Devine Inspiration
Perhaps you first saw Loretta Devine in the 1978 production, “A Broadway Musical”, or maybe it was as Lorrell Robinson, the role she originated in the Broadway showstopper “Dreamgirls”. No? Well you can pretty much take your pick of characters from countless movies, television shows, or plays. In film, Devine has appeared in Waiting to Exhale, The Preacher’s Wife, I Am Sam, Urban Legend, Crash, Woman Thou Art Loosed, For Colored Girls, This Christmas, Jumping the Broom , and the list goes on and on. She is equally known for her work on the small screen in roles like Marla Hendricks in the Fox drama, Boston Public, and Adele Webber in Shonda Rhimes’ Grey’s Anatomy, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2012.
The truth is, Loretta Devine has been a fixture in Hollywood for over thirty years now. As most actresses suffer a decline in roles as time goes by, Devine has managed to flip the script per se, and turn the tide in her favor. Lately, she has been busier than ever accepting role after role in some very highly acclaimed films and television shows. Most notably, as CeCe McDonald in last season’s “Being Mary Jane” on BET, then as Jerrod Carmichael’s mother on NBC’s “Carmichael Show”.
The character of CeCe, was definitely as controversial as any we have seen not just lately, but ever. Truth be told, CeCe was originally written for a man. The only change in dialogue for switching the gender of the character was in the pronouns used, replacing he with she, or him for her. “It definitely was a challenge, mostly because of the language of the role. CeCe is well-spoken and has a lot to say about everything”, said Loretta. “The amount of lines per episode was just incredible, and also because it was a role that was written for a male. Last minute they decided they were going to have a woman do it, and the only changes they made were the pronouns in the dialogue”.
Having played a great deal of wives, girlfriends and mothers, not only was this role a challenge for the veteran actress, but it was also a big departure. She explains, “I usually play someone’s mom or someone’s wife, where I answer questions like, “Are we going to dinner?” So I got to see how it feels to be a big character in a show when you get to be a man… a scary, dominating character.” On top of having to really be on top of her game for this role, she explains that there was also an added bit of pressure to deal with week to week. “Every episode had a different director, which sometimes made the style of things change. Some I had worked with, and others I hadn’t. Regina King directed one episode, and when I had last worked with her, she played my daughter in This Christmas. It was a great experience to have her direct me after playing her mom and bossing her around”, she laughs.
Cut to a total 180 degree shift for her next role as Mrs. Carmichael, the loving, soft-spoken, but take no nonsense matriarch Cynthia, on the “Carmichael Show”. However, this only speaks to the versatility of Devine’s range as an actress. Also, she says the entire cast has to really be quick and ready at all times on set. “We really trust the quirkiness that Jerrod puts in. I mean, when he hits a topic, you go, I never even thought of it from that left-sided angle that he’s putting on it. Then you go, yeah, that could be true.” She also says ” What we start with at the table read … by the time we get to the actual shooting of the show five days later, there may be parts of the same thing, but totally different of the way it’s put together. When we present it to the audience, we’ve had audiences that laugh so hard, we couldn’t use the particular takes.”
When Quiet on the Set Magazine caught up with Loretta, she was at the Urbanworld Film Festival in NYC promoting a feature film “Chapter & Verse” also starring Daniel Beaty, Omari Hardwick, and Selenis Leyva. The film, directed by Jamal Joseph, is about a former gang leader who returns home after eight years of incarceration with the determination to change his life. In this powerfully thought provoking film, Devine portrays Ms. Maddy, a 60 year old, strong and spirited grandmother, who’s 15 year old grandson-a promising student and artist who has become involved in a dangerous Harlem street gang. She delivers a very impactful performance in the role.
Recently, at the NAACP Image Awards, when asked about the diversity issue, or lack thereof in Hollywood, Loretta Devine had this to say. “I think you want the mix and the diversity in things you look at. How else will you know what is and isn’t beautiful or good? I think everyone has to be included. Because America is what it is, it is so very important that everyone feels they can get to the dream. The Oscar is a big part of that dream.”
Loretta has been dreaming for quite a while, and fortunately for her, she has seen many of those dreams realized. She has plenty of irons in the fire, and has no plans to slow down anytime soon. When asked what’s next for her, she took a big breath and said, “What’s next? I don’t know, I’m just enjoying this time. Hopefully, my next project will be something new and exciting. I can’t wait, whatever it is.”
Meanwhile, look for Ms. Devine Sunday nights on NBC in season two of the Carmichael Show. We’ll be watching.
Darryl Rembert
