00:00The goal is to get to keep playing roles that are creative and stretch the imagination for sure,
00:06but that also show the range that truthfully exists within our expression of Black womanhood,
00:16of Black girlhood, you know, because we are all absolutely different. And I think the unifying
00:22thing comes through with the power that exists in the things that are shared and that are
00:28undeniable. But once we've got that on lock, it's like now we can have fun.
00:36Where did my journey as a Black woman in Hollywood begin?
00:43I think my journey begins on the streets of Brooklyn Heights with my mom, who actually just left.
00:52Um, she was a babysitter in that neighborhood for the majority of my childhood up until I went to
01:00college truly. And I remember all of the homes of the kids that she used to babysit is where I would
01:06be before after school. And she would always tell me like, yes, pay attention to the stark contrast
01:15between where we are and where you live, but that this is a possibility for you to like a life that
01:21looks nothing like the one you're living is also within your reach. You know, it's just up to you to
01:26make that decision and go after it. And so I think me being able to visualize like any dream that is
01:34being realized now is a product of her opening my mind up in that way.
01:42I say it was at high school, like in my mind, wanting to become an actor started when I had to
01:50apply to high schools, because that's the first time that I said, yes, this is what I want to do.
01:54I only want to go to performing arts schools. Um, but the more I talk to family, the more they remind
02:03me, I suppose, that this has been something that I've been interested in since I was a child.
02:10Oh man, I remember, I remember feeling in my spirit first, that it was mine. Like I remember feeling
02:18that hunger for it that I hadn't felt for any other audition that I had done like to date. Um, I was just
02:29so convicted, I guess, by the fact that this was James Baldwin's words. This would be like the first
02:39film adaptation of, um, what is truly like a love story that this was set in New York City. There were
02:48so many, so many, so many points at the time that resonated with me that I wanted so desperately
02:56to be a part of, or to contribute to in some way. That was my first film, uh, after graduating Cornell.
03:03So I was truly in a bit of a debate between what I felt were my obligations at the time, which was to
03:14ensure that I could, in my mind, I'm feeling like I need to be self-sufficient as a college graduate.
03:21Like I can't graduate school and go back to my parents' house with nothing to show for it.
03:26Do you know what I mean? And so, um, I was looking into like, um, traditional forms of employment at the
03:35time. And I had just come back from Chicago, uh, finishing like the final rounds of interviews
03:42for a company out there. Um, and I was being told that the offer letter was on the way.
03:48And this was like the week of graduation. And at the same time, a professor in the
03:55performing and media arts department, his name is Godfrey. He asked if we could sit down for coffee
04:01before I graduate. I had done one play with him my freshman year, because of course I came in hot
04:07and ready for the stage. And so he had directed my first play that I did at Cornell. Um, then I took
04:16one of his classes, I think the following, two of his classes the following year. Um, and I kind of
04:20disappeared after that, um, for the sake of my degree, focusing on what I came to Cornell to do actually.
04:27Um, but during that meeting, he sort of spoke to the Dominique that he met as a freshman who came in
04:36all bright eye and bushy tailed and overflowing with joy for performance in this way. Um, and he spoke
04:44about how he felt when he, I guess, when his experience at the university and in that department met
04:52like my newness as a, as a new student, um, and speaking about how convicted he was by the passion
04:58that I had. Um, but also how understanding he was of the fact that I wanted to pursue or to focus on
05:05then what were my obligations. And so hearing me talk about these new obligations that I've named,
05:12he asked me if I wasn't, uh, deferring yet again, my dreams for some supposed responsibility.
05:23First offer ever for TV or film, which in itself is sort of a, I don't know, it's a little, it's a
05:30little mystifying experience because then you start, and especially when it's a role of this
05:37supposed grandeur or scale, then you start to think about, you know, do I deserve this? Did I earn this?
05:46You know, all the imposter things start to creep into your mind. Um, and also all the reasons to like,
05:53to hesitate or to be nervous about, um, if, if you're truly capable, do you know what I mean?
05:58Um, and those are all very real things, but I think the overwhelming feeling or the prevailing
06:07feeling for me, uh, when I did get that phone call was more so in line with like,
06:12the way that I think I've decided to like, live my life.
06:20Never in my life knowing what it is to, to be on like a blue screen or a harness and flying and all
06:28these things that were definitely tripping me out for like the first few days. I'd say definitely
06:35until like week two was feeling real like, Oh, okay. Are you sure this is what you want? Okay.
06:44Not really super confident in what we're giving, but trusting again, the plan, the vision, um, and the
06:51creators behind it and leaning on, on them and their eye and the fact that they know what the end goal
06:58is. Um, and I think the more I was able to sort of relax into that and just sit and be inspired by
07:07the other actors that I'm getting the opportunity to dance with. It's like, now you can start to play.
07:12Now you can start to take risks and have fun. Now you can start to push yourself in different ways,
07:17you know, and also really just explore and see what I could find because I wasn't getting the
07:25opportunity to do a deep dive into Riri at that point, the way that I was then able to do in the series.
07:32Who is Dominique Thorne in the future? I don't know any answers from the audience.
07:39Let's see. I say homegirl is grounded. She is truly rooted in all that she is because as much as I,
07:46I think a lot of where I am now is like in a deep pocket of like gratitude and presence. Um,
07:55but it's also very aspirational, you know? So I say Dominique of the future is rooted in all of the
08:01values that we spoke about here today. All of the things that I respect in the women that I've watched,
08:07uh, and, and gotten to see up close. I think she is, is confident in what she has to offer.
08:15And that allows for, I don't know, a whole fountain of, of love and creativity in, in,
08:28in different forms of, of storytelling to, to pour out in a genuine way.
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