?

Speaker 1 (52:37):
Right fast?

Speaker 3 (52:38):
If you think about it, like had you heard of
the Gilded Age? Even listen, white, black, blue man, woman,
nobody who's living in the eighteen hundreds? Most people are
not historians.

Speaker 1 (52:50):
But there's always some historian like, well, actually they you know.

Speaker 3 (52:54):
We have, But I have you there to fulfill, you know,
to tell me what that stuff is. I was a
lover of period pieces. I've always loved them. I had
watched all of Down to Abbey. I had if you
say on the list, I would love like Dangerous Liaisons.
I have to watch that over and over, you know. Anyway,
So when that opportunity came up to UH to meet

(53:17):
with them, I was ready and I had done enough.
I hadn't done a show like that, and they were
looking for a black woman in particular, I think, to
fill that role because they knew they were going to
have this black family in it, and they also knew
they needed a woman's point of view because of what

(53:37):
the show was. And so I met and I just
told them about my love of the show. I'm very
good with detail. I'm a good student of things. So
somehow or another I convince them, like I did when
I moved to LA and convinced William y'all should sign me.
I ain't got no tape, but I can do it.
I was, I'm good again, I'm good in to interview.

(53:59):
I convinced and I can do this, and they said yes,
and and and then that because of COVID, because initially
I was only supposed to do two episodes, and then
COVID happened, and that's part of the thing that launched

(54:19):
it into me then producing and doing more of the episodes. Uh,
and grew into this deal at HBO. It was like
this whole weird thing that I don't even know how it.

Speaker 1 (54:30):
Has all deal.

Speaker 7 (54:31):
You mean you're over me to Sally Richards and Whitfield
HBO overall deal, which I don't Most people don't even
understand what that means but congratulations, This.

Speaker 1 (54:41):
Means that you can develop your own projects there.

Speaker 3 (54:43):
Yeah, and they just give me a certain amount of
money and I'm exclusive to them and everything.

Speaker 1 (54:54):
Yo. Black Dynamite is one of my favorite movies. You
bodyed it well, Thank you, thank you mother.

Speaker 2 (55:02):
Okay, So I first became aware of you, of posse.
Could you talk about the process that led to Mario
hiring you?

Speaker 6 (55:11):
So?

Speaker 3 (55:12):
I think I actually got the audition, I mean through
my agent. But I had met Blair Underwood somehow in
La you know, i'd been there a little about it,
you know that year, right, met him at a party
and he told Mario. I think he told Mario about
me and said I'd be perfect for this film. She's

(55:33):
black and American Indian. Right. So I go in an
audition with everybody else and I got down to the
last few. But then they hired someone else. I'll tell
you who that was in a secondly, because it's okay,
I can tell you. Wait a minute. Is this a
thing where they hired someone else and they were shooting

(55:54):
and they say.

Speaker 1 (55:55):
No, no, no, And then it comes down to you.

Speaker 3 (55:57):
They were shooting and they were like I got a call. Okay,
So I don't get it. I'm sad because I was like,
who else can be? But at that time, my hair
legit was down here, dead straight. I'm like, my mama
has always told me we got charity, and I am American,

(56:20):
and I got a picture of my great grandmother and
she is two braids, and I'm pretty sure my mama
ain't lying anyway, So I don't get it. And then
one day I get a call on it Saturday and

(56:41):
they're like, oh, they have fire the actress. Can you
be here later on tonight? You're shooting Monday. That person
is stay and I think she got there and whatever.

(57:03):
I don't know. I heard there was some you know,
it wasn't going well, difficult anyway. I don't know I
went there. But all I know is I got a
call Saturday and Monday I was shooting.

Speaker 1 (57:15):
How did you feel when you got I.

Speaker 3 (57:19):
Still remember where I was. I was at some guy's house.
I was dating, and I don't even know if I
had time to think, you know, I was just like, oh,
I got it.

Speaker 1 (57:34):
Was just Saturday, and you start on Monday.

Speaker 3 (57:37):
Well, I don't know if I started now. I started
that week. I was there. Whatever hair they had got
for her track. They put that in my head and
put that.

Speaker 6 (57:45):
Happened on me.

Speaker 1 (57:46):
I was, how much preparation did you have to to do?

Speaker 3 (57:51):
I don't know. I just started. I don't you know.
It's been a while, but it's not like I had
that many deep lines. I already wrote. I knew how
to ride and stuff. So getting ready for another movie audition,
I had learned, you know, Glenn Turman has a ranch.
So I had met some people who took me to
Glenn Turman's ranch and Glenn taught me how to like
really ride. So I was ready. I was like, I

(58:14):
got there. I had a young brain. I could memorize anything.
Now I'd be like, well, I need two weeks to
memorize this. And I was there and I was shooting,
and I'm there with Tone Loak and Big Daddy Kane
and yes At Melvin and Mario and and Pam Greer

(58:36):
and I mean, we had all sorts of people there.
It was a it was a dream. It like it's
a blur in my mind. We used to play during
our breaks, like on the weekend, we would play basketball.
I remember tiny I was still good in basketball then.
I could still because when I first was out here,
I would do that. That's when they used to do

(58:58):
celebrity basketball tournaments, So I used to play in all
of those games. I was still I was still pretty decent.
Then what's your position?

Speaker 6 (59:11):
Lists this entire tablets.

Speaker 7 (59:15):
Played center on my boys and Girls club basketball team.

Speaker 1 (59:18):
I played the sports here we go. No you have
you got it, bron, I don't know nothing much for it.

Speaker 3 (59:26):
Yeah, so yeah, it was. We had the best time
on that movie.

Speaker 5 (59:30):
I mean, I wanted to ask you about low down,
dirty Shane, which is probably my favorite role of yours, right,
like straight up and down. And I was thinking about
what you were saying earlier about how directors it is
read that you were pushed in some ways. I think
the reason why I really liked that role is because
that was the first time that I remember kind of
seeing you as a villain, and I just thought, I

(59:52):
was like, yo, I want to see more. Sally is
like the villain, like just straight up, you know, just
you know.

Speaker 3 (59:56):
So unfortunately, you know, also, I came up at a
time where there wasn't that many it wasn't that many
jobs we were It was really all of us, Me Jada,
h Nia, Everybody's going for the same thing, and Jada
nia few people kind of they were already there. Honestly,
they had started a little sooner than me. You know,

(01:00:17):
people start taking off and there's just not a lot
of spots for you. But also when I talk about
not being pushed there, I also have been given that
many roles where there was an opportunity to push me
to do something that different.

Speaker 5 (01:00:33):
You know, what would be an example of something now,
a role now that you would.

Speaker 1 (01:00:37):
Or a role that you went after that close but
no cigar moment.

Speaker 3 (01:00:42):
Oh, those are so many. I mean probably every every
movie you've seen another black actress the lead in, we
all knew. We all went out for the same thing.
Remember I said I screen test me. I think Tisha
Campbell was there too, and then Jada for Nuttie Professor
and they gave it to Jada. Yeah, I think it

(01:01:03):
was the three of us testing.

Speaker 2 (01:01:04):
So, Okay, when you talk about testing, what is the
process of testing, because I've heard like, okay, he's coming recold.

Speaker 3 (01:01:13):
For those are auditions. Those are like the yes's.

Speaker 2 (01:01:17):
Testing, like a chemistry test to see chemistry, character gets along.

Speaker 3 (01:01:21):
And when I say a screen test, that's a whole
different thing. So when I said rage and Harlem, I
read with Forrest on a set in full hair, makeup, costume,
him and costume. We're doing a scene from the movie
being filmed on the cameras. That's like, it looks like

(01:01:41):
the movie almost.

Speaker 1 (01:01:42):
How often does that process happen now? Still or not?

Speaker 3 (01:01:47):
I don't think as much, Nutti Professor, same thing. Eddie
came out in full on makeup. I'm their hair makeup
you're in. I think we were in a lab or
something and we did a scene from the movie and
they filmed this same data. Got what's funny is that?

(01:02:07):
What's funny is that's what my hair looks like this?
And then I saw the movie and it was a yeah,
Jada's wig, so my hair was just like that. And
then they did the movie. I said, they put my
hair on. That's what I decided, because you know, she
had really short hair. I said, what is this in.

Speaker 1 (01:02:29):
Your in your acting fees?

Speaker 2 (01:02:31):
Like for you, are movies the the ultimate goal or
the security of a series?

Speaker 3 (01:02:39):
Well, as an actress, you want the security of you know,
if you could get a scandal, listen, you move because
most of the time, unless you are the big A
list actor, you're not making that much to do a film,
you know, maybe you know, maybe a few hundred thousand

(01:03:01):
dollars which will last you for a little while, you.

Speaker 2 (01:03:04):
Know, back to my original analogy. So a small role
as the girlfriend or whatever, any movie that's just enough
for maybe if you're two months three months out here.

Speaker 3 (01:03:18):
A small role or what are you talking about? Like
my role in Low Down? Yes, probably that was my
biggest paycheck, main character in that one. Yeah, so that
gave me enough money to live on for a little while.
And again I'm going, in my mind, I think that
the people need to have more of this mindset. I

(01:03:39):
go because everyone else is mine. They're like, oh you well,
because people are telling you that, ooh you about to
take off, right, it's about to be it. In my mind,
I already knew at that point. Yeah, I'm not trusting it.

Speaker 2 (01:03:57):
Do you book a project at a time or do you?
Are you allowed to stack?

Speaker 3 (01:04:04):
Of course if you can. Again, at that time, there
wasn't a lot of too stack. I don't know what
I did. I don't know what I did after that.
So are you frugal enough?

Speaker 7 (01:04:16):
They're doing Low Down?

Speaker 3 (01:04:17):
Dirty shame?

Speaker 7 (01:04:18):
After that, you were still in your one bedroom or
did you go i'most step it up and get two.

Speaker 3 (01:04:23):
Listen when we were when we were shooting, when we
were shooting low down, dirty shame. I and I had
done Posse and some other small things. I still had
that six hundred dollar car.

Speaker 7 (01:04:35):
Wowkauy of that.

Speaker 3 (01:04:36):
I drove to La n and Jada and Keenan. They
were like, listen, you have got to get a new car.
And I did remember. I remember pulling up on the
set and they all, you know, Jada had been on
some series and they got nice cars. I would meet

(01:04:56):
people at parties and at restaurants and I would not vow.

Speaker 1 (01:05:00):
Because that's what I was going to ask. And I
know that.

Speaker 3 (01:05:03):
Well, at some point, like I couldn't put my window down.
It was you know, it looked good. You know. Again,
I was like, so I finally like, least a truck
did at least ah, well, you know everybody has an SGUV.

Speaker 1 (01:05:22):
Yes.

Speaker 7 (01:05:22):
I didn't know if he was going how she'd be
we I was gonna be a rabnet.

Speaker 3 (01:05:25):
I was like, no, no, no, I leased a car.
I don't know, but I was afraid, you know, I
was just afraid. I was afraid of being broke. I'm
in I didn't have I have lovely parents, I have
a very supportive family, but there wasn't an wasn't a
bunch of money to be sending to help me, and
nor did I ever ask. So I moved to l A.

(01:05:47):
This was my choice. I have to make. I'm out
here on my own and not not to say I
couldn't have gone back to Chicago and had a place
to go. Like again, I love my family that would
have done anything for me. But I never had to
ask for anything.

Speaker 1 (01:06:02):
And was there a.

Speaker 2 (01:06:03):
Moment where you're just like, I'm out here like no,
so you just never no matter how not.

Speaker 3 (01:06:11):
That I wasn't at home weeping and crying and when
am I going to work? And just I did weep
and cry about that stuff. I was like, that's not
in front of people, that's by myself. You know, you
know you have that depression. I haven't worked in three,
four or five months? Is what's the next thing going

(01:06:31):
to be? But I always worked enough to keep going.
I never and I never spent beyond my means. I
never I was always because I just didn't. You know,
when you come from not having everything you want, you
should be conservative. I think you're on both sides, or

(01:06:53):
you just start spending all your money.

Speaker 7 (01:06:55):
So are you the person now that like, since we're
going through this long asst right, people are now calling like, Sally,
how did you do it? Like, Sally, help me get
through it? Like you just seem maybe in that way
because people.

Speaker 3 (01:07:07):
I've been telling I've been telling everyone listen, I don't
know how Like my assistant, I kept going, Hey, we
don't know how long the strike is going to be.
Right now, I'm still getting my money and everything they haven't,
which means I can still pay you. But anything could happen,
So don't get comfortable. I know everybody must be jealous

(01:07:31):
of that, because if you ain't, if they ain't paying me,
you ain't get paid because I don't have I don't
have it like that, you know. So I've been with her.
I see people. I judge people all the time. During
this time, I've been seeing some of my friends or
some of the people in my director's group going on
trips and stuff, and I'm knowing that they don't work
as much as I do, you know, like you know

(01:07:52):
where I'm like, I'm like, uh, why they on that
trip I'm like, they got something going on. I don't know,
but I'm like, okay, I'm glad.

Speaker 1 (01:08:02):
I'm not the only person. And things like that, like
I'll see somebody like I'm.

Speaker 3 (01:08:07):
Judging people well, and I'm judging your money. I don't
know what you got all the time.

Speaker 2 (01:08:16):
How did you maintain your sanity in a straight but
also your creativity? And really was the rule that you're
not supposed to do any work whatsoever?

Speaker 3 (01:08:31):
Well, I can do stuff on like me and my
manager can talk about stuff. You know. I have projects
that I've been developing for a while that I can
do stuff on my own. I'm sitting there. I have
to make like my pitch decks. I have a documentary
that I'm working on in which I can do so
I've been working on this like sizzle. I've been able

(01:08:53):
to pitch some of my documentary stuff. So, you know,
So I've been able to do some things. And and
then I've you know, drove my husband a little crazy
because probably everything in our every drawer in our house
has been reorganized. We're we're onto the garage. I'm not
like right now, I was audience. I have a back injury.

(01:09:17):
I am not good I can't not do. I'm a doer.

Speaker 1 (01:09:22):
You can't relax.

Speaker 3 (01:09:23):
I'm a twenty fource. And maybe one day and then
after that, I'm like, I'm being real irresponsible. Right now
I need to get up. I'm gonna I just have
to do something. So I'm like, well, I got nothing
else to do. We're gonna reorganize the house. We're gonna
do this. I've been needing to get this done because.

Speaker 1 (01:09:42):
I wanted you to be silent, and I have.

Speaker 3 (01:09:45):
I found that's why I got COVID and then I
got hurt.

Speaker 7 (01:09:47):
My back set you down, literally.

Speaker 3 (01:09:50):
But but I've been watching stuff on the on my
side as I lay in the bed on my side.
But I've learned that if you're sitting aroun not doing,
things get done not they don't get done, and things
move ahead because there's other people doing this last year.

Speaker 7 (01:10:11):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:10:11):
And a lot of that is through having this HBO
deal and kind of coming into my own enough that
I go, I'm not getting this work because I'm a woman.
I'm not getting this work because I'm black. I'm getting
these jobs now because I really am the best person

(01:10:33):
for this job. And luckily and now they can also
check these boxes off. You know, it's like some added
little thing. So I think somewhere in that confidence has
made me go, you can relax a little bit. We like,
we had a big group trip. We all went to
South Africa together, which was not a cheap trip trip.

Speaker 1 (01:10:54):
With like that.

Speaker 3 (01:11:00):
I have some fancy friends, Jeff and Nicole Friday from ABFF.
Jeff and Nicole liked I'm shouting them out. They like
to travel nicely, so they forced me out of my
comfort zone. And my husband's very happy because you know,
he could just kind of let me be who I
am and just shakes his head. But we had a

(01:11:21):
fabulous trip, so I was like, Okay, we're gonna go
take this once in a lifetime trip with my children.
And my daughter and I took a trip before she
went to college. So I've been able to relax a
little bit. And then I come back and then I
get a moment of being afraid or we spend too
much money, But you know, you have to enjoy this stuff.

Speaker 5 (01:11:41):
I want to ask you about Dondre. I've had a
chance to meet him. This has been a couple of years.
Back on Queen Sugar Good Buddy my Omar that plays Hollywood.
We hung out in New York one night and he
was coolest dude. You know what I'm saying. I don't
know how he is at home.

Speaker 3 (01:11:57):
But with us, it's been twenty we've been together twenty
six years.

Speaker 1 (01:12:03):
Question, how do y'all? Because I think I think it's.

Speaker 5 (01:12:05):
Like y'all and like Courtney and Angela Bassett, like.

Speaker 1 (01:12:07):
Y'all, like one of the only.

Speaker 3 (01:12:10):
Surviving no pressure, no pressure now now because now now
you just jinxes. That's like watching golf. He's been making
this but all you got to miss it now, Okay.

Speaker 1 (01:12:20):
Go ahead, How did all survive for so long? What?
What you know?

Speaker 5 (01:12:24):
It's specifically and not just in a mess, but just
I mean too creative as professionals.

Speaker 1 (01:12:29):
Yeah, like that's a lie.

Speaker 7 (01:12:31):
You directed him?

Speaker 3 (01:12:32):
You know what? I don't know? Andre and I obviously
we we love each other very much. We have two
very I think a lot of it. We have two
very happy children. And once you're you know, my my
son's going into heigh it just is a freshman this year,

(01:12:52):
and my uh, my daughter is. It's film and pure.
So you look at your children and but you know,
you look at your children, and that's also a motivating
factor of that, no matter what our issues are, we

(01:13:15):
need to figure this out. We got happy, We got
a happy little family here, and there's a you know,
there's a mutual respect there and I don't know, we're
both very competitive and that competitive nature of Oh no,
we're gonna stay together. We committed to this. They're gonna
figure this out. Also, somehow, I think we both know

(01:13:36):
if you look out here, ain't nothing. There's nothing out
here in the street. And I mean, honestly, I mean
for me, like what we're come on, you get to
a certain age? What what? What? Who I'm on? Meet now?
And who's gonna treat me like my husband treats me?

Speaker 1 (01:14:00):
Oh because I put out the fat. Yeah, Steve is
in mare for him right now. Shoot, the silence are good.

Speaker 3 (01:14:09):
But my husband treats he really does treat me like
a queen. He takes care of me almost every morning.
He knows my coffee I want if I'm still, if
I happen to sleep late, he is bringing that coffee
up there for me.

Speaker 1 (01:14:21):
That's my question. Yeah, what is your morning routine? What
what do you one?

Speaker 2 (01:14:27):
What time do you automatically wake up without the clock
waking you up, and what's the first thing you do
in the first half hour of your day?

Speaker 3 (01:14:34):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (01:14:35):
If we're a habitual right.

Speaker 3 (01:14:36):
Fact, most of the time, my eyes will open at
six thirty in the morning. Unfortunately, I don't care. My
eyes just open. Probably we have three dogs. They probably
made some noise in the room. Uh. Three. We have
a Rottweiler, a golden Doodle and a crazy Frenchy.

Speaker 1 (01:14:56):
Do they like each other?

Speaker 3 (01:14:58):
Yes, they do, although our Frenchie and are Roddy are
both males who are not fixed and are starting They
starting to well, they grew up together because they're only
about they're both like three, three and a half ish,
and they've just that that loving friendship has changed and

(01:15:20):
it's mostly the Frenchie is cool. He's like, if you
don't mess with me, we good. He gets along with
other dogs. But that Frenchie is insane anyway. So I
let the dogs out if if I happen to, you know,
sleep later, I'll have my coffee, go down and have
my coffee, and usually I get up. I take the

(01:15:43):
dogs on a hike, which is how I hurt my
back because I slipped, and I take them out separately.
I take the frenchie by himself for a short walk
real quick, and then I come back for the other
two because they can go on a long walk with me.
So that sort of get my day going. And and
then you know, nowadays it would be now I have

(01:16:03):
maybe these three zoom calls during you know, zoom meetings
or something, but it's usually and I don't eat till
probably about twelve thirty one. I'll have a protein shake
or something.

Speaker 1 (01:16:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:16:17):
I don't eat in the morning, and that's if I'm
not working. Okay, you know working, you know, set four.

Speaker 1 (01:16:28):
In the morning. Whatever. Okay, what what is your secret
talent that you're allowed to say? Right right right?

Speaker 3 (01:16:40):
I don't know, I always say I mean I do
a lot of things. I mean, I'm a golfer. I'm
a I don't know if that's so secret, but I.

Speaker 1 (01:16:47):
Think I know.

Speaker 7 (01:16:48):
Are you a part of the squad? So no, like
that whole black female squad that goes down well.

Speaker 3 (01:16:53):
No, I used to do a lot of the celebrity
golf tournaments and stuff. I used to be actually very good.
My son is a he's in golfer.

Speaker 1 (01:17:00):
He's what is it about golfing?

Speaker 2 (01:17:03):
Because a lot of my friends especially my black friends
who are professionals. Yeah, like, is there a memo that
I haven't gotten yet? Like everyone turns forty five and
suddenly like.

Speaker 3 (01:17:14):
Well, I've been playing for like least twenty five years.
I had started playing because Andre played when we met.

Speaker 2 (01:17:22):
Is it fun or did you start at like golf
and then top golf?

Speaker 3 (01:17:26):
Oh no, no, no, no, I started playing golf. Richard Rowntree
is one of the first people to help me play golf,
Richard Rowntree and Richard Laws and I've had amazing people
who have helped me play golf in the beginning, and
then obviously my husband. I don't if you listen, I'm
not gonna be doing any more pickup games of basketball
and stuff like that. I think what it is is

(01:17:47):
that golf is something Golf is something you can do
by yourself, you can do in a group. It's highly therapeutic.
You can take and smoke, it's highly competitive. It's a
way for me to compete. I love to I love
to compete, okay, and it's a way for me to
do that. And it's it's a hard game. It will

(01:18:08):
challenge you, like.

Speaker 2 (01:18:09):
How long did it take you to learn it? Because
I feel like, now I'm gonna have to.

Speaker 3 (01:18:14):
No one has.

Speaker 1 (01:18:16):
One. Sorry, no. But the thing is is like, all right,
for instance, uh, our friend Zara, who is no, but she's.

Speaker 2 (01:18:27):
Stuck in her uh kind of, she's stuck in her mood.
She's stuck in her mood where like she loves chain restaurants,
and I'm like, yeah, exactly, oh no you mentioned Chipotle.
She'll like, she'll just die on the spot. However, you know,
I'm telling her like, Okay, we're ramping up our games now,

(01:18:50):
and you live in Los Angeles and we're doing these
high powered meetings.

Speaker 1 (01:18:54):
You might have to learn.

Speaker 2 (01:18:55):
How to acclamant or adjust yourself to eating sushi. When
she's her first response, yeah, I hate sushi. Whatever, I'm like, no,
but like a lot of you know.

Speaker 1 (01:19:06):
People are gonna be running in.

Speaker 2 (01:19:07):
That's exactly You're gonna have to. We're gonna have to
start adulting. And I feel like, for some reason, a
lot of the high caliber power people that I'm running in.

Speaker 3 (01:19:18):
It's an expensive sport.

Speaker 7 (01:19:20):
So that's one thing too, right, Why it's not a
brokeman's game. It's very expensive to play, right, So I
mean that's why, Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:19:28):
I hole so it's like you're walking from what I've
heard is a lot of people to use it for networking,
like because it's I mean it's eighteen, so you walk
in you talking.

Speaker 3 (01:19:39):
There's definitely been like on sets on the weekend I'm
on location, the producers like we're playing off. I'm like,
I brought my clubs. I played, They're like, you play.
It is something I've met a lot of people through golf,
but I don't use it just for that. I love golf.
It's fun. I watch it. Just stretch before you do it,

(01:20:00):
mirror ever, just.

Speaker 1 (01:20:03):
Despite you, I'll tell you, I'll go with you. Matter
of fact, why don't we all.

Speaker 2 (01:20:10):
Next game night, I'm taking everybody to the Top Golf.

Speaker 3 (01:20:13):
I'm going let's get let's start you there, get a lesson,
he says, top Golf.

Speaker 1 (01:20:17):
Okay.

Speaker 7 (01:20:17):
I was like, that's not the same.

Speaker 1 (01:20:18):
No, I want to get you could get some.

Speaker 3 (01:20:21):
You know, you could get some swings in and not
a physical.

Speaker 2 (01:20:25):
Game and you you cannot play right now in your
current condition.

Speaker 3 (01:20:29):
Absolutely not not because your back is ye stance. That
would not be a good choice, this injury.

Speaker 2 (01:20:38):
Can you name me all the non professional jobs that
you used to have okay, always non industry related.

Speaker 3 (01:20:47):
So growing up, my grandmother had owned the dry cleaners,
and that's some at one point at two to three
of them, like you know. And so in Chicago, a
lot of times in the high rises you have a
uh they have a dry cleaner in the building. So
so I used to work there every weekend in the summer,
every day for my grandmother. So dry cleaners, copy store, okay,

(01:21:12):
pizza place, taking orders and waiting tables at this Italian restaurant.
And then I used to stuff envelopes for my mother
at the at Chicago State University during a certain time
during the year, you'd have she had to pay somebody,
and I did it. I always had a little job.

Speaker 1 (01:21:30):
Cereal of choice.

Speaker 3 (01:21:33):
And then you're not fun in the morning, Okay. Back
in the day, it would have been, uh, the frosted wheaties.
Frosted wheaties. I love those things many I love those.
I could eat those out the box.

Speaker 1 (01:21:52):
That's my top ten. I like that number six. Yeah,
oh man, you scared me.

Speaker 3 (01:22:00):
Because I don't like it gets I have to when
I would eat it, like I don't like Mike to
get soggy, so I would have to, like put the
milk in and eat it real quick while it was
still crunchy. It gets all mushy and it's gross.

Speaker 2 (01:22:11):
And okay, I mean, what's your top, dude, I'm peanut,
but a Captain crunch all day.

Speaker 7 (01:22:18):
No crunchberries.

Speaker 3 (01:22:18):
If you're gonna do a Captain crunch, you better do
a cruncher. I don't know what You're.

Speaker 1 (01:22:21):
Better eat them with a mouth guard. They're gonna cut
up the top of the.

Speaker 3 (01:22:26):
Guys. No, the sugar puff, what is it?

Speaker 7 (01:22:28):
The what is it?

Speaker 3 (01:22:28):
The puff with the sugar.

Speaker 2 (01:22:31):
Tops, kicks, sugar corn pops? No golden crips? What's what's
the name of the It was like.

Speaker 3 (01:22:42):
Toaster not No, I don't like that.

Speaker 1 (01:22:47):
No, I was not a Simon cookie.

Speaker 3 (01:22:52):
It's like I would get lucky charms. But just eat
all the.

Speaker 1 (01:22:57):
You did last night. I got so Now they've made
fruity pebbles with marshmallows.

Speaker 7 (01:23:02):
Now, none of that stuff tastes the same as kids like.

Speaker 3 (01:23:05):
So much sugar.

Speaker 1 (01:23:06):
It's not the same. I'm still part of the fruit loops.
I think fruit loops.

Speaker 3 (01:23:11):
Yeah, okay, apple.

Speaker 6 (01:23:13):
Jackson of the day.

Speaker 3 (01:23:15):
If you're asking me now, I'm gonna give you answers
from back in the day because my eating habits have changed.
I don't eat here. I'm not gonna have a big
sugar bomb in the morning. Yeah, that is not a
good choice to start your day off.

Speaker 1 (01:23:28):
Yeah, now she's giving.

Speaker 3 (01:23:31):
PCTAR mushrooms ended this morning. That's what I had. Mushrooms
are the thing right now.

Speaker 1 (01:23:38):
There are you in the mushroom like drug mushrooms not drugs, drugs.
Magic ushrooms are just a little bit different than heroin. Yeah.
I never with that. Yeah, let's do it.

Speaker 3 (01:23:55):
But at this point in my life, of course, not
really what.

Speaker 1 (01:24:01):
Yes, but been there done that sounds it'll help your tailbow.

Speaker 3 (01:24:08):
I'm one of those people at this point I would
not like some of the chances I took as a
young person.

Speaker 1 (01:24:14):
You're not changing horses midstream.

Speaker 8 (01:24:16):
Now.

Speaker 3 (01:24:17):
I'm like, I could, I could get that one crazy high,
like something weird that changes my life, and I got
responsibilities and kids. There's nothing, there is nothing, There is
no high that I'm chasing. I look back at my
life and I go, I'm very lucky that nothing crazy happened.
So I'm a wrapping up and keep moving. A little

(01:24:38):
wine and maybe a gummy or something. You started with mushrooms,
but that's a psychedelic kind.

Speaker 1 (01:24:50):
Of it's a psychodap. But we talked about drugs.

Speaker 5 (01:24:52):
I'm talking about like the hard ship, like the White Ship,
like scheduled to narcotics.

Speaker 1 (01:24:57):
You know what I mean, like any anything. It's like
use that as a party drug.

Speaker 3 (01:25:03):
So it's yeah, like what yeah, but I'm not going
to no more park we're talking about I'm doing.

Speaker 1 (01:25:10):
Yeah, No, it's not happening. I don't consider mushrooms a
party joke.

Speaker 3 (01:25:13):
And my husband's very straight. He's like, no drugs. He
barely drinks.

Speaker 6 (01:25:17):
So busy cleaning the garage.

Speaker 1 (01:25:21):
I would be there. I'm the organize twenty seventeen coffee.
How do you how you do your coffee?

Speaker 3 (01:25:30):
How do you know?

Speaker 1 (01:25:31):
I was going to ask that question because he knows
where is your order at Starbucks? What's your Starbucks order?

Speaker 6 (01:25:37):
She doesn't go to Starbucks?

Speaker 1 (01:25:38):
Make your home. It's just my god.

Speaker 3 (01:25:43):
If I'm on the set and they say we're going
to Starbucks, I will ask for two things. I will
either say I want Americano with one cream, one sugar,
or I will go, oh, today, I'm going to have
a little dessert thing. Give me a I mocha half
chocolate soy milk, and that would be no whip cream

(01:26:05):
that was at home at home. So he has this
mushroom coffee. I'm into the mushrooms, but I love but
I love coffee, so I'm not saying you asked me
about coffee. So I have my coffee. Listen, try this

(01:26:25):
because in the morning, this thing will have you moving
through your day. So I have my regular big cup
of coffee ten ounces, and I put a tablespoon of
the instant mushroom coffee in my coffee. And then, by
the way, done this, and then I use a butter
bomb in there that has the coconut oil and the

(01:26:48):
d butter mixture thing. And that's why I don't eat
till one because that kind of carries me.

Speaker 2 (01:26:55):
Puts a dab of coconut butter inside of his coffee,
and what does that do something?

Speaker 3 (01:27:02):
It's really good. It's it's really good for your mental
capacity energy that mixed with the mushroom stuff with like
I'm so wait, what kind of butter was that again?

Speaker 6 (01:27:15):
And just butter bomb?

Speaker 1 (01:27:17):
Butter bomb or a coconut.

Speaker 3 (01:27:18):
That's a tight I'm asking, But it's a mixture of butter,
coconut and this other something.

Speaker 1 (01:27:26):
But I can, I can vouch for this to put
us onto it. I did it. It actually is.

Speaker 3 (01:27:32):
But this whole mixture with the mushroom in it is
my I think is my It's my thing. I made
it up because I don't want mushroom coffee. I want coffee,
and so I was like, I could put it all
on Wenesday.

Speaker 1 (01:27:45):
What it is coffee?

Speaker 3 (01:27:46):
And the yeah, are you coming at you don't drink coffee?

Speaker 7 (01:27:51):
Oh so you think he don't know?

Speaker 3 (01:27:52):
Okay, No, No, the mushroom because it's a mushroom coffee.
I add the mushroom coffee powder into my regular coffee
with the butter thing and no sugar.

Speaker 2 (01:28:01):
If coffee was really my jam, I'm one of these people.
I'm not Wow, we're talking about coffee, Steve. If you
have not waiting yet, I'm thinking about snorting rice. Chrispis
as much when I think of Starbucks, Like my Christmas
gift to Steve is always like you probably ran out.

Speaker 1 (01:28:17):
Already gold Starbucks card or something. It's like a lifetime supply.
All right, for Halloween? What is your costume?

Speaker 6 (01:28:28):
Wait, we're already office all right, shit, Okay, we're still
talking about No, I'm obsessed, but let's talk about Halloween.

Speaker 3 (01:28:34):
Okay. The last Halloween that we went to was a
dress up as your because they were people were performing
on stage two and doing a thing. So I went
as Vanity.

Speaker 1 (01:28:49):
Wow, yes you did.

Speaker 3 (01:28:50):
I went as Vanity. I wore her little outfit, you know,
but what I was going to and then I chickened down.
Wait which Vanity from the actual movie. Vanity opened the video,
and so I had I got. I rented a tuxedo jacket,
and I had hotelingerie and the heels I went.

Speaker 6 (01:29:11):
I went.

Speaker 3 (01:29:12):
That's how I went.

Speaker 1 (01:29:14):
Nice. Do you do you go karaoke? Like at all? No,
you started out as a singer.

Speaker 3 (01:29:22):
But I don't like karaoke. It's not my thing. Okay,
because you go and then it's not in the key
you need to be I'm judging, it's like it's too no.

Speaker 6 (01:29:30):
No, those songs are always higher than.

Speaker 3 (01:29:32):
You think, they're always highed like.

Speaker 1 (01:29:34):
Any bon jovie song.

Speaker 6 (01:29:35):
Ever, you're like, I got this ship, and then and
then you get to the chorus of Blaze of the
Glory and you're like, I don't gotten this ship.

Speaker 3 (01:29:42):
And then they give me this book like this, I
can't make it.

Speaker 1 (01:29:46):
It's like it's a lot judging.

Speaker 2 (01:29:55):
Okay, For me, I discovered that I have to go
back to me as a nine, ten, eleven year old
and discover fun for that person. For you, what is
your one Do you allow yourself to ever become an
eleven year old at this stage in your life? And

(01:30:15):
what is it that you do for fun? Do you
play Monopoly when no one's watching? Do you watch Tom
and Jerry play spades? Am I really making you uncomfortable
right now?

Speaker 3 (01:30:27):
Well, because I'm thinking of my whole life is going.
I'm going maybe I'm not doing enough things for fun.
We do play spades. I don't know if I'm doing
that all the time. But we used to a lot
of things. I used to do like Donder and I
used to be on a in a bowling league. We
used to bowl a lot, okay, and golf more than
he would say, I'm not playing much golf anymore. I

(01:30:48):
start getting too into work, so I might h you
may be telling me I need to have more fun
because usually no.

Speaker 1 (01:30:58):
No, these are just random questions.

Speaker 3 (01:30:59):
You're or not. This is a hard question for me
to answer. It would usually be getting together. We have
sort of a couple's group. We all go out to dinner,
and it's really hanging out with them and going to dinner.
But that doesn't sound like that much fun. We're vacationing together,
but it doesn't sound that exciting.

Speaker 1 (01:31:16):
You know, something I discovered the joys of silence.

Speaker 3 (01:31:19):
You know, I'm kind of you know how they say
I would rather be at home. Sitting up in my
house is comfortable. We have a nice little area outside.
I can watch TV outside and sit there and be
with my husband and with my dogs and chill.

Speaker 5 (01:31:38):
Okay, you know you have a guilty pleasure in terms
of food or like we talked about all the healthy stuff.

Speaker 1 (01:31:44):
Yeah, you do.

Speaker 5 (01:31:45):
What's like your you know when you just want to
go to the abyss, Like what's the worst thing you eat?
Like you just you buzzed down a quarter pounds like.

Speaker 7 (01:31:57):
Burger.

Speaker 1 (01:31:57):
Let's let's ratchet Sally riches.

Speaker 4 (01:31:59):
I think.

Speaker 3 (01:32:02):
Because so for many for a long time, I was
like a vegan vegetarian. I've just started eating some meat
sometimes now, so I think it would be some pizza
and wings something like that. No, No, I want spicy.
I went hot. Yeah, I've been enjoying some girls.

Speaker 1 (01:32:24):
Let's talk about it.

Speaker 7 (01:32:26):
And which.

Speaker 3 (01:32:33):
Right.

Speaker 1 (01:32:34):
She was like, god, she thought about the mouse sauce.
She was like, holy ship, what.

Speaker 6 (01:32:39):
I'm sorry, Delian the truth.

Speaker 1 (01:32:41):
We're a very silly show.

Speaker 6 (01:32:43):
No, very serious about mushrooms, and we're a very silly show.

Speaker 3 (01:32:48):
You're asking me, serious ship, what you want. I'm giving
you serious answers. Okay, but what's your Okay, my haralds
it's been a long time, but my Harold's order would
be say it like you at the counter, because okay,
well I got to think about it because.

Speaker 1 (01:33:03):
I remember, is my chicken heaven in Chicago?

Speaker 3 (01:33:08):
So you would get it's like a fried chicken plate
and then there's French fries on it and some white bread,
and so I always get, you know, like what is
that like half a chicken or so I don't remember what,
but I like the barbecue sauce and the hot sauce
all over it, and I yeah, yeah, so like yeah,
half Chad.

Speaker 1 (01:33:29):
Yes, it has to be white bread. It has to
be in Chicago.

Speaker 3 (01:33:33):
Rib tips, yes, sir, Yes, Chicago south Side. That is
the city of rib tips, rib tips and white white
wonderbread and some French fries.

Speaker 2 (01:33:46):
I'm so glad you're here because it's been a while
since we had a Chicago guest.

Speaker 1 (01:33:49):
On the show. You got to explain some things to me. Okay,
Number one, here we go. What's up with y'all? And
this anti ketchup on hot dog thing?

Speaker 3 (01:34:00):
That's you know what? I like ketchup on my hot dogs.
But yeah, because you get when you go get a
Chicago hot dog, it's a pickle, these peppers and mustard.

Speaker 1 (01:34:11):
Out the restaurant. Sometimes if you put ketchup on it, or.

Speaker 3 (01:34:16):
Or if you ordered a Chicago dogs insult to them. Yeah, yeah,
I like ketchup. I think that's more of a white thing.

Speaker 1 (01:34:24):
Okay, defend your pizza.

Speaker 3 (01:34:27):
It's fantastic talking about Oh my god, the way she was.
I used to work at a pizza place. I used
to work at Eduardo's, which is like really thick pizza.

Speaker 2 (01:34:39):
Well, not not to totally alienate an entire part of
our listenership, I.

Speaker 3 (01:34:44):
Will just let me tell you.

Speaker 1 (01:34:46):
Could you recommend good, better spots in Chicago?

Speaker 3 (01:34:53):
Okay, so honestly on the what I do not remember
the name of this. There's a place on like really
south Side because my mom lives out like in the South.
I'm good, no, because he's because she lives out like
in the South suburbs.

Speaker 8 (01:35:12):
Now.

Speaker 3 (01:35:12):
But it's a thinner pizza that they have, But there
is a different taste to the sauce and the pizza
in Chicago.

Speaker 1 (01:35:23):
Oh god, I wish I as opposed to it.

Speaker 3 (01:35:27):
No, no, because yours is super thin. Okay, right, The
New York pizza is its own thing. It's fantastic. But
there is a thinner crust pizza in Chicago that has
like the sausage pizza with the grease in it, and
the taste of that sauce is I think maybe it's
neighborhood pizza or something. It is a you would love

(01:35:50):
that pizza. If you don't like thick crust, fine, but
you would love that pizza. I would put that pizza.
I'm I'm gonna text my mother before I leave here
and find out the name of this pizza place. I
would put that against a slice of New York pizza.

Speaker 1 (01:36:08):
I don't have any.

Speaker 3 (01:36:09):
You don't have any.

Speaker 1 (01:36:11):
I live in New York. But okay, but you know
I'm testing out their pizzas.

Speaker 7 (01:36:18):
But that you know what?

Speaker 3 (01:36:20):
Okay, So now, besides Harold's that pizza in Chicago, that
kind of thin crust one with that grease and that
Italian sausage. That and Chicago Chinese food is because they
don't Chicago Chinese food is well, obviously that's what I

(01:36:42):
grew up on, but like some egg food young from
some it's a whole different Chinese.

Speaker 1 (01:36:48):
I came out of Chinese place. We went to there
one night, David Yo, I tried David Wan's last night.

Speaker 6 (01:36:55):
I was losing hope changed my life as a Jew
who loves Chinese food. Well, for whatever reason, that moment
at that night, fancy Chinese or like, it's not.

Speaker 2 (01:37:07):
Hood, it's not hood, it's but it's not fancy, but
it's not hood. But they've mastered the art of salt
and pepper chicken wings.

Speaker 1 (01:37:17):
Oh okay, And.

Speaker 3 (01:37:20):
Yes, my test is always egg foo young and shrimp
with lobster sauce. If it tastes a certain way, If
it's not right, then your restaurant ain't right.

Speaker 1 (01:37:27):
Philadelphia is a salt pepper chicken.

Speaker 6 (01:37:31):
It's like two dishes of what is probably like a
thousand dishes, but for those two are.

Speaker 3 (01:37:35):
Big staples in a in a Chicago Chinese restaurant. We
should be able to make egg food young.

Speaker 6 (01:37:41):
And I feel like you're about to fight.

Speaker 3 (01:37:44):
I'm just saying.

Speaker 1 (01:37:47):
The Chicago.

Speaker 3 (01:37:49):
I'm a random dinner. I said you should have you
should have had some alcohol here. I might have been
a different person.

Speaker 1 (01:37:55):
Less to meet back here tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (01:37:59):
Sad time.

Speaker 1 (01:38:04):
We're going up a bit. But I have a few
more random questions.

Speaker 3 (01:38:08):
If asked me about Gilded real quick, so I can
tell you about Okay, you kind of did. It's a
great season. It'll be fantastic.

Speaker 1 (01:38:15):
Now what more would you like to be going?

Speaker 3 (01:38:17):
I just want people it's about to come out, and
you know, I want to tell for for my black audience,
because we want all I want to say, who were
hungry for more of Peggy Yes, and the black elite.

Speaker 7 (01:38:31):
She's not going to get hurt when she goes to
the South.

Speaker 3 (01:38:33):
I'm not telling yeah, cool, But but she does go
but I can't say that she goes to meet booker
t Washington. So she does go to Tuskegee. So but
you get to see more of that because people were
hungry for it, because it was just the taste of
Obviously the show's not about that, but so I just

(01:38:54):
wanted to say that because people have been everywhere I go,
people are like, when's it coming back? Are we going
to see more Peggy? Yes, you are, and it's gonna
be great.

Speaker 1 (01:39:01):
It's kind of great. Well, they're just totally paled my
next question.

Speaker 3 (01:39:09):
I just wanted to get people keep asking me someone
to tell them, go ahead, do y'all put.

Speaker 7 (01:39:13):
A little extra extra funky on those clothes on the
wardrobe and gilded.

Speaker 3 (01:39:17):
They spent a lot of money on those because they
it seems, I mean, it's is brilliant. She is friend,
this French woman, she is brilliant. They are all handmade,
but you know, obviously the ones for the actors, for
the main actors, they're all handmade for each of them.
They are made with the most beautiful fabric. The hats

(01:39:40):
are It's all about the hats.

Speaker 7 (01:39:41):
This year I saw that.

Speaker 3 (01:39:45):
It's just that's what I enjoyed so much in directing.
It was like, oh, if I if you show if
she showed me a special piece, I'm like, don't worry, baby,
we see you again. Yeah, yeah, come, I asked you
a shallow QUI Wow.

Speaker 1 (01:40:05):
It's like Jerry's.

Speaker 6 (01:40:07):
Sally at seven on the look the funk out because
I kind of.

Speaker 2 (01:40:14):
Wanted to ended on on rather apropoke question, what would
you tell, oh lord, your seven year old self right now,
shallow ship?

Speaker 1 (01:40:31):
See, they should have warned you about this show.

Speaker 2 (01:40:35):
No, no, no, And some some guests are are a
little thrown off because yeah, I mean, we could do
the normal thing, like hey, what do you pluck? But
I want to get to the deep person, you know,
behind the project. What would you tell your seven year
old self right now? Like you're given two minutes to
time travel back to you at the age of seven,

(01:40:57):
and opinion your parents did?

Speaker 3 (01:41:00):
I think it's I think it really is one of
those like you will make it through this. You will
make it through this, and and I always say, and
it's gonna be okay, like, uh, it's really you're gonna
make it through this. You're gonna make it through this. Yes,
it's great. What is it like to direct?

Speaker 7 (01:41:21):
Now? I'm sorry my last question, Gilda question, What is
it like? I'm gonna say it one more time to
direct Audrey McDon.

Speaker 3 (01:41:28):
She's she's one of those people there's not much to
do because she's brilliant, and she's kind and nice and
easy and everything you would hope from someone who's that talented,
like there's no issues and if I didn't, you know,
if I if that wasn't true, then I would have
given you a quick, easy answer.

Speaker 1 (01:41:46):
It's good.

Speaker 3 (01:41:47):
Thank you a good lady.

Speaker 1 (01:41:48):
Well, my future mentor.

Speaker 3 (01:41:51):
Sally, are you coming and shadowing? You ready? And then
I'll come and talk to you about documentary work.

Speaker 6 (01:42:00):
Who's like a round table?

Speaker 1 (01:42:04):
Come on now? Well, I thank you for coming on
the show.

Speaker 3 (01:42:07):
Thank you, thank you so much for having me excited
when you guys call, thank you, thank you for putting
your touch on my favorite show.

Speaker 2 (01:42:16):
And uh yeah when we haveing Font Digelo and m Paid,
Bill and Sugar, Steve and Layah this Quest Love.

Speaker 1 (01:42:23):
Thank you a Salarbry you said Woodville for coming on
the show. And we'll see you on the next go round.
The Quest Love SUPREMEO.

Speaker 2 (01:42:28):
All right, thank you for listening to your Quest Love
Supreme Hosted by Amir Quest Love Thompson, Why You, Saint
Clair Sponte, Cole Sugar, Steve Mandel.

Speaker 1 (01:42:42):
An Unpaid, Bill Sherman.

Speaker 2 (01:42:45):
Executive producers are a Mere Quest Love Thompson, Sean g
and Brian Calhoun. Produced by Brittany Benjamin cousin jig pay
Liah Saint Clair, edited by Alex Conroy, Produced by iHeart
by Noel Brown and Mike Johnson, Audio engineering by Graham

(01:43:08):
Gibson and iHeart and last, What's Love Supreme is a
production of Iheartened Radio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Questlove Supreme: Salli Richardson-Whitfield