July 21, 2025 • 34 mins
Actor Edwina Findley takes us on a deeply moving journey through the entertainment industry, revealing her journey from humble beginnings to Netflix's "The Residence" while maintaining her integrity in a challenging business.
Edwina shares stories of powerful moments that shaped her career and affirmed her belief that surrendering to a larger calling would yield greater fulfillment than pursuing self-generated dreams alone.
Early career obstacles tested Edwina's resolve when agents told her "Hollywood is for beautiful people" and pressured her to compromise her values regarding content. These challenges forced her to develop resilience and clarity about her boundaries. Her approach to maintaining health while working in entertainment offers practical wisdom for anyone navigating creative industries—build community, serve others, and avoid idolizing your career.
Academy Award-winner Viola Davis, who wrote the foreword to Edwina's debut book "The World is Waiting for You," describes her as "a life force" who alters lives upon contact. This conversation demonstrates why—Edwina's authentic vulnerability, wisdom, and joy create space for listeners to reflect on their own purpose beyond professional achievements.
Check out Edwina's book "The World is Waiting for You," available for pre-order wherever books are sold.
Navigating Hollywood: NavigatingHollywood.org
Edwina on Instagram: www.instagram.com/edwinafindley
Edwina Findley: edwinafindley.com
Allen Wolf: AllenWolf.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Allen Wolf (00:03):
Welcome to the Navigating Hollywood podcast.
My name is Allen Wolf and I'm afilmmaker and an author.
Navigating Hollywood helpsmedia professionals build
holistic, creative and spirituallives through this podcast,
book clubs and discussion groupsat the major studios.
If you work in entertainment,visit navigatinghollywood.
org to discover how you can getinvolved.
(00:25):
I'm thrilled to welcome anextraordinary talent whose
versatility and passion havemade her a standout across film,
television and theater.
She seamlessly transitionsbetween dramatic and comedic
roles with amazing authenticity,and she currently stars in
Netflix's murder mystery seriesThe Residence.
(00:46):
From her breakout role as Toshin HBO's The Wire to her
Independent Spirit Awardnominated performance in Free
Indeed, Edwina has built animpressive career spanning drama
, comedy and everything inbetween.
A classically trained artistfrom the Duke Ellington School
of the Arts and NYU's TischSchool of the Arts, she has
(01:08):
performed on prestigious stagesacross the country, while
continuing to shine on screen inproductions like The Power,
Fear the Walking Dead and Veep.
Welcome, Edwina.
Edwina Findley (01:20):
Thank you so much, Allen.
It's so wonderful to be here.
Thank you for having me.
Allen Wolf (01:25):
It's great to have you.
Your new series, The Residence,is a murder mystery at the
White House where you bring tolife Sheila Cannon and I heard
she's a pretty flawed WhiteHouse butler.
Is that correct?
Edwina Findley (01:45):
She's extremely flawed.
In fact, when I read the scriptthe first time, I wondered how
did she get this job?
She's an alcoholic and is aperson that tells her mind and
tells it like it is, but she'sfilled with joy and dreams and I
think in her imagination she'sprobably the first lady and that
everyone else just thinks she'sthe butler, but in actuality I
(02:05):
think we believe that she'sreally the one running the place
, and so she has a lot of greatcomedic roles and scenes.
But there's also places whereyou know you uncover the layers
and are able to get to hervulnerability and sort of be
able to understand why she isthe way she is.
Allen Wolf (02:23):
Well, tell us about the cast.
It sounds like an amazing cast.
Edwina Findley (02:26):
Oh, it's a wonderful cast.
The cast is led by Uzo Aduba,who Uzo and I go way back to New
York theater days.
Also, susan Kelechi Watson andwe two have known each other for
a long time from NYU and NewYork.
And Isaiah Whitlock, who I'veknown for a long time we did the
Wire together and IsaiahWhitlock, who I've known for a
(02:46):
long time we did the Wiretogether.
There's Randall Park, who's anincredible actor in both comedy
and drama.
Ken Marino how can I forgetGiancarlo Esposito, who I first
became aware of when I was incollege, studying at Atlantic
Theater Company, and he was oneof the company members there
again in New York theater.
So I just feel like they'veassembled just a wonderful cadre
of artists, some of whom youvery much know, some you may not
(03:10):
know as well, but who alldeliver phenomenal performances
in the show.
Allen Wolf (03:15):
It's amazing that you have worked with several of
them before.
Edwina Findley (03:18):
Yeah, well, actually, you know a lot of them
.
I had not worked with A lot ofthem, we just knew each other
for many years, you know, or hadbecome close in different ways.
There was a couple that I evenmet at church and that's where
we met and, you know, had never,though, worked together.
So it's been really wonderfulfor our artistic paths to now
have crossed and been able towork together.
And then there's one actor howcan I forget Bronson Pinchot,
(03:40):
who I grew up watching onPerfect Strangers, who plays the
incredible White House chef inthis one, didier Gattard, and
he's super funny in this too.
And what was it like workingwith Shonda Rhimes to bring your
character to life becamepassionate about her work,
(04:01):
starting with Scandal.
I was a huge Scandal fan.
I loved the character, thewriting, the language, these
Shakespearean you knowmonologues that were going for
pages and pages, and, as anactor, I just got so much
excitement out of that, likethose words.
Those words are like heaven tome.
Now, fast forward to me workingon a Shondaland series that she
(04:22):
did not write but she'sproducing, and it's all under
the Shondaland banner, but it'swritten by a brilliant,
brilliant writer named PaulWilliam Davies, and he wrote on
Scandal.
He also had another Shondalandshow called For the People, and
so his style is very similar.
So it's extremely witty.
It's just brilliant.
You know, the language isbrilliant, the character is
(04:44):
fantastic.
Like you, guys are going to bereally in for a treat.
Allen Wolf (04:47):
How does your approach differ when tackling a
character like Sheila versusyour more dramatic roles?
Edwina Findley (04:54):
It's funny because in some ways I approach
the roles the same.
Maybe it was because I got mystart on the Wire and the Wire
is a very cinema, verite styleof show, right.
So it's all about, like, theauthenticity of Baltimore and
the people that live there, andin that show it was very unique
because there was a combinationof actors and real people from
(05:15):
that place and who had livedthis life, you know, combined
with these very trained actorsall coming together.
And the same with Treme that wedid a few years later, also
with David Simon, who's aphenomenal writer and creator of
the show.
So I guess it was somethingabout that, about that being my
entryway into television, thatI've kind of kept that approach
(05:37):
through roles.
Even I've done roles that aresoapy and, like you know,
whatever, but I always try toapproach it from the lens of a
real person, from a real, almost, like it's a biopic in and of
itself.
So with Sheila, even though shewas so extremely funny, she's so
super funny, but for me it wasimportant to create, you know, a
three-dimensional human being.
(05:58):
So even with all her jokes andall her banter and all these
things, I was still looking forwhat is that drama underneath,
right, like she's an alcoholicor she's a chain smoker.
She has, you know, a tenuousrelationship with the truth,
right Of thinking like, okay,what is underneath her?
And I approach it like that.
So there are some, lots ofmoments that are very, very
(06:19):
comedic, but then there's alsosome areas of the show where
it's no-transcript things Ilearned, you know, going through
(06:54):
drama school.
It's like one of thedifferences between drama and
comedy is, like with comedy itmight be frustration and not
anger, right.
Like you kind of have tonegotiate, like the degree to
which you go into a particularemotion so that it does not lose
its humor, right.
So that's one thing I loveabout Sheila Like I don't think
she loses her humor even inthose moments of drama.
Allen Wolf (07:17):
Yeah, I love that saying.
That says there's a thin linebetween comedy and tragedy.
You cannot.
Depending on where you lean it,it can go one way or the other.
It's true.
When did you first decide youwanted to become an actor?
Edwina Findley (07:29):
When I was five, and it's funny because I'm a
five-year-old now and now Icompletely get it.
I look at her like, oh my gosh,this girl's an actress.
This girl's absolutely anactress.
I gave birth to myself all overagain.
Seriously, she is so dramaticand so you know, yesterday she
(07:51):
put on my high heels and she gota microphone.
She's like mommy, I'm on thered carpet, I'm on the red
carpet.
Allen Wolf (07:59):
Then you're like well, where's your publicist?
Is your publicist nearby tohelp you down the red carpet?
Edwina Findley (08:04):
Actually, some agents recently started reaching
out to me about both of mygirls and I've been like, oh God
, can I do, like, can I startthis all over again with them?
You know.
So my husband and I try todecide that right now.
But yeah, I mean, I was reallyyoung in the church.
You know, I started out doingchurch plays, salty, the Singing
Songbook, out doing churchplays, salty, the singing song
(08:29):
book.
That was like that was thechristian, like vacation bible
school.
You know character that likechristian homes.
They're like oh, we can't watchthis, you can't watch that, but
you can't watch salty.
And so salty like had all and itwas p-s-a-l-t-y.
Allen Wolf (08:43):
oh Okay.
Edwina Findley (08:44):
Almost like a singing Bible oh wow, so they
have musicals and all thesethings around Salty.
So that's really how I startedwas like in the Christian
musicals, and then, you know,ended up going to high school
for performing arts and traveledall over the world with that
and I did my first TV show whenI was 16.
And then after that went to NewYork, our first TV show when I
(09:05):
was 16.
And then after that went to NewYork and you know that started
kind of the whole like New Yorkstage and regional stage and
traveling around and thenstarting in TV and then film.
Allen Wolf (09:14):
Wow, amazing you started from such a young age.
Edwina Findley (09:20):
What were some of the obstacles that you ran
into on the way?
I ran into obstacles that Iwould say had to do with both
faith and identity.
When you have that personalrelationship with God, it kind
of opens the door for God tospeak to you right and to speak
to your identity, and a lot oftimes he'll introduce you to a
version of you that you may havenever even met yet.
Right, and that's a part ofwhat I call a God dream.
(09:42):
I encountered my God dream withthe Lord pretty early, and so
he started talking to me thatone day you're going to be an
actress and you're going to beon television and you're going
to move to Hollywood and allthese different prophecies.
But at the same time, once Igot old enough and got an agent,
they were telling me you'llnever make it in Hollywood.
Hollywood is for beautifulpeople.
You are not.
Allen Wolf (10:04):
Oh my gosh.
Edwina Findley (10:06):
And therefore you need to stay in New York,
you need to basically like knowyour place, yeah, and there were
times where I even, like, hadoffers to do certain things but
there might be nudity or this orthat attached to it that I
wasn't comfortable with, and soI would tell them, like you know
, I I really would love to dothis project, but I don't feel
comfortable doing nudity, andthey would just let me have it
(10:27):
like really let me have it likevery bullying and like, well,
you'll never be able to work ifyou're not willing to do this
and that, that you'll never getto this place in your career,
all these things.
So, as a young person startingout in the industry, I really I
kind of went through it as faras trying to navigate my faith
(10:47):
and what I believed God wasshowing me and these things that
I was being told that I must beor must not be, or you know the
way they painted it was likeI'm not important enough to have
convictions, I'm not importantenough to have things that I'm
saying I don't feel comfortabledoing, like they're like, once
you're out of your career, thenyou can say those things.
So I really needed the Lord tohelp me to navigate those
(11:11):
different circumstances,especially as a believer.
Allen Wolf (11:15):
And how did you navigate through those?
Edwina Findley (11:17):
A lot of prayer.
I also, you know, had a greatsupport system.
I would call people and I wouldask them for wisdom and counsel
, and you know.
But then there were times where, even after getting everybody's
opinion and even after hearingwhat everyone had to say, where
God just would say like, come tome, you know, I will show you.
You know, I can remember beingoffered my first role at 21
(11:40):
years old and like going into awhole fast and asking God like,
is this what you want from me?
I just want what you want fromme.
That's, that's what I want.
I want to be on the path thatyou've created for me.
I feel like just keeping thatposture all along the way has
opened up doors that I nevercould have opened for myself and
also has made me okay with thedoors that have closed because
(12:03):
they weren't for me.
Allen Wolf (12:04):
Sounds like you've been able to go through a lot of
life challenges just with apeace in your heart, knowing
that there is something beyondwhat was happening at that
moment that you're trusting in,that you're looking toward.
Edwina Findley (12:17):
You know, I feel like I got the revelation
pretty early on that this lifeis about purpose and whether
you're filming or whether you'refeeding the homeless, or
whether you're singing at church, or whether you're singing at
church or whether you're singingat Carnegie Hall, that you are
still operating in some form ofpurpose.
And I think that the fallacy ofthis industry is that if you're
(12:39):
not employed at a certain time,or if you're not filming
something, if you're not onstage, if you're not, you know
whatever, if you're waitingtables or if you're bartending,
that you're just not operatingin your purpose, right, like
that, you're not doing what youwere created to do if you don't
have an entertainmentopportunity.
But I don't believe that.
I don't believe that's true, Ithink, working, working all the
(13:00):
time and very grateful for it.
But then, when I entered intothat season where I was like, oh
my gosh, I don't have a job,you know whatever, but I just
started serving everywhere and Istarted volunteering and I
started mentoring and I started,you know, teaching kids drama
and leading vision workshops forlow-income women, and that
(13:23):
season was probably the mostpurposeful season of my life and
it was in serving others that Icame in contact with my own
purpose.
So now it may be in the hairand makeup trailer or it may be,
you know, with my cast or crewor directors or producers, right
(13:47):
?
But like that same spirit ofpurpose just translates wherever
I am.
I think that's how you create alife right, with kids or a
husband or whatever you create alife, as opposed to something
that's so myopically drivenaround whether or not you have a
job and when you have a job,and everything being surrounded
by comparing your career to yourpurpose versus your life to
your purpose.
Allen Wolf (14:05):
What were some actor moments of victory that you
never want to forget?
Edwina Findley (14:10):
You know, even when I had just kind of come out
of school and was in that placeof you know struggling and,
like you know, beating thepavement in New York and you
know, just believing God that hewould open up a door for me in
this career, I believe that hecalled me to.
I started receiving fromstrangers these prophecies about
(14:30):
working with Oprah Winfrey andworking with Tyler Perry and all
these things, and I'm like Idon't know either one of them.
I know who they are.
Allen Wolf (14:38):
And when you say prophecies, what do you mean by
that?
For people who aren't familiarwith that.
Edwina Findley (14:43):
So people would literally, strangers would stop
me on the street, would stop meon the subway, would stop me in
a like.
One time I was even at thisnightclub, in a state that I'd
never been to, and a womanstopped me and she prophesied to
(15:03):
me, meaning that she, like,called forth things that I was
going to do.
So she said you're going tomove to California.
I was living in New York at thetime.
She started prophesying aboutmy was living in New York at the
time.
She started prophesying aboutmy husband I was single at the
time and she started prophesyingthat I was going to work with
Tyler Perry, whom I had nevermet at that point, and that I
was going to film at his studiosin Georgia that I had never
seen, right?
So she's laid out all thesethings, and then she was like OK
(15:24):
, nice to meet you, and justlike, walked back into this club
and I experienced a lot ofthings like that, and so I feel
like those are just differentways that God has revealed.
I have a dream over your life,and it's greater than yourself,
and so I guess this journey hasbeen for me about discovering
(15:44):
what God is saying andinternalizing it in faith right,
especially when a lot of timeswhat God says is like the
opposite of how you feel.
So it's meant to encourage you.
It's meant to let you know,like I know things are hard, I
know things, you know, difficult, I know it may be hard to see
this vision based on where youare right now.
(16:05):
But where you are right now isnot where you're going to end up
.
It's not the end.
You know it's not the end.
So for me, you know, one biglike amazing actor moment was
fast forward 2019.
I'm at Tyler Perry Studios atthe grand opening of this huge
studio soundstage there, ormultiple soundstages there.
(16:26):
Oprah Winfrey is there and hepresents me with a star on his
newly minted Walk of Fame at theTyler Perry Studios, with Oprah
present directly in front ofthe Oprah Winfrey soundstage
with my name on it and that wasjust such a beautiful moment of,
(16:46):
you know, just a full circlemanifestation.
I felt that way also when myfamily and I were moved to
London to film a whole projectand my children ended up with
British accents and you know, itwas just.
We were premiere at the ChineseTheater and while I was on the
(17:09):
red carpet I looked up andrealized that I was standing in
the exact spot as I had beeneight years prior when I
received a prophetic word thatGod was going to send me to
Hollywood and that he wasopening the door for me in
Hollywood.
And in the middle of thatpremiere is when I realized that
I was standing in exactly thesame spot as I was years prior
(17:29):
when I received that prophecy.
So for me, those amazing actormoments that I don't want to
forget are also connected topromises that God made me that,
when they came to pass, justkind of confirmed how real God
was in my life.
Allen Wolf (17:43):
And do you incorporate a lot of this into
your book.
The World is Waiting for you,because that's your debut book.
Congratulations on that.
Edwina Findley (17:53):
It's like intended to call you out, to
call you forward.
A lot of times we live in theshadows, or, you know, we can
(18:16):
get discouraged orself-conscious, or afraid, or
you know, wonder me like me, Idon't know.
But what I discovered is that weall have a superpower.
We all have a gift that God hasgiven us and there's a grand God
dream that's over all of ourlives, and if we can just tap
into it and then partner with itin the manifestation of it, I
(18:40):
believe that so many people aregoing to just be transformed as
far as who they think they are,what they're capable of doing
and what they're actually goingto do and who they're going to
become in this world.
And I'm excited about it because, as you do what you're called
to do, Allen, and as I do whatI'm called to do, and as the
listeners here do what they callto do, it's a domino effect of
(19:03):
light.
There's a chapter in the bookcalled you Are a Star, and I
really believe that we all arestars, that we are ignited with
light to just light up the world, and that those places of
darkness that we feel, that wesee that sometimes that's
exactly where we're called toright To brighten that up, and
so the world is waiting for you,and I'm excited that we're all
(19:26):
going to experience it, andthank you for the love as far as
my debut book.
Allen Wolf (19:30):
Now, is your God dream only positive things?
Is it?
Could it be suffering, like Ithink of?
How often?
I mean not everyone is alwaysin a life stage of everything
going well.
So how does suffering or kindof bad things work into
(19:50):
discovering what your God dreamis?
Edwina Findley (19:52):
That's an excellent question.
I mean, listen, I guess we canjust go straight to Jesus, right
?
Like Jesus had a calling to beexalted and on the throne and
all these things, to be a saviorof the world.
But also a part of that storywas to be crucified and to be
betrayed, right.
And so there was absolutelysuffering that was built into
(20:13):
that grand story, into that Goddream.
And, yes, normally we think ofa dream as like just being
flowers and just being rainbowsand just being the things that
we desire, right.
And I think that's thedistinction between my personal
dream, which has no painattached to it, and a God dream.
There's also a journey attachedto it, and sometimes, in the
(20:35):
journey of manifesting God'sdream over your life, there are
places that are valley, right,it's not all mountaintop, but
for me, one of the things I'vediscovered is that if you stay
faithful and if you remain inobedience, even in those places
that are hard, you will berewarded.
For me, after receiving thatwhole prophecy that God's going
(20:57):
to open the door for me inHollywood and I'm going to be a
star and all these things, Imean I was living in low income
housing, I was struggling, I waslike on the poverty line, you
know, like all these things werehappening in my life.
And then one day I felt likethe spirit was telling me to get
up and go to this Bible study.
I'm like, by the time I get onthe bus, the train, do all these
things, that Bible study isgoing to be over.
(21:20):
But I did it just in obedience,not because I wanted to, not
because I was not exhausted andtired, not because I felt like I
had all this money to even payfor the bus to Detroit.
In obedience did that.
When I got there, I ended upencountering the very woman who
was the creator of the show thatbrought me to Hollywood.
It all happened as a result ofbeing obedient to get up and go.
(21:43):
So sometimes, even when we feellike we're in seasons that are
painful, or we just want to quitor, you know, we just want to
pursue our own vision, we don'trealize that in that moment,
god's using these things for ourgood.
He's using these things for ourgood and to actually direct us
to exactly what we've beenpraying for the whole time, what
we've been envisioning thewhole time.
Allen Wolf (22:04):
How do you distinguish between your dream
for yourself?
Especially in Hollywood, itseems like the temptation is to
have a life that orbits aroundyourself.
You're at the center yourdesires.
I like what you said earlierabout how, yes, our own dreams
do not involve anything negative, any suffering.
But how do you figure out thisreally is actually I'm living
(22:26):
out my dream rather than God'sdream?
How do you distinguish betweenthe two?
Edwina Findley (22:30):
For me it kind of always goes back to surrender
, right, like a lot of timeswhen I've been called to do
things, even to write this book,the World is Waiting for you.
It did not initiate with me.
It didn't start with like nowI'm going to write a book and
this is what it's going to becalled.
It literally was me respondingto a calling.
I knew God was calling me towrite this book and that I
(22:51):
needed to surrender and do it,even though at that time I felt
like I'm living my dream right,like I'm filming and I'm
traveling, and you know thesedifferent things.
So when the book came, it wasokay.
God will tell me more.
You know what is it that you'reasking me to do?
What is it that you're askingme to release?
And that was a process Samewith motherhood.
(23:12):
I was doing my thing.
It was not.
It was not this huge vision forme that I'm going to be a mom
and all this stuff.
But strangers startedprophesying to me.
God said you're about to have ababy and at first I was kind of
scared, you know, to be honest.
But it was in the surrenderingthat opened the door and
motherhood has been the greatestblessing in the whole world,
(23:34):
and I'm amazed that I could havemissed it if I was just going
off of my dream and what Iwanted for my life at that time.
And so one thing about a Goddream it extends so far beyond
you, right?
So it's like years past whereyou currently are, and it's also
(23:55):
thinking about many otherpeople than you're thinking
about.
So I imagine that you startingthis podcast, that part of it
was you being creative, part ofit was you having an outlet and
like these wonderful things foryou.
But it was also you seeing aneed, right?
You seeing a need in the worldthat you wanted to help fill by
serving others.
And so I feel like a God dream.
One way to also determinebetween your own dream and a God
(24:18):
dream is is it large enough toencompass others?
Is it large enough to blessothers through the fulfillment
of it?
You know is is it large enoughto encompass others?
Is it large enough to blessothers through the fulfillment
of it, you know, or is it simplyself-serving?
Because I have a feeling thatif it's simply self-serving and
that's it there's no deeper, youknow, purpose attached to it
then you may want to questionokay, is that my God dream?
Allen Wolf (24:39):
Academy Award-winning actress Viola
Davis wrote the foreword to yourbook, and she has said this
about you.
"Edwina is a life force.
Once she comes into your life,it alters.
How do you alter people's lives?
First of all, don't make me cry, oh my gosh.
Edwina Findley (24:55):
Well, you know, I'm a person that genuinely
loves people.
I genuinely care about peopleand where they are.
And you know, there's a giftthat God has given me to be
sensitive to the state thatpeople are in, whether it's
financial, whether it'semotional, whether it's
spiritual, and be able to see avision for them as far as where
(25:17):
God wants to take them, likewhat that next place of
elevation is in their lives, andto be able to speak into that
and to help them get there.
And so, with Viola, even thoughI met her at a very young age I
was in college and I wasmesmerized by her, because so
many of the plays that I wasworking on, you know, listed in
(25:39):
there the original cast wasalways my LNAs, my LNAs, my LNAs
, you know.
But when God, you know, broughtus to a place where our paths
collided, I would sit, you know,with she and her husband for
hours and talk to them aboutvision, and we set a vision for
their production company and Ihelped them to create that,
inform that.
And she talks about me some inher book Finding Me and some of
(26:01):
those moments that we spenttogether, and I guess you know,
as far as me, I think that justa part of my calling is to help
people to reach theirs.
You know, I'm always grateful.
A woman stopped me yesterday.
I was at my daughter'sbasketball game and this woman
ran after me and she said youspoke a message 11 years ago
(26:23):
that changed my life and Iremember every word.
And she started to give everyword of that message from 11
years ago and she began to cryand she thanked me so much and I
got teary too, you know, and soI think that maybe that's what
Viola meant as far as like, howdo you help change people's
(26:43):
lives, you know, and I justthink it's an honor and a
privilege to be honest.
Allen Wolf (26:48):
You mentioned early on getting involved with your
church and that helped inspireyour acting journey.
What is your spiritual journeylook like?
Edwina Findley (26:57):
I was raised in a Christian home, you know.
So I've been in church all mylife.
But I would say, around collegeis when I really started
questioning everything.
Right, I went to NYU and it was, you know, very, very heavily
academic and I was taught bydifferent professors that God is
a social construct, that thatis kind of a created being
(27:18):
really by humans to explain thatwhich is inexplicable.
And so I would go home then andchallenge everybody like, well,
what is God and what does Godmean?
And then so there were timeswhere the question sort of came
to me of do you believe?
Like just a very simplequestion, do you believe?
And I realized that I hadengaged in so much discourse and
(27:40):
debate and you know, and likebringing home all these things,
I had learned that that simplequestion that a friend of mine
asked me do you believe?
It was something about thetenderness of that that really
made me stop and think do Ibelieve?
And that's what opened up allof these very intimate spiritual
(28:01):
experiences that I had hadpersonally.
It wasn't just because I wastaught it, it wasn't just
because I read it, it wasbecause I experienced it.
And when I experienced God formyself, that's when I realized,
wow, this is my spiritualjourney.
It's very personal in that noone can explain away or take
(28:22):
away what I've experienced.
Allen Wolf (28:24):
And when your friend asked you do you believe what?
Were they asking you that youbelieved in.
Edwina Findley (28:31):
Well, I think that they were asking do I
personally believe in God?
Because at that point, you knowagain, because I was in such an
academic setting and I'm veryanalytical by nature so I can, I
can debate with you to the hilton the smallest thing.
You know, some people were likeif you weren't an actress,
you'd definitely be a lawyer oryou know something.
(28:52):
Because I will like go all theway in.
And because I was doing that inthe discourse of God, at that
point that just happened to bethe topic that you know, I was
kind of like harping on whatabout this and what about that,
and what about this and whatabout that.
You know, I think that she knewpersonally that she could not
go toe to toe with me on allthese things, right, that she
didn't have an answer for allthe things that I was posing.
(29:15):
And so I think for her, I thinkit was just about that simple
question of belief, right,because believing is about
internalizing something youcan't see.
It may not be empirical, youmay not have all the empirical
evidence to prove.
This is what it is, right.
So it takes an element of faith,and so I think that question of
(29:38):
do I have that faith or don't IRight?
Because some people tell you,no, I don't believe.
You know, I'll believe it whenI see it Right.
But then belief oftentimes ispredicated by seeing Right.
But there's two different typesof seeing.
There's seeing in the naturalrealm and then there's seeing in
the spiritual realm.
And so I realized that, oh wow,I can believe because I've
(30:01):
experienced things in a veryspiritual way that were not
necessarily birthed out ofacademics or birthed out of
intellect, that were actuallybirthed spiritually, and I had
the presence of mind tounderstand that.
Allen Wolf (30:16):
How do you stay spiritually healthy while
working in entertainment?
Edwina Findley (30:19):
One thing that I've had to learn is that I
can't idolize this industry, andthat's hard, I think,
especially as actors orperformers.
Right, we love what we do andwe want to do it all the time,
but at the same time, the waythe industry is set up, it can
be fickle.
It can be this it can be thatyou may be on top and then on
the bottom, and then on topagain and on the bottom.
(30:41):
You know, if you must, mustmust be on top at all times, or
you must, must must be on thator whatever at all times, then
you can, you can start todevelop an unhealthy
relationship to where your wholeentire identity is based around
it.
So, like what I was sayingearlier about purpose, for me to
maintain a spiritual health,I've had to lean into my purpose
(31:06):
.
That's bigger than my career,and so once I did that, I was
able to attract and create avery healthy spiritual community
of people.
That encouraged me, that Iencourage them that we do life
together, especially as far asspiritual health.
I think that we need each otherright, like we need connection,
(31:27):
and that was another way I stayspiritually healthy is by
serving.
I'm always, you know, speakingand leading workshops and you
know I mean just so manydifferent things, especially
here, you know, for up andcoming artists in LA and even in
different parts of the world.
I really try to pour into themwhat was poured into me, so
that's a way also for me to stayspiritually healthy.
Allen Wolf (31:49):
At the end of your life, what kind of legacy would
you like to leave behind?
Edwina Findley (31:53):
So, basically, today you're just giving all the
simple questions.
I love it.
I'm one of those people that Iwant to hear the words well done
.
There's a million things I canbe doing, there's a million
things I do, but a lot of timesthese days I will ask myself
okay, is this self-generated, isthis something that I'm just
(32:17):
trying to do, or is it somethingI'm called to?
Because now I feel like it'sthe things that I'm called to
that are going to have thegreatest impact.
And so, for me, hearing thosewords well done means that you
have fulfilled your assignment.
The reason why you were born,the reason why you were created,
the reason why you were sentinto the world you have
(32:38):
fulfilled.
You were sent into the world,you have fulfilled, and now it's
time for you to be taken home.
So when I think of those wordsthe world is waiting for you you
show up, right, you show up,and when your time is done, you
(32:59):
know that you gave everythingthat you were supposed to give
to this world, and now it's timefor you to reap your reward
that you were supposed to giveto this world.
Allen Wolf (33:03):
Well, thank you so much for being my guest, Edwina.
I loved hearing your thoughts,and your story Is there anything
else you'd like to say, Edwina?
Edwina Findley (33:12):
Sure, well, I would love definitely for your
listeners.
Follow me.
I'd love to meet you.
You know my husband and I havea nonprofit called Abundant Life
U and there's lots of ways toget involved.
So you can send an email toteam at edwinafindleycom and buy
the book.
I hope that it blesses you.
(33:33):
The World is Waiting for you isnow available wherever you get
your books Amazon, barnes andNoble and you can visit me at
edwinafinley.
com.
Allen Wolf (33:45):
Check out our groups , courses and other resources
available atnavigatinghollywoodorg.
Please follow us and leave us areview so others can discover
this podcast.
You can find our other shows,transcripts, links and more at
navigatinghollywoodorg.
I look forward to being withyou next time.
Welcome to the Navigating Hollywood podcast.
My name is Allen Wolf and I'm afilmmaker and an author.
Navigating Hollywood helpsmedia professionals build
holistic, creative and spirituallives through this podcast,
book clubs and discussion groupsat the major studios.
If you work in entertainment,visit navigatinghollywood.
org to discover how you can getinvolved.
(00:25):
I'm thrilled to welcome anextraordinary talent whose
versatility and passion havemade her a standout across film,
television and theater.
She seamlessly transitionsbetween dramatic and comedic
roles with amazing authenticity,and she currently stars in
Netflix's murder mystery seriesThe Residence.
(00:46):
From her breakout role as Toshin HBO's The Wire to her
Independent Spirit Awardnominated performance in Free
Indeed, Edwina has built animpressive career spanning drama
, comedy and everything inbetween.
A classically trained artistfrom the Duke Ellington School
of the Arts and NYU's TischSchool of the Arts, she has
(01:08):
performed on prestigious stagesacross the country, while
continuing to shine on screen inproductions like The Power,
Fear the Walking Dead and Veep.
Welcome, Edwina.
Edwina Findley (01:20):
Thank you so much, Allen.
It's so wonderful to be here.
Thank you for having me.
Allen Wolf (01:25):
It's great to have you.
Your new series, The Residence,is a murder mystery at the
White House where you bring tolife Sheila Cannon and I heard
she's a pretty flawed WhiteHouse butler.
Is that correct?
Edwina Findley (01:45):
She's extremely flawed.
In fact, when I read the scriptthe first time, I wondered how
did she get this job?
She's an alcoholic and is aperson that tells her mind and
tells it like it is, but she'sfilled with joy and dreams and I
think in her imagination she'sprobably the first lady and that
everyone else just thinks she'sthe butler, but in actuality I
(02:05):
think we believe that she'sreally the one running the place
, and so she has a lot of greatcomedic roles and scenes.
But there's also places whereyou know you uncover the layers
and are able to get to hervulnerability and sort of be
able to understand why she isthe way she is.
Allen Wolf (02:23):
Well, tell us about the cast.
It sounds like an amazing cast.
Edwina Findley (02:26):
Oh, it's a wonderful cast.
The cast is led by Uzo Aduba,who Uzo and I go way back to New
York theater days.
Also, susan Kelechi Watson andwe two have known each other for
a long time from NYU and NewYork.
And Isaiah Whitlock, who I'veknown for a long time we did the
Wire together and IsaiahWhitlock, who I've known for a
(02:46):
long time we did the Wiretogether.
There's Randall Park, who's anincredible actor in both comedy
and drama.
Ken Marino how can I forgetGiancarlo Esposito, who I first
became aware of when I was incollege, studying at Atlantic
Theater Company, and he was oneof the company members there
again in New York theater.
So I just feel like they'veassembled just a wonderful cadre
of artists, some of whom youvery much know, some you may not
(03:10):
know as well, but who alldeliver phenomenal performances
in the show.
Allen Wolf (03:15):
It's amazing that you have worked with several of
them before.
Edwina Findley (03:18):
Yeah, well, actually, you know a lot of them
.
I had not worked with A lot ofthem, we just knew each other
for many years, you know, or hadbecome close in different ways.
There was a couple that I evenmet at church and that's where
we met and, you know, had never,though, worked together.
So it's been really wonderfulfor our artistic paths to now
have crossed and been able towork together.
And then there's one actor howcan I forget Bronson Pinchot,
(03:40):
who I grew up watching onPerfect Strangers, who plays the
incredible White House chef inthis one, didier Gattard, and
he's super funny in this too.
And what was it like workingwith Shonda Rhimes to bring your
character to life becamepassionate about her work,
(04:01):
starting with Scandal.
I was a huge Scandal fan.
I loved the character, thewriting, the language, these
Shakespearean you knowmonologues that were going for
pages and pages, and, as anactor, I just got so much
excitement out of that, likethose words.
Those words are like heaven tome.
Now, fast forward to me workingon a Shondaland series that she
(04:22):
did not write but she'sproducing, and it's all under
the Shondaland banner, but it'swritten by a brilliant,
brilliant writer named PaulWilliam Davies, and he wrote on
Scandal.
He also had another Shondalandshow called For the People, and
so his style is very similar.
So it's extremely witty.
It's just brilliant.
You know, the language isbrilliant, the character is
(04:44):
fantastic.
Like you, guys are going to bereally in for a treat.
Allen Wolf (04:47):
How does your approach differ when tackling a
character like Sheila versusyour more dramatic roles?
Edwina Findley (04:54):
It's funny because in some ways I approach
the roles the same.
Maybe it was because I got mystart on the Wire and the Wire
is a very cinema, verite styleof show, right.
So it's all about, like, theauthenticity of Baltimore and
the people that live there, andin that show it was very unique
because there was a combinationof actors and real people from
(05:15):
that place and who had livedthis life, you know, combined
with these very trained actorsall coming together.
And the same with Treme that wedid a few years later, also
with David Simon, who's aphenomenal writer and creator of
the show.
So I guess it was somethingabout that, about that being my
entryway into television, thatI've kind of kept that approach
(05:37):
through roles.
Even I've done roles that aresoapy and, like you know,
whatever, but I always try toapproach it from the lens of a
real person, from a real, almost, like it's a biopic in and of
itself.
So with Sheila, even though shewas so extremely funny, she's so
super funny, but for me it wasimportant to create, you know, a
three-dimensional human being.
(05:58):
So even with all her jokes andall her banter and all these
things, I was still looking forwhat is that drama underneath,
right, like she's an alcoholicor she's a chain smoker.
She has, you know, a tenuousrelationship with the truth,
right Of thinking like, okay,what is underneath her?
And I approach it like that.
So there are some, lots ofmoments that are very, very
(06:19):
comedic, but then there's alsosome areas of the show where
it's no-transcript things Ilearned, you know, going through
(06:54):
drama school.
It's like one of thedifferences between drama and
comedy is, like with comedy itmight be frustration and not
anger, right.
Like you kind of have tonegotiate, like the degree to
which you go into a particularemotion so that it does not lose
its humor, right.
So that's one thing I loveabout Sheila Like I don't think
she loses her humor even inthose moments of drama.
Allen Wolf (07:17):
Yeah, I love that saying.
That says there's a thin linebetween comedy and tragedy.
You cannot.
Depending on where you lean it,it can go one way or the other.
It's true.
When did you first decide youwanted to become an actor?
Edwina Findley (07:29):
When I was five, and it's funny because I'm a
five-year-old now and now Icompletely get it.
I look at her like, oh my gosh,this girl's an actress.
This girl's absolutely anactress.
I gave birth to myself all overagain.
Seriously, she is so dramaticand so you know, yesterday she
(07:51):
put on my high heels and she gota microphone.
She's like mommy, I'm on thered carpet, I'm on the red
carpet.
Allen Wolf (07:59):
Then you're like well, where's your publicist?
Is your publicist nearby tohelp you down the red carpet?
Edwina Findley (08:04):
Actually, some agents recently started reaching
out to me about both of mygirls and I've been like, oh God
, can I do, like, can I startthis all over again with them?
You know.
So my husband and I try todecide that right now.
But yeah, I mean, I was reallyyoung in the church.
You know, I started out doingchurch plays, salty, the Singing
Songbook, out doing churchplays, salty, the singing song
(08:29):
book.
That was like that was thechristian, like vacation bible
school.
You know character that likechristian homes.
They're like oh, we can't watchthis, you can't watch that, but
you can't watch salty.
And so salty like had all and itwas p-s-a-l-t-y.
Allen Wolf (08:43):
oh Okay.
Edwina Findley (08:44):
Almost like a singing Bible oh wow, so they
have musicals and all thesethings around Salty.
So that's really how I startedwas like in the Christian
musicals, and then, you know,ended up going to high school
for performing arts and traveledall over the world with that
and I did my first TV show whenI was 16.
And then after that went to NewYork, our first TV show when I
(09:05):
was 16.
And then after that went to NewYork and you know that started
kind of the whole like New Yorkstage and regional stage and
traveling around and thenstarting in TV and then film.
Allen Wolf (09:14):
Wow, amazing you started from such a young age.
Edwina Findley (09:20):
What were some of the obstacles that you ran
into on the way?
I ran into obstacles that Iwould say had to do with both
faith and identity.
When you have that personalrelationship with God, it kind
of opens the door for God tospeak to you right and to speak
to your identity, and a lot oftimes he'll introduce you to a
version of you that you may havenever even met yet.
Right, and that's a part ofwhat I call a God dream.
(09:42):
I encountered my God dream withthe Lord pretty early, and so
he started talking to me thatone day you're going to be an
actress and you're going to beon television and you're going
to move to Hollywood and allthese different prophecies.
But at the same time, once Igot old enough and got an agent,
they were telling me you'llnever make it in Hollywood.
Hollywood is for beautifulpeople.
You are not.
Allen Wolf (10:04):
Oh my gosh.
Edwina Findley (10:06):
And therefore you need to stay in New York,
you need to basically like knowyour place, yeah, and there were
times where I even, like, hadoffers to do certain things but
there might be nudity or this orthat attached to it that I
wasn't comfortable with, and soI would tell them, like you know
, I I really would love to dothis project, but I don't feel
comfortable doing nudity, andthey would just let me have it
(10:27):
like really let me have it likevery bullying and like, well,
you'll never be able to work ifyou're not willing to do this
and that, that you'll never getto this place in your career,
all these things.
So, as a young person startingout in the industry, I really I
kind of went through it as faras trying to navigate my faith
(10:47):
and what I believed God wasshowing me and these things that
I was being told that I must beor must not be, or you know the
way they painted it was likeI'm not important enough to have
convictions, I'm not importantenough to have things that I'm
saying I don't feel comfortabledoing, like they're like, once
you're out of your career, thenyou can say those things.
So I really needed the Lord tohelp me to navigate those
(11:11):
different circumstances,especially as a believer.
Allen Wolf (11:15):
And how did you navigate through those?
Edwina Findley (11:17):
A lot of prayer.
I also, you know, had a greatsupport system.
I would call people and I wouldask them for wisdom and counsel
, and you know.
But then there were times where, even after getting everybody's
opinion and even after hearingwhat everyone had to say, where
God just would say like, come tome, you know, I will show you.
You know, I can remember beingoffered my first role at 21
(11:40):
years old and like going into awhole fast and asking God like,
is this what you want from me?
I just want what you want fromme.
That's, that's what I want.
I want to be on the path thatyou've created for me.
I feel like just keeping thatposture all along the way has
opened up doors that I nevercould have opened for myself and
also has made me okay with thedoors that have closed because
(12:03):
they weren't for me.
Allen Wolf (12:04):
Sounds like you've been able to go through a lot of
life challenges just with apeace in your heart, knowing
that there is something beyondwhat was happening at that
moment that you're trusting in,that you're looking toward.
Edwina Findley (12:17):
You know, I feel like I got the revelation
pretty early on that this lifeis about purpose and whether
you're filming or whether you'refeeding the homeless, or
whether you're singing at church, or whether you're singing at
church or whether you're singingat Carnegie Hall, that you are
still operating in some form ofpurpose.
And I think that the fallacy ofthis industry is that if you're
(12:39):
not employed at a certain time,or if you're not filming
something, if you're not onstage, if you're not, you know
whatever, if you're waitingtables or if you're bartending,
that you're just not operatingin your purpose, right, like
that, you're not doing what youwere created to do if you don't
have an entertainmentopportunity.
But I don't believe that.
I don't believe that's true, Ithink, working, working all the
(13:00):
time and very grateful for it.
But then, when I entered intothat season where I was like, oh
my gosh, I don't have a job,you know whatever, but I just
started serving everywhere and Istarted volunteering and I
started mentoring and I started,you know, teaching kids drama
and leading vision workshops forlow-income women, and that
(13:23):
season was probably the mostpurposeful season of my life and
it was in serving others that Icame in contact with my own
purpose.
So now it may be in the hairand makeup trailer or it may be,
you know, with my cast or crewor directors or producers, right
(13:47):
?
But like that same spirit ofpurpose just translates wherever
I am.
I think that's how you create alife right, with kids or a
husband or whatever you create alife, as opposed to something
that's so myopically drivenaround whether or not you have a
job and when you have a job,and everything being surrounded
by comparing your career to yourpurpose versus your life to
your purpose.
Allen Wolf (14:05):
What were some actor moments of victory that you
never want to forget?
Edwina Findley (14:10):
You know, even when I had just kind of come out
of school and was in that placeof you know struggling and,
like you know, beating thepavement in New York and you
know, just believing God that hewould open up a door for me in
this career, I believe that hecalled me to.
I started receiving fromstrangers these prophecies about
(14:30):
working with Oprah Winfrey andworking with Tyler Perry and all
these things, and I'm like Idon't know either one of them.
I know who they are.
Allen Wolf (14:38):
And when you say prophecies, what do you mean by
that?
For people who aren't familiarwith that.
Edwina Findley (14:43):
So people would literally, strangers would stop
me on the street, would stop meon the subway, would stop me in
a like.
One time I was even at thisnightclub, in a state that I'd
never been to, and a womanstopped me and she prophesied to
(15:03):
me, meaning that she, like,called forth things that I was
going to do.
So she said you're going tomove to California.
I was living in New York at thetime.
She started prophesying aboutmy was living in New York at the
time.
She started prophesying aboutmy husband I was single at the
time and she started prophesyingthat I was going to work with
Tyler Perry, whom I had nevermet at that point, and that I
was going to film at his studiosin Georgia that I had never
seen, right?
So she's laid out all thesethings, and then she was like OK
(15:24):
, nice to meet you, and justlike, walked back into this club
and I experienced a lot ofthings like that, and so I feel
like those are just differentways that God has revealed.
I have a dream over your life,and it's greater than yourself,
and so I guess this journey hasbeen for me about discovering
(15:44):
what God is saying andinternalizing it in faith right,
especially when a lot of timeswhat God says is like the
opposite of how you feel.
So it's meant to encourage you.
It's meant to let you know,like I know things are hard, I
know things, you know, difficult, I know it may be hard to see
this vision based on where youare right now.
(16:05):
But where you are right now isnot where you're going to end up
.
It's not the end.
You know it's not the end.
So for me, you know, one biglike amazing actor moment was
fast forward 2019.
I'm at Tyler Perry Studios atthe grand opening of this huge
studio soundstage there, ormultiple soundstages there.
(16:26):
Oprah Winfrey is there and hepresents me with a star on his
newly minted Walk of Fame at theTyler Perry Studios, with Oprah
present directly in front ofthe Oprah Winfrey soundstage
with my name on it and that wasjust such a beautiful moment of,
(16:46):
you know, just a full circlemanifestation.
I felt that way also when myfamily and I were moved to
London to film a whole projectand my children ended up with
British accents and you know, itwas just.
We were premiere at the ChineseTheater and while I was on the
(17:09):
red carpet I looked up andrealized that I was standing in
the exact spot as I had beeneight years prior when I
received a prophetic word thatGod was going to send me to
Hollywood and that he wasopening the door for me in
Hollywood.
And in the middle of thatpremiere is when I realized that
I was standing in exactly thesame spot as I was years prior
(17:29):
when I received that prophecy.
So for me, those amazing actormoments that I don't want to
forget are also connected topromises that God made me that,
when they came to pass, justkind of confirmed how real God
was in my life.
Allen Wolf (17:43):
And do you incorporate a lot of this into
your book.
The World is Waiting for you,because that's your debut book.
Congratulations on that.
Edwina Findley (17:53):
It's like intended to call you out, to
call you forward.
A lot of times we live in theshadows, or, you know, we can
(18:16):
get discouraged orself-conscious, or afraid, or
you know, wonder me like me, Idon't know.
But what I discovered is that weall have a superpower.
We all have a gift that God hasgiven us and there's a grand God
dream that's over all of ourlives, and if we can just tap
into it and then partner with itin the manifestation of it, I
(18:40):
believe that so many people aregoing to just be transformed as
far as who they think they are,what they're capable of doing
and what they're actually goingto do and who they're going to
become in this world.
And I'm excited about it because, as you do what you're called
to do, Allen, and as I do whatI'm called to do, and as the
listeners here do what they callto do, it's a domino effect of
(19:03):
light.
There's a chapter in the bookcalled you Are a Star, and I
really believe that we all arestars, that we are ignited with
light to just light up the world, and that those places of
darkness that we feel, that wesee that sometimes that's
exactly where we're called toright To brighten that up, and
so the world is waiting for you,and I'm excited that we're all
(19:26):
going to experience it, andthank you for the love as far as
my debut book.
Allen Wolf (19:30):
Now, is your God dream only positive things?
Is it?
Could it be suffering, like Ithink of?
How often?
I mean not everyone is alwaysin a life stage of everything
going well.
So how does suffering or kindof bad things work into
(19:50):
discovering what your God dreamis?
Edwina Findley (19:52):
That's an excellent question.
I mean, listen, I guess we canjust go straight to Jesus, right
?
Like Jesus had a calling to beexalted and on the throne and
all these things, to be a saviorof the world.
But also a part of that storywas to be crucified and to be
betrayed, right.
And so there was absolutelysuffering that was built into
(20:13):
that grand story, into that Goddream.
And, yes, normally we think ofa dream as like just being
flowers and just being rainbowsand just being the things that
we desire, right.
And I think that's thedistinction between my personal
dream, which has no painattached to it, and a God dream.
There's also a journey attachedto it, and sometimes, in the
(20:35):
journey of manifesting God'sdream over your life, there are
places that are valley, right,it's not all mountaintop, but
for me, one of the things I'vediscovered is that if you stay
faithful and if you remain inobedience, even in those places
that are hard, you will berewarded.
For me, after receiving thatwhole prophecy that God's going
(20:57):
to open the door for me inHollywood and I'm going to be a
star and all these things, Imean I was living in low income
housing, I was struggling, I waslike on the poverty line, you
know, like all these things werehappening in my life.
And then one day I felt likethe spirit was telling me to get
up and go to this Bible study.
I'm like, by the time I get onthe bus, the train, do all these
things, that Bible study isgoing to be over.
(21:20):
But I did it just in obedience,not because I wanted to, not
because I was not exhausted andtired, not because I felt like I
had all this money to even payfor the bus to Detroit.
In obedience did that.
When I got there, I ended upencountering the very woman who
was the creator of the show thatbrought me to Hollywood.
It all happened as a result ofbeing obedient to get up and go.
(21:43):
So sometimes, even when we feellike we're in seasons that are
painful, or we just want to quitor, you know, we just want to
pursue our own vision, we don'trealize that in that moment,
god's using these things for ourgood.
He's using these things for ourgood and to actually direct us
to exactly what we've beenpraying for the whole time, what
we've been envisioning thewhole time.
Allen Wolf (22:04):
How do you distinguish between your dream
for yourself?
Especially in Hollywood, itseems like the temptation is to
have a life that orbits aroundyourself.
You're at the center yourdesires.
I like what you said earlierabout how, yes, our own dreams
do not involve anything negative, any suffering.
But how do you figure out thisreally is actually I'm living
(22:26):
out my dream rather than God'sdream?
How do you distinguish betweenthe two?
Edwina Findley (22:30):
For me it kind of always goes back to surrender
, right, like a lot of timeswhen I've been called to do
things, even to write this book,the World is Waiting for you.
It did not initiate with me.
It didn't start with like nowI'm going to write a book and
this is what it's going to becalled.
It literally was me respondingto a calling.
I knew God was calling me towrite this book and that I
(22:51):
needed to surrender and do it,even though at that time I felt
like I'm living my dream right,like I'm filming and I'm
traveling, and you know thesedifferent things.
So when the book came, it wasokay.
God will tell me more.
You know what is it that you'reasking me to do?
What is it that you're askingme to release?
And that was a process Samewith motherhood.
(23:12):
I was doing my thing.
It was not.
It was not this huge vision forme that I'm going to be a mom
and all this stuff.
But strangers startedprophesying to me.
God said you're about to have ababy and at first I was kind of
scared, you know, to be honest.
But it was in the surrenderingthat opened the door and
motherhood has been the greatestblessing in the whole world,
(23:34):
and I'm amazed that I could havemissed it if I was just going
off of my dream and what Iwanted for my life at that time.
And so one thing about a Goddream it extends so far beyond
you, right?
So it's like years past whereyou currently are, and it's also
(23:55):
thinking about many otherpeople than you're thinking
about.
So I imagine that you startingthis podcast, that part of it
was you being creative, part ofit was you having an outlet and
like these wonderful things foryou.
But it was also you seeing aneed, right?
You seeing a need in the worldthat you wanted to help fill by
serving others.
And so I feel like a God dream.
One way to also determinebetween your own dream and a God
(24:18):
dream is is it large enough toencompass others?
Is it large enough to blessothers through the fulfillment
of it?
You know is is it large enoughto encompass others?
Is it large enough to blessothers through the fulfillment
of it, you know, or is it simplyself-serving?
Because I have a feeling thatif it's simply self-serving and
that's it there's no deeper, youknow, purpose attached to it
then you may want to questionokay, is that my God dream?
Allen Wolf (24:39):
Academy Award-winning actress Viola
Davis wrote the foreword to yourbook, and she has said this
about you.
"Edwina is a life force.
Once she comes into your life,it alters.
How do you alter people's lives?
First of all, don't make me cry, oh my gosh.
Edwina Findley (24:55):
Well, you know, I'm a person that genuinely
loves people.
I genuinely care about peopleand where they are.
And you know, there's a giftthat God has given me to be
sensitive to the state thatpeople are in, whether it's
financial, whether it'semotional, whether it's
spiritual, and be able to see avision for them as far as where
(25:17):
God wants to take them, likewhat that next place of
elevation is in their lives, andto be able to speak into that
and to help them get there.
And so, with Viola, even thoughI met her at a very young age I
was in college and I wasmesmerized by her, because so
many of the plays that I wasworking on, you know, listed in
(25:39):
there the original cast wasalways my LNAs, my LNAs, my LNAs
, you know.
But when God, you know, broughtus to a place where our paths
collided, I would sit, you know,with she and her husband for
hours and talk to them aboutvision, and we set a vision for
their production company and Ihelped them to create that,
inform that.
And she talks about me some inher book Finding Me and some of
(26:01):
those moments that we spenttogether, and I guess you know,
as far as me, I think that justa part of my calling is to help
people to reach theirs.
You know, I'm always grateful.
A woman stopped me yesterday.
I was at my daughter'sbasketball game and this woman
ran after me and she said youspoke a message 11 years ago
(26:23):
that changed my life and Iremember every word.
And she started to give everyword of that message from 11
years ago and she began to cryand she thanked me so much and I
got teary too, you know, and soI think that maybe that's what
Viola meant as far as like, howdo you help change people's
(26:43):
lives, you know, and I justthink it's an honor and a
privilege to be honest.
Allen Wolf (26:48):
You mentioned early on getting involved with your
church and that helped inspireyour acting journey.
What is your spiritual journeylook like?
Edwina Findley (26:57):
I was raised in a Christian home, you know.
So I've been in church all mylife.
But I would say, around collegeis when I really started
questioning everything.
Right, I went to NYU and it was, you know, very, very heavily
academic and I was taught bydifferent professors that God is
a social construct, that thatis kind of a created being
(27:18):
really by humans to explain thatwhich is inexplicable.
And so I would go home then andchallenge everybody like, well,
what is God and what does Godmean?
And then so there were timeswhere the question sort of came
to me of do you believe?
Like just a very simplequestion, do you believe?
And I realized that I hadengaged in so much discourse and
(27:40):
debate and you know, and likebringing home all these things,
I had learned that that simplequestion that a friend of mine
asked me do you believe?
It was something about thetenderness of that that really
made me stop and think do Ibelieve?
And that's what opened up allof these very intimate spiritual
(28:01):
experiences that I had hadpersonally.
It wasn't just because I wastaught it, it wasn't just
because I read it, it wasbecause I experienced it.
And when I experienced God formyself, that's when I realized,
wow, this is my spiritualjourney.
It's very personal in that noone can explain away or take
(28:22):
away what I've experienced.
Allen Wolf (28:24):
And when your friend asked you do you believe what?
Were they asking you that youbelieved in.
Edwina Findley (28:31):
Well, I think that they were asking do I
personally believe in God?
Because at that point, you knowagain, because I was in such an
academic setting and I'm veryanalytical by nature so I can, I
can debate with you to the hilton the smallest thing.
You know, some people were likeif you weren't an actress,
you'd definitely be a lawyer oryou know something.
(28:52):
Because I will like go all theway in.
And because I was doing that inthe discourse of God, at that
point that just happened to bethe topic that you know, I was
kind of like harping on whatabout this and what about that,
and what about this and whatabout that.
You know, I think that she knewpersonally that she could not
go toe to toe with me on allthese things, right, that she
didn't have an answer for allthe things that I was posing.
(29:15):
And so I think for her, I thinkit was just about that simple
question of belief, right,because believing is about
internalizing something youcan't see.
It may not be empirical, youmay not have all the empirical
evidence to prove.
This is what it is, right.
So it takes an element of faith,and so I think that question of
(29:38):
do I have that faith or don't IRight?
Because some people tell you,no, I don't believe.
You know, I'll believe it whenI see it Right.
But then belief oftentimes ispredicated by seeing Right.
But there's two different typesof seeing.
There's seeing in the naturalrealm and then there's seeing in
the spiritual realm.
And so I realized that, oh wow,I can believe because I've
(30:01):
experienced things in a veryspiritual way that were not
necessarily birthed out ofacademics or birthed out of
intellect, that were actuallybirthed spiritually, and I had
the presence of mind tounderstand that.
Allen Wolf (30:16):
How do you stay spiritually healthy while
working in entertainment?
Edwina Findley (30:19):
One thing that I've had to learn is that I
can't idolize this industry, andthat's hard, I think,
especially as actors orperformers.
Right, we love what we do andwe want to do it all the time,
but at the same time, the waythe industry is set up, it can
be fickle.
It can be this it can be thatyou may be on top and then on
the bottom, and then on topagain and on the bottom.
(30:41):
You know, if you must, mustmust be on top at all times, or
you must, must must be on thator whatever at all times, then
you can, you can start todevelop an unhealthy
relationship to where your wholeentire identity is based around
it.
So, like what I was sayingearlier about purpose, for me to
maintain a spiritual health,I've had to lean into my purpose
(31:06):
.
That's bigger than my career,and so once I did that, I was
able to attract and create avery healthy spiritual community
of people.
That encouraged me, that Iencourage them that we do life
together, especially as far asspiritual health.
I think that we need each otherright, like we need connection,
(31:27):
and that was another way I stayspiritually healthy is by
serving.
I'm always, you know, speakingand leading workshops and you
know I mean just so manydifferent things, especially
here, you know, for up andcoming artists in LA and even in
different parts of the world.
I really try to pour into themwhat was poured into me, so
that's a way also for me to stayspiritually healthy.
Allen Wolf (31:49):
At the end of your life, what kind of legacy would
you like to leave behind?
Edwina Findley (31:53):
So, basically, today you're just giving all the
simple questions.
I love it.
I'm one of those people that Iwant to hear the words well done
.
There's a million things I canbe doing, there's a million
things I do, but a lot of timesthese days I will ask myself
okay, is this self-generated, isthis something that I'm just
(32:17):
trying to do, or is it somethingI'm called to?
Because now I feel like it'sthe things that I'm called to
that are going to have thegreatest impact.
And so, for me, hearing thosewords well done means that you
have fulfilled your assignment.
The reason why you were born,the reason why you were created,
the reason why you were sentinto the world you have
(32:38):
fulfilled.
You were sent into the world,you have fulfilled, and now it's
time for you to be taken home.
So when I think of those wordsthe world is waiting for you you
show up, right, you show up,and when your time is done, you
(32:59):
know that you gave everythingthat you were supposed to give
to this world, and now it's timefor you to reap your reward
that you were supposed to giveto this world.
Allen Wolf (33:03):
Well, thank you so much for being my guest, Edwina.
I loved hearing your thoughts,and your story Is there anything
else you'd like to say, Edwina?
Edwina Findley (33:12):
Sure, well, I would love definitely for your
listeners.
Follow me.
I'd love to meet you.
You know my husband and I havea nonprofit called Abundant Life
U and there's lots of ways toget involved.
So you can send an email toteam at edwinafindleycom and buy
the book.
I hope that it blesses you.
(33:33):
The World is Waiting for you isnow available wherever you get
your books Amazon, barnes andNoble and you can visit me at
edwinafinley.
com.
Allen Wolf (33:45):
Check out our groups , courses and other resources
available atnavigatinghollywoodorg.
Please follow us and leave us areview so others can discover
this podcast.
You can find our other shows,transcripts, links and more at
navigatinghollywoodorg.
I look forward to being withyou next time.
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