Danielle Brooks: Steadfast and immovable, Danielle Brooks is firmly grounded as she rises to the top

Interview by Ashley Paintsil

Edited by Tahari Konate

“If you want to receive that thing that is for you, you can't twiddle your thumbs waiting for the thing to happen. But I do feel like it's better to stay in alignment with what is for you than trying to make something move.”

- Danielle Brooks

Some actors perform. Danielle Brooks transforms. She doesn't just step into a role - she ignites it, filling the screen or stage with a heat and honesty that linger long after the curtain falls and the screen goes dark. Her performances are masterclasses in truth-telling and testaments to her commitment to being herself. Now, the Oscar-nominated, Grammy-winning force of nature is entering one of the busiest and most electrifying chapters of her career, conquering Hollywood one unforgettable role a t a time. Brooks doesn't merely memorize lines; she breathes life into them, carving out space for stories that demand to be seen and voices that refuse to be silenced.

Ashley Paintsil: If I'm not mistaken, you grew up in the South. Tell me what it was like growing up there.

Danielle Brooks: I grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, in a two-parent household with my brother. We went to church all the time, which I always joke, not 24/7 but 25/8. We were there all the time. The beautiful part is, I really do credit church and the amount of times we spent in service to be the catalyst for me loving to be an actress. The whole point of religion is to move people to be their best selves and to be good to people. I feel like that's the same with art. That's the goal — to remind people that we all come from different walks of life. So, let's be the best version of ourselves, so that others can be the best version of themselves. Through the theatrics of Baptist Church, it just made sense — that's where I fell into place. Then I went to an arts high school called the Governor's School for Arts and Humanities, and I realized, like, “Wow! There's such a bigger world than the one that I live in.” Because in the small town that I grew up in, everybody pretty much did the same thing. Parents did a similar thing. You go to school, you go to church. You do all the activities at church. Even Girl Scouts, step team, all dance, everything. I was surrounded by that, and you go home to your family, and you do the same cycle. When I went to that high school, which was where I lived on campus for two years, I just realized people live differently. I was being exposed to the people who had different walks of life. That just was super exciting, and I was like, “Okay. I got to get out of South Carolina.” I knew that acting was the only thing I really wanted to do. That place introduced me to where I ended up going to school, Julliard. I auditioned, got in, and before you know it, I was in New York City at 17.

AP: What was that like, being in New York at 17? How was that?

DB: It was great. I loved it. I loved being in New York. People come to New York to really follow and pursue their dreams. It's the City of Dreams. I was exposed to so much art. When we talked about people living and walking in different lifestyles, that truly was the place to be exposed to how different we truly are. As an artist, [a] young actor, that was the best place to be to observe people. I remember people watching in Central Park, eating different foods and going way downtown to Indian restaurants that were like the size of closets. I just remember getting lost on the subway and having to figure out how to get back. I was getting life experiences, like having my first breakup with a boyfriend and that kind of stuff. New York was beautiful for me when it came to becoming an adult. It really allowed me to form my own opinions about life and my beliefs, my personal beliefs, my morals and what I stood for. I just remember, when Obama was elected. It was probably my junior or senior year in college, and we all were so excited, and we were all running in the streets of 42nd street, because Julliard was on 66th. So, we walked all the way to 42nd street, holding hands with strangers we didn't know and just enjoying and celebrating our first Black President. I remember New York. I loved living there.

AP: That's awesome. You've portrayed a wide range of powerful women from Taystee in "Orange is the New Black" to Sophia in "The Color Purple." How do you choose roles that challenge and inspire you?

DB: How do I choose roles that challenge and inspire me? When I first started my career, I didn't really have much of a choice. It was really about what was being offered to me, and I was lucky enough to receive one of the first offers be in "Orange is the New Black," which truly changed how I looked at what was possible for my acting career. Before "Orange is the New Black," the formula for pretty much any TV show was that you can only have one person of color, one Black woman, and most of the time the Black women that looked like me were just being the comedic relief. Being in "Orange" really showed me that there was space and room for all of us that might have similar hues and that we truly can build the career that we want to. From there, that's when I was like, 'Oh man, I can go and be in "Girls" and be in "Modern Love." I don't remember all the shows I was in at the time, but I was doing a lot of guest spots and my love for theater still remained. I remember watching them announce Cynthia Erivo and Jennifer Hudson being in "The Color Purple" and I remember being like 'Man, I can't wait to see who they get to book for Sophia,' because I can't do it. I'm in "Orange is the New Black." Sure enough, my agents hit me up and they were like, 'Hey, they want to see if you want to audition,' and I was like, 'I can do both.' Early on in my career, it was just this beautiful lesson in "sky's the limit." I just followed the path that was kind of laid out for me while still being mindful of saying no to certain things, but for the most part, I feel like God really said no for me on things He didn't want me to do. I feel blessed that my career has shaped out the way it has, because I feel like it's not really been about quantity. It's really been about quality. Even now, I've only been in two studio films that have both hit over $1 billion dollars altogether. Things I've learned from church when it comes to growing up like, faith, hope and belief [have] all played a role in me being Danielle Brooks now.

AP: Let's lean into that a little bit. Learning about faith, learning about hope, learning about the drive to keep going, like you were saying earlier. Church isn't only about going on Sunday, but it's about you connecting to God, to grow into the person He made you to be. to fulfill a certain purpose. How did that guide you in the crazy world of Hollywood, acting and all these things— like you said, “God choosing things for you?” Talk about that.

DB: I don't know the path for everybody, but for me, when you're in your mid-twenties, I think a lot of it is about discovering who you are now that you don't have outside voices - that is, your parents or guardians telling you, or teachers telling you how to feel. You're discovering it for yourself. When I started out in this career, I didn't really have a sense of self. To be honest, I really was trying to figure it out. I had great examples around me, because a lot of women in "Orange" were a few years older than me, so I watched them and studied them. I studied how they moved in this industry, and how people were receptive to them. Not that they weren't to me, they obviously were, but again, I was still trying to figure out - my footing, and how do I want to present myself in this industry? It wasn't until "Orange" was over. When we finished “Orange, “ I feel like that’s when I started to have a little bit more reassurance as to who I was as an artist. Maybe a little bit of that came from starting to get recognition from the industry via nominations. That was across the board. I started to feel like I do have a place here and knowing that when you are given a gift from the Creator that you can really trust in that, know that can carry you through. For me, that reassurance was like, “I'm not going anywhere.” As an actor that is a thought, because our whole process is auditioning and hearing no's and yes's and it really is in other people's hands if you work or not, but I feel like when you do have faith and you know what you've been gifted, it is not fleeting. If you use it, then you'll have longevity. It's not only just having talent. This business is about personality, relationships, building those relationships and having a good reputation. I've been able to keep that hold that within this industry, which makes people able to rely on me and say, “put her in this big Minecraft movie even though she's only done one studio film with "The Color Purple."' Even with "The Color Purple," | did a year on Broadway before getting that movie and still had to prove myself. I've just been very fortunate to learn from others and make my own mistakes, but trust that l'm taken care of. I'm going to be okay.

AP: If you could go back to Danielle just stepping on the set of "Orange is the New Black" for the first time, what would you tell her?

DB: “Girl, you're doing a good job. You're doing a good job girl!” I remember I had a job on a TV show pilot when I came out of school, and I didn't understand the process because Julliard teaches you how to b e a good actor, but it doesn't necessarily teach you film and TV. We didn't learn that when my generation was coming up, learning how t o act for TV. So, I remember coming on set and bombing-completely forgetting my lines and it was because the preparation is different. [I wasn't] used to having three cameras in my face and all these people, having a boom mic and miking me up. The format was so jarring to this young theater actor that it really threw me. After that experience, I was like, “I never wanted that to happen to me again.” My next job was on "Orange is the New Black," so I came really prepared. That's why I say I would tell her, “Girl, you are doing a good job,” because I killed it.

AP: Sometimes you have that rough experience, and it builds you up for the next thing. What would you say has been the most transformative moment for you on set or on a stage that's forever changed the way you view your craft?

DB: Oh! Formative moments on stage? I have so many. Oh man! The one I would want talk about would probably be "Orange is the New Black," working with Lorraine Toussaint and working with Uzo Aduba. Watching those two women commit every fiber and their being to the craft just really set me up to win. Truly, because you are only as good as the people that you work with. Their level— that caliber that they set was so high that [with] everything that I did I wanted it to be of that level. I remember one time like Lorraine Toussaint, we were in a cafeteria scene, and you're shooting over and over. She just had this moment of improv. She slammed her hand on the table, and it just shook all of us up and it made us have to make a new choice and I was like, “Yo. Okay.” It just unlocked something in me. That reminded me not to stay complacent and to just go deeper. I bring that up because it reflected the performance I then gave in "The Color Purple" the movie. It reminded me of that moment with Lorraine. Not that I had a moment of slamming my hand on the table or anything, but it was this level of depth that some characters, if not all, should bring. You should be able to bring and sustain a way for it not to get stale when you've done it over and over and over again. Just watching the level of commitment through so many Black women l've worked with from Uzo to Lorraine to Cynthia Erivo to being under the leadership of LaTanya Richardson Jackson for " The Piano Lesson" and watching her passion for what we do. Working with Joaquina Kalukango and having that in my arsenal of memory just catapults me into me bringing my best work to everything I do, if that makes sense.

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AP: You were talking about how you love [playing] Leota. What is different this time around a s you're moving into the second season?

DB: Leota is more confident in who she is. She feels like she has a toolbox of things to help her with whatever job she gets next because they all are out of work. Leota ratted out her mother when everybody got fired. So, for her, she's staying very optimistic about life, but she is also navigating the choices that she has for her life and how that affects her family. There's a bit of struggle there and all the characters have beautiful moments of struggle trying to figure out what they're doing. James Gunn has done a beautiful job of capturing how people are so interested in what life would be if they were able to choose another door. I don't know about you, but if someone had a door and you could choose to see how your life would be if you had taken a different path, or if life presented a different path, I think we all would peek through that door. That's what's been so cool about season 2. Watching these characters that the audience have fallen in love with-watching them navigate a different world. I'm excited for people to see season 2.

AP: You just mentioned how the characters have their own personal struggles, and we all have personal struggles. Everyday we're all waking up trying to make it. Talk about how that has played into a personal struggle that you can share in the last few years that you've had to overcome in this journey of being an actress.

DB: I love that you say that “you can share.” It's true because sometimes people feel like actors are open books, but there are things you want to keep to yourself. You're still trying to figure it out and to be honest, I really can't wait - I mean, I can wait, because I don't want to rush time. John Cena taught me that - to stop saying, “I can't wait” and to say, “I look forward to.” I like that. I look forward to one day writing a New York Times bestseller about all the stuff that I wanted to talk about that I didn't talk about. Something that l've had to overcome in this industry is what I think every actor has to face: rejection. It doesn't matter what I'm learning. No matter how big your status gets, you're going to have it sting even more, the bigger your star rises, because those projects become just that, much sweeter and you don't want to let them go. Everything isn't always for you. You're not always the missing piece to that puzzle and that can be hard to navigate. It was easier when I was younger because I was just getting started and I expected that. I'm not naïve that it's not going to happen now, but like I said, it just stings more when you have established your level of work, and you have all these nominations in your resume that show your credibility. When you hear no, it doesn't make sense to you because you're like, “I know I'm the right person.” Then, you have to sit with yourself. I've had to do that. What is for you really won't miss you. There is work to be done. If you want to receive that thing that is for you, you can't twiddle your thumbs waiting for the thing to happen, but I do feel like it's better to stay in alignment with what is for you than trying to make something move. When I haven't received the thing that I thought I wanted, it led to a better path. I may be able to reflect and say, “Okay now I understand,” but that's a lesson I probably will be learning until I'm 105.

AP: You were talking about how you can't just sit there and twiddle your thumbs. What has been that self-work that you had to do - that personal development, that you've had to do to be able to prepare yourself for who you are now?

DB: I think it goes back to the reflection part. Sometimes, you have to sit with yourself. Every minute can't be filled with work and activity. Sometimes you just have to get in a quiet place and listen. I think I'm at that moment in my life where l've been blessed to have all these incredible projects. "Bad Guys 2," and "Peacemaker," " Minecraft" — all these things. It's been a beautiful year, but now it's time to listen to what is next for me. I've really been trying to not focus so much on what the next job is and what l'm doing next and more on how I can grow. Am I being fulfilled as an artist? Am I being the best member of my family that I can be? There's so much more for me to give than just being an actor. I love being an actor. I do. I love it so much, but I do feel like there's more for me to offer the world, so l'm listening to that voice. I'm taking the proper steps and being a student again when learning and reflecting on what stories I really want to tell. That's where I'm at and it's cool. I like it. I'm enjoying being a student, learning and hopefully being able to share that side of me sooner than later. When you're learning, you can't rush the process.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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