- 4 weeks ago
Panelists:
Mary J. Blige - Singer & Actress
Brande Victorian -ESSENCE Senior Entertainment Editor
Mary J. Blige - Singer & Actress
Brande Victorian -ESSENCE Senior Entertainment Editor
Category
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hi, Essence family. My name is Charisma Deberry and I'm the director of social media here at
00:11Essence. I am too ready to jump into the next conversation. We'll be having two amazing ladies
00:17from the Fox series 9-1-1 Lone Star to talk about their career journeys and what makes
00:23the 9-1-1 universe so unique and interesting and keeps a juicy storyline. So joining me today is
00:31actress Gina Torres. Hi, Charisma. Hey, how are you? Good, thank you. How are you doing? I'm so good
00:39and I'm so happy to have you here at Essence Festival. Thank you. I'm just thrilled to be
00:46able to do this today. Perfect. And we also have your co-star, actress and singer, Sierra McLean.
00:53Welcome, Sierra. Hi. Hey, y'all. We're all in the fold now. You ladies look amazing.
01:03I'm trying to get my curl game like Gina's. No, I'm trying to be like both of you. You guys look
01:12amazing and I'm so ready to get this conversation started. What about you? Yes, let's do it. Okay,
01:18let's jump right in. So let's first talk about how both of you got into the industry. Did you always
01:25know that you wanted to be a performer? Did you just fall into this dynamic career? How did it happen
01:31for you? Gina, we'll let you start first. I don't know if we have time. Yes, no, no.
01:45Yes, absolutely. I've always wanted to be an actor. I've always wanted to be a performer.
01:51Being on stage and getting to do what I love to do is truly a dream come true. It is one of the
01:59greatest blessings of my life to find myself where I am. Today, all roads leading right here to this
02:06very moment and beyond. It is not something that I can say I just fell into. It is very much something
02:17that I pursued doggedly, single-mindedly, passionately, and continue to do so. It's not,
02:29you know, this isn't a one and done kind of a job. You have to continue to find ways of reinventing
02:35yourself, of finding the joy in a business that is not so much on your side. And we'll get to that.
02:46I know we're going to get to that later. But, you know, it's, you have to remind yourself every day
02:53that you're in it for the love of the game. And I don't mean the game of playing it, but the game of
03:00acting, what we get to do, what we get to bring forward and, you know, and really truly,
03:10because it's a heart driven endeavor. Yeah. And I love you saying that because a lot of times people
03:17probably think it's such an easy job, right? But it takes a lot of hard work to get into the
03:22positions that you're in. And for you too, Sierra, people may think that it was easier for you because
03:27you come from such a talented family. But can you tell us a little bit about your journey?
03:31Oh my gosh. Very similarly, I think to Gina's, it was surely no accident. My parents started doing
03:40music in Atlanta many, many, many years ago. And from there, acting was just kind of something
03:46unexpected that came for China. And then it just happened for all three of us. But I think it was
03:53always part of what we were put here to do, specifically as a family. It's been a blessing
04:00to be able to act as work as individuals, especially as three young black women in this industry to be
04:05able to all have opportunity. But this is very much so a family oriented thing and something that was
04:14not by accident at all. So it's been a, it's been a journey and it's, and we've learned a lot along
04:21the way. Um, it takes time to, to build something that means something. Um, and so I think in our
04:30careers and also where our, where our careers are taking us is, is, uh, is something that we are
04:35really understanding the true meaning of, you know? So yeah, it wasn't easy, but it's been worth it.
04:43It's been worth it for sure. Yeah. And you are, listen, so where your career is taking you, let's
04:49stick there because you are equally talented as a singer, just as you are as an actress. So how do
04:54you balance having such passion for both crafts? That's, this is a question my sisters and I, we
05:00never really know how to answer. Um, because like I said, acting was something that really came
05:06unexpected. We have grown up in music. Parents been doing it for years and, and music is one of the
05:13things that really ties our sisterhood together. The three of us, um, and the family in general,
05:19anytime music is being done, all six of us, including seven, a little Cujo writing and producing,
05:28you know? Um, so it would be near impossible to, to pick one. I think that they're all, I think that
05:36both of them play a very pivotal part in our purpose here. Yes. So ladies,
05:42this, this, this one is for all the dreamers, right? We're going to have a lot of people
05:47watching this essence festival who want to be in the place that you are. Can you give them a little
05:52motivation? Tell us about that first time when you really felt like you made it, Gina, when did
05:59you, when did you have that moment where you sat back and said, I did something like I'm here.
06:04When you were trending and you, you were trending, you were a whole trending topic. Like number one
06:18in the U S people were so, uh, passionate about speaking to your gift and how you contributed so
06:24much to the, um, Afro Latin X community and just about your talent. So listen, you've been doing this
06:31for a while and people appreciate you, but when, you know, I, I honestly, I have to say, I, I, um,
06:39and, and Sierra knows this about me, um, social media. Uh, I honestly did not know what that even
06:50meant until I, my phone starts blowing up. Uh, and I'm yesterday was my daughter's 14th birthday.
06:58I was at Disneyland with three other four, 14 teenage girls, 14 year old, uh, girls.
07:07And suddenly my phone starts blowing up and I'm like, what, what, what, what, what is this?
07:12Like, what, what's going on? I don't even know how to navigate my Twitter feed. Quite frankly,
07:16it's like, I kind of know how to respond and don't give away the secrets. I know. I, I, right. I'm just,
07:23I can't. So, but my boyfriend says, look at this and we're standing outside of a ride and tears
07:33like start flowing. It was very emotional day because I, I really make it a point not to read
07:41a lot of the comments and sometimes I do. And sometimes I don't, it's, it's a rabbit hole you
07:45can fall into. Um, but I didn't know what it was about. And I was, and it was just so nice that it
07:51was positive. And, and I say all this to say that after 30 plus years of doing the work that I'm doing
08:02and really like, just knowing that I had a vision for myself, had a vision for the kind of career that
08:12I wanted. And it didn't, you don't start off thinking I'm going to be a role model. I'm going
08:20to go, I'm going to impact people's lives. You, like I said, at the beginning of this, you go in
08:24for the love of the art. And I want it to be as good as I possibly could get. And to know all these
08:34years later that I've had that kind of an impact is so overwhelmingly beautiful. Um, it's just,
08:44it's, it's hard to describe. So it does two things. It's like, Oh my God, here I am. It's a little
08:52easier to get jobs now, but it also says to me, there's so much more to do. There's so there's,
08:59I'm not done. I'm not done yet. There's so much more to do. There's so many more stories to tell
09:03that are so inclusive. And so that's my story. So again, if you have to approach this because
09:13it's not easy, you have to approach it really, truly with love, with love and a vision of, of
09:21love, knowing that it's going to be hard and knowing that there's hard work ahead. But if your heart's
09:27right and, and if your motivation is not just something that's unsustainable and fleeting,
09:35like fame, like possibly money, then, then you can, then you can stay in the game and then you can,
09:43you can make, uh, the most good. Absolutely. So yesterday is when you felt like you made it.
09:52Okay. I'm in process. I'm still in process. Yes. Sierra, have you had that big moment yet
10:02where you were able to just sit back and have that moment, not just of gratefulness,
10:07but where you realize like, wow, I've made it to a point where I can see my work paying off.
10:13Oh man. Um, if I can be completely honest, I think something happens every day that makes me feel that
10:22way, whether it's something that has happened for me or something that has happened for one of my
10:27sisters, one of my family members. Um, it just every day I feel like I wake up and it's just like,
10:36this is a day that I have made it. I know, uh, because it's, it's bigger than just the opportunity.
10:45I think it's bigger than just the roles and, and, and the beautiful things that Gina has talked about
10:51can come from, um, like impacting people and things like that. Um, because to me, that is what
10:58at least art is supposed to be about. I think sometimes it, unfortunately it has, it has the
11:09tendency to turn into something else, but being able to step into someone else's shoes and tell a
11:17story, um, and do it with empathy and do it with love and responsibility. Um, these are all things
11:26that are, are, should be grounded in, in, um, art and sharing art and storytelling, uh, in the first
11:35place. And, um, we really pride ourselves. I think a lot of us as artists, my family, we pride ourselves
11:42on, on those things. And so I think any, any moment where we say, I feel, I feel like I did what I was
11:49supposed to do in this area. I feel like, God, I feel like you're proud. You know what I'm saying?
11:55Any, any time that happens, I feel like I've, I've made it so to speak.
12:00Well, I want to give both of you ladies, your flowers. So clap, clap, clap for all of your
12:06contributions. And Gina, that was an amazing moment. We were so happy to see you trending
12:11on Twitter. So I'm glad that it was a magical moment for you as well. I'm the happiest place
12:16on earth. Where's no better story. Disneyland trending on Twitter. I mean, it's, it's fireworks,
12:29but so both of you ladies are sitting at an intersection right now where diverse storytelling
12:36is all the rage, but guess what? Fox has been telling diverse stories for a very long time
12:42when it comes to scripted programming from Martin to living single, uh, mad TV, and most recently
12:49empire and star. And now with the new shows coming out, our kind of people and the big leap.
12:54And of course, we're seeing plenty of diverse narratives on nine 11, nine one, one and nine
13:00one, one lone star to close out. Talk about what drew you to your roles and what the experience
13:06has been like working on nine one, one lone star series with each other.
13:11Well, I'm going to say that, um, when the opportunity came up to be a part of the show and I started
13:21watching it, uh, and, and I fell in love with it for all the reasons that you just mentioned.
13:27Um, and then Tim Minear, who's the head writer, executive producer said that I had an existing
13:34relationship with Grace and Judd. Yes. Um, I was thrilled. I was absolutely thrilled. Cause
13:45they're my favorites. Um, not that I don't love the others. Um, but at the time, um, before
13:52I got to meet the rest of the cast, I just thought this is, this is beautiful. This is, um, such
13:57a, another opportunity to watch two women of color, uh, different generations, uh, different
14:06backgrounds, you know, sort of cultural, the Afro-Cuban, the, the African-American, you
14:11know, all, all, all that juicy, just all on one screen and what that looks like. Um, and
14:17it just made me happy. And I've been happy. I've been ecstatic ever since. Sierra doesn't
14:26disappoint. Oh my gosh. She's so gifted and so lovely. And I, it's just, yeah. Every
14:33time we get to, to be together on screen, it's, it's not just being on screen, but it's
14:37also, I get to spend the day with Sierra. Oh my gosh. I can't, this is my waterproof
14:42genius. I'm not going to on this panel. Um, I, I feel the exact same way. I truly, uh, when
14:51I found out Tim, we were on a zoom call and he told me, yeah, so, so Tommy Vega, this is
14:58this and that, um, they, and she introduced Grace and Judd and I fell out and I told my
15:05family after and I was like, ah, this is so cool. Um, I think to, to, to be so young and
15:13to be able to portray a younger, strong, intuitive, faithful, young black woman on television. Um,
15:24and then it was, is, was something special in and of itself. Um, and then for second season
15:32to come along and to be able to, um, work alongside someone who has paved the way for strong, powerful,
15:40intuitive, uh, faithful, you know, women of color before me, I think was, uh, it, it felt
15:48like a full circle moment. Um, and so I, I feel to, to be able to work with somebody like
15:55Gina and for her to be as, as grounded and beautifully open as she is. Um, I think you
16:02can feel it when you watch the show, which is my favorite part. I think just as a consumer,
16:06um, is being able to watch and feel like, um, because you have to, sometimes your characters
16:13just, they just have what you have. You can't, you can't control it. Um, and I'm, and I'm kind
16:20of rambling cause there's so many things that I love about this relationship and how it's,
16:25uh, translated in the show. But, um, yeah, I don't even remember the question, but
16:30that's what essence festival is all about. It really is all about black women loving on each
16:41other, feeling the spirit of sisterhood and for, and, and knowing how it translates, not
16:47just in our personal lives, but into our work lives and into this beautiful flourishing show
16:53that you have. Look at the sisterhood that we're seeing right now. Like that's what festival
16:58is all about. So I just want to say, thank you so much, Sierra and Gina. Thank you for
17:04sharing your experiences with us today and being so open and sharing your sisterhood with
17:08us. We'd love to see it.
17:10We appreciate it. I, this was great. Um, I loved it.
17:15Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much.
17:17Yeah. And for everyone watching, please remember to mark your calendars and do not forget to watch
17:239-1-1 Lone Star when it returns for its next season in January on Fox. You don't want to
17:30miss it. Cause you will see some of this fabulous sisterhood on. And all these curls, all the hair,
17:39all the hair, all its shapes and forms. Bye everybody. Thank you for watching Essence Fest.
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