WEBVTT - QLS Classic: Anika Noni Rose 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.040 Questlove Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:05.560 Hi. 0:00:05.680 --> 0:00:08.520 This is Sugar Steve from Questlove Supreme. This March, we're 0:00:08.560 --> 0:00:12.000 celebrating women's history at QLs, something that we've done for years. 0:00:12.240 --> 0:00:14.120 Back in March of twenty twenty one, we spoke to 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:17.160 Anika Noni Rose about her acting, singing and voice work. 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:20.200 She discussed growing up in Connecticut, working on Dream Girls, 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:23.079 and landing a life changing audition for Disney's The Princess 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:25.880 and the Frog. This is a powerful and sincere conversation 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:28.240 that is worthy of hearing, and I hope you enjoy it. 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:36.080 Oh, I didn't know you say it was. 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:38.720 Hi Ceo in the corn? 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:42.600 What was it? That's funny. I thought I was visible 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:45.360 for about six minutes and I was like, oh, I'm 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:46.320 just a blank square. 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:50.960 So we're just talking about the salt and pepper Lifetime, 0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:53.560 The salt Lifetime. 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:57.080 Deep Salt Pepper, Deep Salt Pepper. 0:00:57.360 --> 0:00:58.280 Did you watch it yet? 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:01.760 Proc Come on, brother, I was on time for that thing. 0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:08.520 Man's thirty seconds. 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:10.440 Thirty seconds? 0:01:10.520 --> 0:01:14.240 Okay, the salt and pepper story, it was, I mean, 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:17.760 it was cool for Lifetime. I thought they cast salt, 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:21.520 real good pepper. I wasn't really too convinced on Pepper. 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:25.280 I really was not convinced with Tretch. I really liked 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:28.080 the way they cast Herbie love Bug and the twin 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:31.520 although it hasn't really been documented that Herbie love Bug 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:34.800 has a twin brother does have a he has a brother. 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:37.680 I don't know if it's his twin brother, but Herbie, 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:39.800 Herbie does have a brother. It looked like it was 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.440 the lookalike was in his uh it was in the 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:45.280 he was in the shoot video. I want to say 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.120 his brother is was in the shoot video. I can't 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:52.560 remember which scene, but anyway, Yeah, I mean it was 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:54.520 a little too long. I felt like it probably could 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:56.440 have been like two hours. I mean, you know, if 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:59.200 it was Jackson, it was hours long. 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:00.000 It was three hours. 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:04.200 And mind you, let's contrast that with the Jackson's story 0:02:04.280 --> 0:02:05.200 being four hours. 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:08.359 So that was multiple movie nights. 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:11.799 Okay, yeah, the jack Nat was five yes, yes, yeah. 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:17.160 So did you learn anything about salt and pepper at all? 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:19.680 Not that you didn't know, but just anything. 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:24.040 I didn't know that, uh, pepper was not pepper. Salt 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:28.040 had to eating disorder. They kind of they kind of 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:29.799 hinted it that, you know what I'm saying that was 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:34.240 the new information. But yeah, that was it, and you 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:36.320 know it was I watched that ship on a Sunday 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:37.560 afternoon of my couched Nigga. 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:42.480 Hey man, welcome to the show. 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:44.080 Welcome to the show. 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:50.079 So yeah, this is Quest Love Supreme and uh I'm 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:52.920 yours quest though. That was that was our cold open 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.920 take a little hot take on the Salt and Pepper 0:02:57.560 --> 0:02:58.800 Lifetime movie. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:02.200 Am as this episode airs in women's history mo. 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:07.600 Yeah yeah yeah. Anyway, so we have a sugar Steve 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:08.040 with us. 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:14.600 I have, we have unpaid bill and we have Laya 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:18.640 with us as well. Our Esteem guest today. Great, thanks 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:20.720 for asking, but oh okay, how you doing Steve? 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:21.200 Great? 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:23.840 Okay, nice weather. I like I like this sweater. 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.480 It's it's a champion hoodie. It's not a sweater. 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:29.960 Okay, Well they can't see you on the on on. 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:33.400 I mean it's a very expensive sweater, Steve. Can I 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:36.480 please introduce the guest anyway? Our steam guest today is 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:42.320 an amazing, versatile, award winning actress who stage credits range 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.960 from Carl Jones to Raising his Sun to Eli's Coming 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.520 Carolina Change, which she won a Tony Award, and her 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:54.240 TV credits, so many Ladies Number one Detective Agency. She 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:56.760 played Wendy Carr, one of my favorite TV shows. I 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:59.400 missed The Good Wife so much, Like that's one of 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.680 my favorite shows ever, and I wish we're still here, 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:05.800 even though you know, the the not the reboot, but 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:11.080 a good fight is sort of okay, you know, but anyway, 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:15.720 we also can't forget her role as a jukebox character 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:19.880 on everyone's favorite guilty Pleasure Power, not to mention Little 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.839 Fires Everywhere. She also did The Quad and had a 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:26.760 cool bucket list check as a voice on The Simpsons. Uh, 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:30.200 not to mention her movie credits are just his own point. 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:35.279 This past Christmas, she started in Netflix's amazing jingle Jangle 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:39.839 The Christmas Journey, which hopefully will last for years and 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:41.279 decades and decades and decades. 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:42.400 Christmas story. 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:46.240 Yeah, definitely, my all, my niece's nephews enjoyed it. Not 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:49.440 to mention, there's dream Girls for colored girls only, and 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:55.640 also yes, she starred as Princess Tiana as the first 0:04:55.680 --> 0:05:01.520 Black Princess and the historical Princess and the Frog for Disney. Incidentally, 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:05.920 she is the youngest inductee dever be honored as a 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:08.279 Disney legend. I want to know what a Disney legend 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:12.039 is and do I qualify for my four seconds? Now 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:15.520 I'm playing Anyway, Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to our show. 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.760 Oh my fellow academy a member. It's it's like a 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:22.799 secret society that only people know. Anyway, Welcome to Coest 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:23.840 Love Supreme. 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:26.719 Anika Noni Rose, thank you, thank you for coming. 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:28.480 Thank you. 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:31.039 I wanted to ask, how how have you made out 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:35.000 in the past year. You know this, this this year 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:38.480 has been difficult on a lot of people, and it's 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:43.080 been an adjustment for artists in all mediums like and 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:47.200 for singers, for you know, actors, and for pretty much 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:50.520 anyone in the arts is it's been an adjustment. So 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:54.640 how have you been adjusting to the past year or so? 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:58.719 I the past year was rough. It was it was 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:02.440 a rough year, you know, and then you sort of 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:05.640 feel funny even saying that, because it's been rough for everybody, 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:12.080 like heavy for everybody in lieu of work. I've been 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:17.440 really lucky because I'm a voiceover artist. So even when 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:21.320 I can't do something where you see me on a set, 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:24.440 I can still do voiceover work. So that's a blessing, 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:27.239 you know, to be able to do that. And I've 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:33.320 started doing some film work as well, which was weird 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.040 and still feels weird to be on a set because 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:38.440 I still sort of feel like, don't be that close 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:42.200 to me. So professionally, I would have to say that 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:48.600 I've been I've been pretty lucky in that respect, you know. Personally, 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:57.320 it's taken some adjusting too. It's been wild. It's been 0:06:57.360 --> 0:07:01.040 a frightening year. It's been a year full of really 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:08.479 intense anger. If there is an emotion on the emotional scale, 0:07:08.640 --> 0:07:12.160 I don't think that we've been saved from it this year. 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:16.560 I think we've done that whole circle. So, you know, 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:19.960 I'm grateful to be healthy, especially as an asthmatic. I'm 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:23.560 very grateful to be healthy. I'm grateful that my family 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:29.320 wasn't touched as often as some people have been by 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:32.600 COVID and that type of loss. But I've lost friends 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:36.200 and I've lost family, and it's been a really shit year. 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:38.440 To be perfectly honest. 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:41.360 No, we welcome that honesty. 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:41.320 You know. 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:48.400 You know, I'm grateful for the possibility of change and 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:51.760 we'll see, you know, how just how much people are 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:56.320 able to do but you know, January twentieth, when everybody 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:58.440 finally got inside and the doors were locked and the 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:00.760 cameras were gone, I felt like I could breathe a 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:03.000 little bit. I just wanted everybody to go inside. I 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:06.320 was like, this is great, can you now go inside? Everyone? 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:08.240 Everybody. 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:09.360 I want Mama. 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:14.000 Inside, I want to step children inside. I want everybody inside. 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:18.560 So I was really I felt like it felt like 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:20.480 at the end of the move of a movie, like 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:22.840 a movie shoot when I've been wearing a corset and 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:24.480 I have to take that course and get to take 0:08:24.480 --> 0:08:27.160 that courset off for the last day. It felt like 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:31.000 I have been wearing a corset for four years and 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:33.400 I finally got to take that thing off and get 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:37.320 a deep breath in. I felt like I could just 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:38.199 breathe a little bit. 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.760 That is a very great metaphor. We've all been wearing 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:43.240 spanks for the last four years. 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:48.160 West trainers. 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:56.080 Waist trains and on Bill and the face like, I 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:57.920 was like, do we have to translate this for you, 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:01.840 Like no, no, no, I'm hyptop type clothing. 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:07.520 You know, I admire you for, you know, the transparency 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:11.840 and the honest honesty about it because you know this 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:14.960 has been a hard adjustment this past year, and for 0:09:15.040 --> 0:09:17.960 a lot of us, this forced us to deal with 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:22.720 ourselves and to deal with the people in our lives, 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:24.480 like to really get to know them. I mean, if 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:28.040 you're quarantining alone or with the partner, your children or 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.680 your family members and that sort of thing. So this 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:34.880 was an adjustment for you know, a lot of us, 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:37.800 and you know, a lot of us didn't didn't make it, 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:41.160 you know, through the past year wiser or you know, 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:43.600 I know a lot of people that are in this 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:47.480 field that have given into to panic and fear and 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:50.080 that sort of thing, and sort of what three divorces 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:50.760 going on right now? 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:53.000 Like three's going through divorces? 0:09:53.120 --> 0:09:56.920 Yeah, wow, yeah, you know, I hope for you that 0:09:57.080 --> 0:09:58.320 you know, it was at least a lesson. 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:01.360 But for the voiceover work, was it more of a 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:02.080 pivot for you? 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:05.400 Or was it what you were always doing or was 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:09.240 it something new that you weren't exactly prepared to make, 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:12.720 you know, something as serious as far as your career 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:13.320 is concerned. 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:16.800 It's something that I've always been doing and that I 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:22.160 really enjoy doing, and then it became something that I 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:25.320 was also really really grateful to be able to do. 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:29.439 You know, outside of just saying, oh yeah, I get 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:31.839 to do voiceover. I'm a voiceover artist. That's fun and 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:34.080 I'm glad to do that. It became something to be 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:36.680 really grateful for during this past year. 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:41.160 Can I has what experience does that intail? I took 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:44.440 one hand. I did one time of trying to do 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:48.719 voiceover work, and you know, I kind of I'll say 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:51.000 I was unprepared. It was like an American Express card 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:53.280 and I realized that like the inflections that you have 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:58.079 to have and you know, read things sustinctly, so I 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:00.400 well like what. 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:02.480 I do a little bit too. I would. 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:13.319 Not like what what does good voice over work entail? 0:11:13.400 --> 0:11:14.480 As far as having to. 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:17.960 I assume that if you get called back, that means 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:20.760 you're good enough to to work again. 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:24.880 So you know, it's different. It's different for depending on 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:27.160 what type of voiceover you're doing. Like if you're doing 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:31.840 a commercial and they call you to be your voice 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:36.480 because your voice is because you know you are questlove. 0:11:36.559 --> 0:11:39.560 They just want to hear your voice. So there's some 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:41.280 things that you don't have to worry about. You don't 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:45.000 have to create a character, but you still have to 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:48.000 read whatever it is that they've given you in a 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:53.000 way that gets the whatever emotional tone that they want, 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:57.360 how does it push their product the best way. So 0:11:57.520 --> 0:11:59.920 in that respect, you know you have to be ready 0:11:59.920 --> 0:12:03.440 for that. If you're doing a character, they're looking for 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:06.800 actors most of the time, unless, of course, you're being 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:08.960 called in to be yourself. They're still looking for you 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:11.800 to be an actor, but you still get to be yourself, 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:15.560 which takes a little bit of that onus off of you. 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:18.680 But I would say if they're looking for a character, 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:22.360 if you're talking about a cartoon or an animated feature, 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:27.480 or even a voice over for a feature film, there's 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:31.720 acting involved because you need to know how to put 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:36.440 forth the emotion the information that they need to have. 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:40.080 And I think that what trips people up is that 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.200 they think, oh, oh, well, let's just I'm just going 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:49.080 there and talk. It's gonna be fine. And it's a 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:52.839 lot more than that. And it's also tiresome because if 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:56.920 you are doing a whole feature or something like that, 0:12:57.600 --> 0:12:59.400 they may want you to lay that whole thing down 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:02.559 in one day and by the time you're done, you're like, thanks, 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:03.080 that was. 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:05.640 That was really nice. 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:11.600 And it's also very competitive too, because unlike in some ways, 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:13.720 even more so than acting, because we're acting. 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:15.959 You can kind of age out of a role, so 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:16.440 to speak. 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:20.360 But in voice acting, I mean, hell, Nancy Cartwright been 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:23.280 playing Bart Simpson for thirty years, you know what I'm saying. 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.079 So once you get in those roles, you kind of 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:27.360 stay there, and. 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:29.719 If you're there, you can stay there. But it is 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:35.600 extraordinarily competitive. It is becoming more different by the day 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:39.280 and more competitive by the day because it's becoming more 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:44.680 compartmentalized by the day as well. So it's very interesting 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:47.960 watching the shift. But to be able to be on 0:13:48.000 --> 0:13:51.480 The Simpsons was so much fun and I got to 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:54.120 be so silly, and anytime I get to be silly, 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:58.080 I am very happy. And you know, Princess Gianna was 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:01.199 a huge, huge honor. But I love doing voiceover for me. 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:04.720 I love being able to create a character. I love 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:07.680 when somebody listens to something and they don't realize it's me, 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:11.520 or they figure it out real late that that gives 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:14.280 me a kick, Like I feel real honored when that happens, 0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:15.800 and that's exciting to me. 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:18.640 And that's the difference. That's what Creed Summer taught us. Y'all. 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:21.880 Remember like that is why Anika is in the cree 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:23.920 tribe of things where you can't tell them where you 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:26.400 can do all kinds of different characters and whatnot. But 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:29.680 then there's just the voice over a voice over artists, 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:31.840 which is sometimes, like you said, just direct what you're. 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:34.360 Talking about a commercial where they're like, hey, we want 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:37.160 to know who this person is because they want to 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:41.080 sell their project product on that person's voice. And look, 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:47.280 trust if Nike or Apple or any of those people 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:50.000 want to be like Ana, it would be great to 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:52.840 I'll be there before they finish the sentence. I'll be 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:57.640 right there, right there, direct deposit form in hand. 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:03.080 Yes, I wish I knew that ahead of time, because 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:06.520 I think I came there prepared to do like my 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:13.760 dom Pardo uh impression. Then when I when I asked 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:15.400 my manager, like, so what they think, They're like. 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:16.880 They're going to roll with da da da da, I 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:17.880 was like, where I mess up? 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:19.360 And they were like they just wanted you to sound 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:21.560 like you were mere. And I was like, oh, you 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:24.160 know I was talking like this the whole time and no, no, no, 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.280 So now now now I know that, Okay, yeah, but 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:27.800 there would. 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:29.880 Be another chance for you because your quest love and 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:34.160 they see you on TV all the time and you 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:36.280 are distinctive and now. 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:39.880 You know, well common can sell a I I think 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:40.560 you can. 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:46.160 Say okay, okay, okay, all. 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:50.720 Right, because because you have uh kind of both feet 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.880 in all of these uh areas of acting? 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:57.280 Is it one? Is it? 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:01.720 Is it highly unusual to not just concentrate on one 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:07.880 particular medium like strictly television or the Broadway stage or 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:12.440 movies like are you just one of those supernatural people 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:14.760 that will just take whatever comes your way? 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:16.320 Or you know? 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:19.600 Or is it highly unusual for a person in the 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:23.600 acting feeld to sort of stretch out to all three 0:16:24.000 --> 0:16:26.320 different arenas. I'm sure there's more than three, but I 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:28.280 know TV, right. 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:32.240 And I think that when you can do that, you're 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:35.360 lucky to be able to do that. So I think that, 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:38.040 you know, and let me not say that it's just luck, 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:40.360 because somebody is going to be like, oh, excuse me, ma'am. 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:42.720 You know, there's a lot of training involved, there's a 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:48.640 lot of work involved to be the actor or performer 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:54.880 that I am, And I've been lucky for the time 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:57.760 that I've been here that I was here at the 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:00.960 perfect time to be able to be in the running 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:04.359 to be Princess Tiana, because five years beforehand or two 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:07.679 years beforehand, two years afterwards, could it wouldn't have been me, 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:14.400 you know. But also there is an adjustment of your 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:19.600 craft depending on what you're doing. You're not doing the 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:22.919 same thing on stage necessarily that you're going to be 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:25.879 doing on film that you're going to be doing on television. 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.879 And it's not something that I can be clear about, 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:32.399 but there are tiny adjustments. And there are some people 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:36.479 for whom they're amazing on film and they get on 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:40.399 stage and you're like what. And there are some people 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:42.960 who are on stage and you're like, I've never seen 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.199 anything like it, and they get on film you're like oh, 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:51.280 and you know, so there are there's a translation that happens. 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:56.120 And if you are somebody who is able to translate 0:17:56.760 --> 0:18:01.960 to different mediums, well, it is again a blessing. It's 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.560 the work that you've done, but it's also you know, 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:06.399 you're lucky to be able to do that, because there 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:10.639 are people for whom they are magnificent actors in either realm, 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:14.480 but they get on screen and your face looks funny 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:16.520 and you don't know why your face looks funny because 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:20.400 your face looks great in person, but the screen will 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:22.720 change your face, Like you get up there and you're like, 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:25.280 wait a minute, why does my eye look so high 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:29.320 on that side? Those things happen on screen, So the 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:33.359 reasons that people don't make it on screen aren't always 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:38.600 about their talent per se. There's always something that can 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:41.399 make it not work for you. So I'm glad to 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:43.040 be able to do all three things. And it was 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:45.159 a plan for me to be able to do all 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:47.600 three things because I like to do all three things, 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:50.760 and I'm somebody who I get tired of doing the 0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:53.840 same thing over and over, Like it's important to me 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:57.520 to be able to stretch out and try something different 0:18:57.560 --> 0:18:59.920 and be in a different space because I get ant 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.400 see and I want to be able to challenge myself. 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:07.240 And basically, anytime you see me doing something different, it's 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:10.879 because I was like, yeah, I want to try that. 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:14.560 Let me see if I can do that well, and 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:15.399 I jump in. 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:18.439 Which one edges out more like what do you prefer? 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:21.280 Do you prefer the stage? TV? 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:23.040 Or movies? 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:27.760 I what was the last. 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:30.440 Or or movie or movie? 0:19:30.560 --> 0:19:32.800 But then again there's also voiceover, so I mean. 0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:37.400 It's like, for I love stage, and you know why, 0:19:37.800 --> 0:19:40.360 you know that feeling being on stage, live in front 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:44.520 of people, and the challenge that it is to yourself 0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:47.959 every time you're on a stage, how much better it 0:19:48.000 --> 0:19:51.160 makes you having to do that, wanting to do it. 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:54.840 I love stage and I love film, and that's a 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:58.879 different type of challenge, and it's also finite, which is 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:02.240 sort of level. But on stage you have more control 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:04.840 over what you're doing, over the performance that you're giving. 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:09.879 And I really feel like stage is the place where 0:20:09.920 --> 0:20:14.720 I sharpen my pencil, where I hone my skill, so 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:18.480 that when I step out to do something else, I 0:20:18.520 --> 0:20:21.800 know that I have grown a new limb from the 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:25.280 time that I spent live on stage. 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:27.680 Oh, I was gonna ask, have you ever given any 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:31.320 consideration that thought about like singing, like making the Niko 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:32.280 Noni Rolls album? 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:35.440 Like is that a is that a dream of fashion 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:36.080 of yours? 0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:37.159 I love to sing. 0:20:37.560 --> 0:20:38.240 I have. 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:42.040 An album that I've been wanting to do for several 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:45.360 years and I just don't quite know how to do it. 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:49.480 And then I have a different musical project that I'm 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:54.840 actually in the works of planning now. So yes, I 0:20:54.880 --> 0:20:59.800 love singing. And I don't know. And I think probably 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:02.800 even when I started, when I started as a performer, 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:06.960 I wanted to be I wanted to be like a 0:21:07.000 --> 0:21:09.840 Grammy winner. I said, by the time I was twenty one, 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:12.760 I want to grabby That's what I wanted to do. 0:21:12.840 --> 0:21:14.399 That's what I didn't know that I wanted to be 0:21:14.440 --> 0:21:18.600 an actor, and that feeling came later. And then I've 0:21:18.640 --> 0:21:21.600 just been really really focused on this part of my 0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:25.800 career and I think that it is it is a 0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:30.560 loss to me inside of me to not sing as 0:21:30.640 --> 0:21:33.560 much as I used to, even and definitely that is 0:21:34.280 --> 0:21:37.119 in my plans. I just have to some things I 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:39.800 need to figure out. That's a help I need. 0:21:39.840 --> 0:21:42.080 I need some help which a genre of passion. 0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:45.440 That's probably part of the problem. 0:21:45.720 --> 0:21:49.159 I just love to say. 0:21:50.000 --> 0:21:52.480 So I need to focus, you know. And I have 0:21:52.520 --> 0:21:56.240 a focus on something I did. I did a concert 0:21:56.480 --> 0:22:00.239 series a few, oh god, several years ago now very 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:05.200 bad at time, and it was a tribute to my grandmother. 0:22:06.240 --> 0:22:09.560 And I would like to turn that into an album. 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:11.719 And I always wanted to do some sort of like 0:22:12.280 --> 0:22:16.720 poppy thing, some sort of pop R and B. I 0:22:16.760 --> 0:22:19.160 love rock. I would love to put out a rock song, 0:22:20.640 --> 0:22:22.359 so like I'm not, I don't feel like, oh well, 0:22:22.440 --> 0:22:24.800 I would only do you know what I mean? 0:22:25.920 --> 0:22:28.040