This Christmas Photo: Loretta Devine ’ Screen Gems
Houston's Loretta Devine is a classically-trained thespian and
vocalist who burst onto the scene in 1981 when she played Lorrell as a
member of the original Broadway cast of Dreamgirls. She then used that
stage success as a springboard for an enviable career on TV and in film
which has landed the versatile actress five NAACP Image Awards.
Among her eighty acting credits are memorable appearances in such
well-received films as Crash, Waiting to Exhale, Introducing Dorothy
Dandridge and Woman, Thou Art Loosed, and recurring roles on TV shows
like Grey's Anatomy, Boston Public and Everybody Hates Chris. Loretta is
now enjoying something of a renaissance on screen, as she is starring in
two movies currently in theaters, Dirty Laundry and This Christmas.
Plus, she has another, First Sunday, set to open next month.
KW: Hey, Loretta, thanks so much for this opportunity.
LD: Yes, my pleasure. How are you?
KW: Very well, and you?
LD: Good’ good.
KW: How did you decide
to do Dirty Laundry?
LD: What really interested me was the writer/director Maurice
Jamal. You know how you meet somebody and there's something special
about him? Plus, the size of the role. When you're black in Hollywood,
it's very hard to get that kind of piece to do. Have you seen the movie?
KW: Yes.
LD: Remember the monologue at the dinner table at the end? That
was such a challenge, especially because we had such a small window to
complete it in. I really wanted to see if I could meet that challenge.
It was very low budget, so we worked long hours, and hard. And I thought
the content was incredible. It was about Maurice's mother to some
extent, so it was a personal experience for him, and that made it more
interesting to me. Also, it was sort of a different character from the
sweet, wonderful person that I usually get to play.
KW: It's funny that you have two movies out at the same time where
you're playing a family matriarch.
LD: But they’re flips of each other. They’re totally different
women. We actually shot Dirty Laundry two years ago. Maurice had been
struggling to get it mainstreamed, and finally it happened for him.
Things happen when they happen.
KW: So, it's just a coincidence that they've been released together. How
would you describe you're character in Dirty Laundry, Evelyn?
LD: She's a washer woman who smokes, and drinks and curses, and
is not considered a very good mother, yet is a wonderful mother in her
own way.
KW: How do you decide whether to take a role?
LD: Well, you're lucky just to get roles. Be mindful of who
you're asking. [Laughs] My career has been blessed. Sometimes I feel
like I'm so favored. Like now, having three films opening back-to-back.
First Sunday is an ensemble piece, but I still have a very good role in
that. This is feeling like the beginning of my career, even though I've
been doing it forever, since the Dreamgirls days 25 years ago.
KW: Do you remember Deborah Burrell who was also in the original
Broadway cast?
LD: Of course, we still stay in touch!
KW: She's a childhood friend of mine. We were in the same grade and went
all the way through grammar school and junior high together. And our
families still attend the same church.
LD: Oh, my God! Debbie and her sister Terrie. I always thought
Deborah Burrell was one of the most beautiful women in the world. Just a
natural with no makeup’ and bubbly’ I miss seeing her, but we stay in
touch, we email each other and kinda keep up that way.
KW: I'm on the nominating committee of the NAACP Image Awards. You've
won five times before. Do you think one of the studios will get behind
you for one of these new pictures?
LD: Who knows? I hope so. After a while, you just do the work,
and whatever else happens is sort of like gravy. I don't even think
about it really, because it's so unpredictable, and everything depends
on what's in season or what's hot at the time. I've been blessed with
incredible projects like Waiting to Exhale. And I've worked with just
about everybody in my peer group in some capacity, whether in a small
role, or whatever.
KW: And you must be bringing a lot to the table, too, to remain in
demand and to be associated with so many successful productions.
LD: Well, you know, I have a Doctorate in Theater from the
University of Houston, a Masters in Fine Arts from Brandeis University,
and I studied in New York. I think the bottom line is the work, whether
or not people can relate to the work, whether or not you can create
characters that people can identify with. I'm lucky that I look like I'm
kin to everybody. [Laughs] Everybody comes up to me and says, ’You look
just like so and so’ or ’I look just like you.’ I get that so much from
all kinds of people.
KW: What do you attribute your longevity in showbiz to?
LD: For one thing, the studying. And I'm always on time and I
work really hard. I think that makes a difference in whether or not you
continue to work. And I love it. This is what I always wanted to do
since I was young. God is so good to me. I think it's heaven sent. I
can't think of it any other way.
KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your
footsteps?
LD: I'm afraid to give advice, ever since Kanye West put out that
song, what is it, ’can't Tell Me Nothing.’ I don't know if young people
want advice, and everything is so different from when I started long
ago. I think a few of the key things are the same: that you need to love
it, and that you be prepared to struggle, because it looks easy, but
it's not. It affects your personal life. It's rewarding, but it also
takes you away from family and friends a lot. You might think you're
going to be rich, but you have less than others, yet people might think
you have everything. You have to study and work hard, and know your
stuff better than anybody else around in order to keep working. Some
young people get one big break, but that's all they get.
KW:
Are you happy? I first posed that question, by the way, to your co-star
in This Christmas, Columbus Short?
LD: I don't know why anybody would bother even asking Columbus
that question because he's always grinning. His spirit is just like a
bouncing ball. Who would even think to ask him that? Everybody just
assumes he's the happiest man in the world.
KW: Are you happy?
LD: Yes, I'm happy. When you're able to picture things in your
life, and then accomplish them, it's just a wonderful thing. Being in
this business is so much fun. You get a chance to meet some incredible
people and to go incredible places. You may not be a millionaire, but
you make enough to live well and to support your family. And you just
feel favored. And I'm in love, so I'm happy!
KW: you're in love? Do you want to share anything about that?
LD: No, I don't. [Chuckles]
KW: Where in L.A. do you live? Have you been affected by the fires?
LD: No, I live in the ’hood? In View Park, right off [bleep] and
[bleep]. don't be putting that in no articles, so people are going to be
finding out where I live, and be riding around my house.
KW: That was Jimmy Bayan's question, not mine.
LD: don't be telling people where I live. I can't have people
bothering me. I need to go to work and stuff. You know the paparazzi in
L.A. They’re crazy.
KW: Can you go to the mall or to a supermarket?
LD: I can go wherever I want to go. I don't know how it is for
others with their fans, but because I play very lovable characters,
women come up and are very complimentary, and they only want to talk
briefly. You just have to make sure you have extra time whenever you
going in public, because you know you're going to have to give some time
away. Nancy Wilson once told me, ’If you don't feel like dealing with
people, then you shouldn’t go out of your house, because it's a part of
the business you're in.’ So, usually it's cool for me. But sometimes
it's a little weird, and you have to watch your back. But I can
basically go anywhere I want. Sometimes, people are shocked to see me in
a place like Costco. They go, ’What you doing in Costco?’ [Laughs]
KW: Thanks so much for the time, Loretta.
LD: It was really great talking to you Kam, hope we can talk
again.
KW: Definitely. I appreciate it.
Related Links
This Christmas Film
Review by Kam Williams
http://aalbc.com/reviews/this_christmas.htm