Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club Morning.
Everybody is the DJ Envy Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne the God. We are to Breakfast Club. We got a special guest in the building, legendary the Icon, Miss Lynn Whitfield.
Welcome, good morning.
How are you feeling.
Thank you? I feel great, glad to hear that. I'm happy to be back. Look amazing, Yeah, thank you, thank you.
You just came back from South Africa, Zimbabwe.
Right, Yeah, I came back from South Africa. I was doing a film in Cape Town. I was at all like two and a half months.
I was like, for you spiritually and culturally, okay, So spiritually there's a lot of mag there's a magnetic force there, you know, with Table Mountain, a cape of good hope out there.
It's so powerful. So I feel very energized by the energy of the place and often saddened by the history of place, you know. So I have to kind of balance that out and maybe not go to the Slave Launch Museum right away, and maybe not go to District six and you know, remember Robin Island and all that, you know, and just feel the energy of the place. Why it was so attractive in the first place, if people wanted it so badly and still do.
Yeah, I know, I'm going to Cape Town for the holidays. I've been to Joe Burgy. I've never been to cap It's beautiful.
It's very beautiful.
It's like a cross in topography between say a San Francisco and a Miami.
I think it's like Miami. I always say Cape Town reminds me of Miami a lot. Durban is kind of like DC.
Yeah, and you know I haven't been at it like Chicago Atlanta.
Yep.
Yeah, that's how I feel. But I love it there. It's my fourth time in South Africa.
Now you're on season seven of The Shy. Yes, how are you enjoying The Shy?
Oh? Well, I really enjoyed it season seven. It was great. I mean in for three episodes at the end of season six, and then I was invited back for all of season seven and it was great. So many young talented actors and an interesting storyline for me.
So, yeah, how do you decide what you want to do now?
Right?
Because you've done so many things and so many things that have been impactful for our community. How do you say, you know what I want to do I want to work with the young Bucks on this one or I'd rather do this one? How do you decide what, miss Linfield?
I don't know when I read it. When I read something and my imagination gets to cooking and I can see where I can add something to it. My southern mother in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who's now ninety four, Yama, she says, she says, well, she'll put something on or put a throw pillow on the couch or something, and she'll stand back and she'll say, I don't know, does
it add? So if I feel like I can add something at dimension, at deeper, meaning you know, thread something through a story that makes it better, I usually want to do it. Also, you know, I like roles that are a little bit showy that I get to do something exciting.
And yeah, I heard you did that with Alicia.
I heard that you said that you were drew to the role not because of what was on the paper, and that you needed to fill that role out a little bit more, right, Okay.
Right, the possibility of it, okay, because uh, it was only for three It was supposed to be for three episodes. So we have the first all the first information was she wanted her son to go and revenge the death of her brother, okay, which is you know, street culture, street law like revenge, right. So I found that very
interesting to me because I don't understand people. I don't really understand the visceral energy of people who actually are hurt, disappointed, feel lost, and then turn that out into I'm going to make somebody pay, because it still doesn't make the
pain go away, you know. So it was very interesting to me to take that journey and kind of figure out and fill in the gaps of how a human being can decide that because I'm hurting, I'm going to hurt you, I'm going to kill you and hopefully that makes me feel better, you know, because I watch True Crime sometime and you know, I love our country. I love but there's a lot of gun violence going wrong. People are acting out in some ways that more violence
will make me whole. That's crazy. That's a crazy concept to me, and so I wanted to explore that kind of psyche.
You know, people that just hurt and hurt people hurt people.
Well, that's exactly right.
Yeah, when you don't, when you have all that unhealed trauma, that you haven't dealt with you just go around, well.
Exactly exactly so, but the journey, So we understand intellectually how that works, right, but do we actually if we were a fly on the wall and saw people move in that direction and move to that and go and purchase a and go and do and all of that. So it's the nuances of it that are interested in me, not just the you know, the sweeping bullet point concept.
Have you ever had the emotionally recover from a role you played and which one took you out the most personally?
Mmm, it's it's it's one that it's one that nobody ever, that people didn't really see. It was a part of a trilogy of uh short stories that was on Showtime years and years and years ago, and with Andrew Andrew, I can't even remember all the people who were in it, but the character was raped and when we shot it it was a rainy day in Toronto, and you know, the whole thing, the being thrown down, the invasion of it.
Of course there was no sexual act, but it really took me a little while to process all that and like release it because that aggressive of act was so harsh to my spirit. Even though we were acting, I had to just kind of heal from it. And that was an unpleasant one and it took a while, and I cried myself to sleep that night. So my heart goes out to you know, women or any human beings.
Who've been you know, sexually assaulted.
Sexually assaulted.
When you hear that in the news, did that bring you back there?
When I hear it in the news, that you know, again, it's the nuances of something. So we hear, oh, somebody was rape, somebody was sexually assaulted, but the nuances of actually that happening to you, your body being invaded, you being overpowered, you being overthrown. It's frightening and it's painful and it's helpless.
Mm hmm. And you've also portrayed like a lot of powerful matriarchs, right. I always wondered like, what did you powerful women?
They're not all matriarches. Sometimes they don't, you know, there are powerful women who don't have children, can't have children. Yeah.
I always wonder like, what did your mother or even grandmother teach you about that? Like commanding presence that you bought.
To those worlds don't know.
I think that's an energy that somebody's kind of born with, and my mother has it. And it's funny because my mother has this commanding presence and she's, you know, in her youth was really beautiful and well groomed and all of that. Yet as her daughter, I know the nuances.
So that's why I texture all of the women, because I was raised by women who have a lot of dimensions to them, you know, who have a lot of insecurities, and sometimes insecurities are all wrapped up and dressed up, you know, in fancy clothes or you know, jewelry or perfume and you know, hair and all of that. But that doesn't have a lot to do with the evolution of a soul. So I find it very interesting to always go a little bit past the power and into
the other nuances of who people are. So they're never just always powerful with no problems with without character flaws. They're not perfect. There always some little missing link that they could make better that makes them not quite the person they want to be.
Is it even possible to capture the complexities of a human in one role, because it feels like you can only focus on like one or two layers of a person.
Well, that all has to do well. Of course, it depends on script. It depends on the way a writer allows you to develop a character. Yeah, so you can't tell the whole story. I mean when I did Josephine Baker, we couldn't tell the whole story. How can you tell the whole How can I tell your entire story? You know? I mean I could read your book and you probably
didn't tell your whole entire story. You know, that's a very specific You can only make some decisions and take an angle and make some creative decisions and go with that, you know, because there are there are if you look at a human being, there are like central events in people's lives that make a big difference in who they turn out to be. So you can make a choice. And that's not just the actor, that's the writer, the director. I can decide in my mind, these are events that
I know that occurred in this human being's life. So that will affect how I respond, Right, even if the audience doesn't see it, the audience seeing those important events that happen to you help them have more compassion for your mistakes. I think understand. I mean, there's so many people that we love in the world, who are cultural icons.
You know, big mistakes, you make mistakes, Well, something happened when you Something had to happen long before you made these mistakes that skewg your judgment, you know, so it I believe that human beings were born good. No baby is born a villain. No baby is born a murderer, And it's up to you know, how they're parented, what they're surrounded by, what they're exposed to, who they turned out to be.
I was gonna ask about the evolution of Hollywood, right, meaning I don't think people look at movies as they did back then. I wanted to get your thoughts on it, right because you know, when a movie came out, everybody wanted to go see that movie. But now I feel like you we don't have that same the same feeling towards movies a lot of the times. Like I was just talking to Charlamaine about the Clarissa Shields movie, and I was like, it was an amazing movie, but I
forgot it came out. It came out on Christmas and I happened to see it on a plane and I'm like, damn, this was a good movie movie.
And you didn't. Yeah, well, technology has sort of changed everything, I think, you know, because everything is accessible. When when movie culture was a family event, when people waited with faded breath to go and see a movie the opening of a movie, it was because they weren't going to see it. If you miss it in the movie theater, you might not see.
It until it went to Blockbuster.
My age.
But yes, we went to the block till you could.
Get it and block damn blockbuster Blockbuster in a long time. But it was so like great because it's a family event. You know, everybody gets together, you go in. People even used to like want to look cute, They have dinner before and the family goes to the movies and shares this idea even I mean, I loved drive ins. Drive ins were great because we're going our pajamas. But no, it's not like that anymore because people have access. Sometimes they have access to the movie before it's in a
movie theater. So technology has kind of changed all that.
But does that killed the experience? Like we were talking about even sinners, Like he said, you want to see it on imax because the sounds and the reality and seeing it on an airplane TV is not doing anything for it.
What can I tell you? No, No, of course it's going to be good. But when I trained to be an actress, you know, when I was at Howard, when I trained, you know, privately, after college and all that, I was training to be on a big, thirty foot screen. It was not occurring to me that people would be watching my image on a three inch screen on a phone.
It really that part makes me a little sad sometimes, Yeah, because I fell in love with movies and storytelling watching things on a big screen, or at least the Million Dollar Movie with my grandmother when you could you know, but this had been a movie and you couldn't see it anywhere else as you caught them, you know, you caught the late night movie and it was playing again. You couldn't just on demand it somewhere.
Well, what's the difference, Like, how do you approach it differently as opposed to Okay, I know this is gonna be on a film, big screen, it's gonna be on TV.
Like, how do you do you approach it differently? When you act.
A little bit?
Wow?
Okay, okay, when you know something is gonna be on a big screen and you trust the director, I'm so excited because I just did a thrill with Malcolm d Lee. That's what I was doing in South Africa. And we know that it is made for the movie theater. Okay, so when a screen is thirty feet tall, you really can think of thought and it will transmit. You know, you don't have two show people what you're feeling. You can simply feel what you're feeling, you know, And and
that's so beautiful. But if you know it's on a tiny, a small screen, it kind of gives you freedom to be more animated, you know. I mean, you know, on a thirty foot screen, I mean I don't I don't want to see people's lips trembling and all that. But you know what I mean, I don't want to see somebody, you know, if there's surprize like eyes. But because that means your eyes are like fifteen, it's big, you know,
and invasive. And I think it's film just pulls you into the experience, you know, and the smaller the screen that you don't have to think about it quite as much. So it can be different. But good acting is good acting. Believable acting is believable anywhere it could be on the stage a big screen television, right, but there are a little nuances that can change when you're doing it. For Bisically, how do you like seeing stories?
How do you like to take That's an interesting question, I mean, and I'm hearing you say it now. And then I heard like one of my production partners, we was talking earlier this week and he was like, you shoot it.
Then after you shoot it, you determine where it's gonna where it's gonna live. You can tell where it's going to live.
And I had me just think, and I personally think I liked the theater, even though I like the comfort of home, but certain things I want to go see in theater. I enjoyed watching centers and theaters. I want to go see you I can't wait.
Yeah, I enjoyed it. I still enjoyed the THEA too bad.
I'm leaving we ago.
You could have went too, because I like the comfort of my home and the safety of my home now with everything going on, I like being home.
I know every now and then. I remember last year I was in Chicago. I went to see Pretty Thinks. I forgot the name of it, but it was it won the Oscar and I was leaning back on the seat, and the seat was kind of tweety, and all this sudden I got into my mind like, oh my god, what if somebody like had some kind of something that I could catch.
Now, I'd be like that when I go to the Madinade, because I go to Madina's so nobody's in there, and so I'll be all the way to the top.
So if somebody comes up there and sits by me, I'm like, why would you come?
All all?
It's a whole What in the world that's like being at a gym and the gym is completely empty. Why in the world are you going to choose the treadmill right next to me? I don't want to you grunting and breathing, you know.
And I like the theater experience now because I'm learning, like how the IMAX experience enhances it.
The other day I went to go see Thunderboats.
I want to see Thunderbolt last week and I want to go see it in whether it RpK or r p X or something like that, and you can you can.
You feel it? Yeah? Yeah? All the rumbring all this more experiential kind of well, we certainly need really quality escapism right now. I would say so. Yeah, it's great to be enveloped in an experience and lose oneself to just being taking in, taking in another story, taking in humanity from another point of view, whether it's action or whatever, it is, romance, sensual, whatever, it's just great to leave our problems behind and step into somebody else's reality.
I think about you're talking about black stories.
I know you're gonna call me Lynn.
Lynn, you know, just Lyn.
No, but would you please call me Lynn?
I can say, miss Lynn.
Oh, it's just respectful, It is respectful, okay, miss all right, Miss Lynn? What then if you're going to do that, I probably like what we feel better, you know? When to Southern.
Born and raised, I'm from New York.
He's from South Carolina, South.
Carolina rais yes, ma'am.
I never would have thought so.
Absolutely.
My family there right now, really my mother, dad, in laws, brothers, sisters, everybody, cousins.
I didn't know. Okay, we country can that's right, right.
That's right, that's right.
Yeah, Okay.
I was asked about, you know, you talked about our stories, black stories. Why do you think it's still so hard for black stories to be told and sold in Hollywood? When you know, obviously we're supporting people are going to see, but they just don't want to produce them.
Now, you know, we could just go on and on time. Well, the relevance of of who we are as a people, the entertaining nature of who we are as a people, the magic of who we are, of course, is always being downplayed, is always being made less important than it is in every in every aspect of our culture. I mean in fashion, nobody is going to say, wow, this is really something that was very much influenced by the raps that were worn by men in some you know, Western African tribe.
Even the metcallamy thirty one million, how much went to organizations that benefit black and brown people?
It says zero.
So, you know, I just came back from South Africa, a country that I love. I love this country, but that the supremacy of others and the self importance of others, and I feel the insecurity of our wonder, you know, being threatened by our majesty, our creativity. So it's constantly a threat to people, it's constantly being belittled and made
less important. That's just the nature of it. Because you know, I thought I would be you know, just getting away from some things, being in another country for two and everyboos. But it is so the true. I mean, I go to Victoria Falls, which which is called Mosa Tuna, you know, and that's the storm, the storm, the storm that thunders. I think that's the true tribal you know, Quosa. I think it's Closa the language, and that was the name
of it. So this English explorer comes the tribe, show him this seventh one of the seven Wonders of the world, and he says, the livingstone, you know, oh marvelous. Yes, I discovered this. I think I should gift it to the queen and name it after Crazy. So that's Victoria Falls,
you know. So it's a constant kind of wanting something that doesn't belong to you, or wanting to quiet things that are threatening to you or makes you seem less interesting, or is has commercial value, but you want to own it.
So that.
I mean, it's the same story over and over and over and over again. So sometimes I feel like if we just keep just talking about it, we're just romancing, you know, like, oh, dead mess. Because I can't see I can't see white supremacy disappearing. I can't see the need to make others small to feel strong. I don't see it leaving right.
And the hilarious thing about white supremacy is that we're not the threat to your existence. White supremacists are the threat to white supremacist existence.
Well, of course, But when you get to the point when we're just even hitting the tip of an iceberg talking about cultural things, artistic things, and why you know, so just story which was so just play could be done and do all that box office back thirty years ago with Adolph Caesar and Denzel you know, and then after that there's still a earth or how you could have ladies sings the Blues and it'd be so incredible. But you know, thank god, HBO said what twenty years later,
let's do Josephine Baker, I mean, how many stories? So it doesn't matter often, like what the box office is that it actually made money, they just don't see the relevance of filling out theaters with more. And sometimes we maybe don't even we maybe don't you know, put forth the stories that move us forward. I mean, there's so much complexity in race, in every corner of it. What do you think?
I think everything you just said is absolutely correct, you know, But does.
It make you tired you have these conversations? Does it make you you know, because you have so many of these conversations, it.
Makes me tell and when we're not doing anything about it. But I think that there's a lot of people that's doing things about it, and I'm not looking.
For Ryan Coogler's definitely doing I am just Ryan. I want to work with you. You are brilliant. He is just so brilliant and courageous and just and authentic, you know, just so multi layered in his message. So there's always always something that moves us forward.
You know.
We got all the leaders we got and now maybe we have a pope, will be some voice in something to speak up.
You know.
It's there's always I have faith, I hope, but I have faith that there'll always be something that will bring a balance to it.
Well, that's something that's always God.
I think, Well, yeah, it's always it, that's right. But God will always provide some new voice, some new leader, groom, somebody that we don't know that will come out of nowhere and help us to get through this.
I love you.
I said you have to leave at nine for the five oh I do.
I do exactly. Relax, You're just tired me.
Okay, okay, perfect.
You know I love your longevity in the game.
I don't think we applaud that enough in people, just the fact that somebody can be around for so long and be so consistent.
Right.
Was there ever a time in your career when you felt invisible? And how did you push through that season?
Well? You were just talking about God, right, So those times when you say, God, I've contributed, I've done you know, I've tried to do good work all this time? Why is nobody seeing it? Why is the continuum? Right? So, yeah,
that happens. And then I have to have faith that this gift that was deposited in me, this purpose that was put in to me, what is not there for nothing, and that the right vehicle will come or perhaps maybe what God is saying, well, you need to do the right vehicle your damn self, because I've given you all kinds of talent to do so. So you know whether or not I'm obedient to that. You know, we'll no maybe in our next conversation, but of course, and I
get through it with God. I get through it with my love of storytelling, my love of acting, of being a part of this phenomenon.
Why wouldn't you be obedient to God telling you to make your own? Like, what would even be the hesitation.
I don't think it's a hesitation of I don't know if I should do it. It's the energetic, the energetic activity of what it takes to do it and to sell it, you know, to see it all the way through.
That's why I'm saying. Ryan Coogler is just so inspiring, you know, because he went all around Africa to many many countries before he did Black Panther, you know, researching, He researched the Blues and all those So I mean, so it takes it's me wanting to put forth all the energy, effort layers that it takes in a craft that I haven't spent my life developing, like acting telling the story, but creating the story like taking a pen and putting it on. And I kind of always want
to be good at what I do. So the sloppy copy, I just feel like, yeah, the sloppy coffee might scare the shot out of me, you know what I mean, Like, oh my god, I get this this, you know, like a blank page. So so That's why it's not a brazen disobedience. It's more maybe a lack of.
I love when I hear, you know, the ogs talk about people like Ryan, because I wonder, what is Ryan doing that you haven't seen before?
Because you know, you know the Gordon parks Is and the Melvin Van.
Peebles and the Kathleen College, the Spike Lee's like, you know, all of these people have created great black work as well.
Well what what what what? What Ryan is doing is taking that same kind of authority, creativity, uh, authenticity into genres that we're not usually Yeah, you know, so that so that's wonderful, you know, So we have voices and being told in all those areas you know, sinners is you know, well there's but yeah it's vampires, right and the blues and you know, so authentically moving us into not camp not, you know, just authentically like this is a real story, not like a shiny costume but a
tweet suit and it's been around a long time, it has.
Character, it still feels black, and.
That's exactly right. So that's why I applaud him. So because we need the new voices, right, we're talking about new voices. We need new creative leadership. We need, we need for energy all the time.
I think Jordan Peel does a good job too, Yes, yes he does.
He really, really really does a really great job. He's and I think there's so much more to come.
There.
Is there a movie role that you turned down that after seeing the movie, he was like, damn, I should have turned that one down. I liked that movie a part or a character.
No, there there were one or two that they didn't choose me for that I thought I should have done. But then you know, you can never name those. You're no, no, no, we're not. We're gonna leave here with just it's gonna be smooth sailor.
I've seen a lot of people on line comparing the role of Alicia to your Lady May roll, you know, and how do you feel about those compared?
I mean, they can do what they want. I think, you know, Alicia, Lady May they have a kingdom and they're not gonna lose it. You know they have, you know what they have, They're not gonna lose. Lady May would not pick up a gun and go kill somebody. She might pray you out of the church, but she wouldn't take someone's life. Lady May is a God fearing woman who feels that putting her faith in God will
help her do what she needs to do. Lady May had a long standing love affair with her actual real husband, even though they had problems, so it was a much more organized family structure. Alicia's out there on her own, you know, divorced by herself, trying to make something of her son, not having much faith in anything, so therefore feeling like she's got to take care of it. All they have in common that they're well groomed women, but I really pay more attention to the diversity in these
women's emotional experiences. So for me, they're very different.
Yeah, I think they're looking at the on screen diva, well.
This is it, and yeah, yeah, not like who they are. And it's not always my fault. I am not somebody who says it's in my contract that I have to have fabulous clothes, and I think home with me when I go, they must be gorgeous, they must be designer. People see that in me, and they it always just even if I'm trying to be less. But did you see my film Albany Road. You didn't see that? You see Albany Road because it was an independent film that
didn't have great distribution. But there's absolutely no glamor. It was last year we won several film awards and it's me and Renae Elast Goldsbury and a lot of great actors. But you see that stuff, they don't. It doesn't stay. I was funny. I was not glamorous. I was no, no, no, so there are I've played My Maid and you know and this, and but they don't see them. They don't seem to stick. They like. People like what they like.
They like, Yeah, they like see But do you still you don't still audition or do you still audition? Do you enjoy the audition process or is it one of those things now you're like, give me what I want.
We just talked about Hollywood. Why are you asking me?
And you got hits on the board?
I do, I do.
I've made classes. I mean, you know, I'm a horse that you can bet on. You know. I don't mean I'm not gonna. I will not I will not break a leg or lose the race for you. I will take it to the end and people will feel something that's the truth. But that is not always rewarded, and there's you know, so yeah, many times I'm invited to do things. I was invited to do the Shy, I
was invited to do Albany Road. I was invited to do the film I just did with Malcolm d Lee, which I have great, uh expectation that it'll be good. But then sometimes it's like, oh, really, well, we just need to see her, we need to see her do it, prove it. And many many, many, many many people. Yeah, after the air and now even the Golden Globe nomination and after the absolutely absolutely. It's because here's the thing, so much of casting in Hollywood and Hollywood is based
upon fear. So like, you don't want to make a mistake. A director wants to be sure, maybe that you can deliver their vision of something, and nobody wants to take the blame. Nobody wants to take a fall. So show me, prove it to me. I don't know if every everybody goes through, but I think if you ask many actors, probably not Denzel or Sam or you know this, it tends to be a little bit easier for our male stars.
You feel you get the flowers you deserve for all the roles and the hits and the big movies and the big shows. You feel like you get the flowers that you deserve. Honestly, well, let me.
Say, I think I'm more in the I'm more in the in the market for like, because you know, flowers wilt and die. So I'm good with I mean, I understand when they say I want to give you your flowers while you I know, but you know, give me some diamonds, give me some things that stick, that continue to to gain value and so classics. So an opportunity to do more films that are stories that will be classics, that will stick around after I'm long gone is what
I want. I don't need so much people sitting around saying, oh, you did so good and you're an icon, and you know on your shoulders you open doors for me. I'm like, I'm opening doors for myself still, you know, I still have stuff I want to do, you know. So the Black Critics Association on me this year at their luncheon, not at their evening big gala. But it was beautiful at the luncheon because it's more intimate and people care. Gil, Gil, don't don't listen to that, Gill. You don't know gil No,
because people really talk real smack at the luncheon. They really it's not so formal. I really really enjoyed it and I said something there that I really would not say probably at the gala, which is, thank you so much for the respect, thank you for giving me flowers, that I open doors for you and you're inspired and all that. But I mean, I really don't feel comfortable when people say, you know, on your shoulders, I stand, and please don't stand on my shoulders because I need
to be laying on my feet. I'm not going to be put in some corner. And as long as I can just keep this. I heard that ault therapy and red light therapy really you know, tightened skin. So as long as I can keep it, then I have so much I want to do.
What do you tell the young actress in college right now, Hampton University that is looking to be in this game? What do you tell that individual?
Try?
Is that your child or your girlfriend or who are you talking about? I'm trying to I just want to know who you're talking about. That is so mean, That is so mean. I would say, you know that it's really important two really be good at what you do to work on the techniques that will give you the upper hand when all that stuff is going on. You know, auditioning, nerves, you know action, you know, everything's going people if you have to have your game plan, So that's called technique.
So I would say, you know, real study so that you have command of your own talent is really important. And then after that, to understand the shifts in this business that would give you visibility to even be considered, you know, that is important. Social media is important. Where where are people finding talent? You know, so figuring out the business part of it and how you can attain it because agents don't even want to represent people who
don't already have credits. And then out in Hollywood, you know, everything's behind the gate, but every audition is like virtual, so you don't even get to there. There is no couch thing even that you have to worry about because there's they just virtual. It's all virtual there. You don't
even have to be worried about that. It's like, oh, can you send a tape where it has to be in by five o'clock, and you know they get one hundred tapes and then a casting director goes to that, so you don't even have the opportunity for your personality to stand out or whatever you're trying to.
Say.
You don't have the opportunity to sleep your way to the top.
No, I didn't want to say it because I have to be careful. Like land Wit Phil was talking about what is she doing for young It's like, I don't know. People take things out in front of yeah. Yeah, so you don't even get to get in the room. So learn the business and how you can amplify your talent, but first, please be good. Mediocrity it's just the most boring thing.
I've got two more questions, because I know you got to go what does success look like to you at twenty five? And how that definition changed?
Now?
Oh, at twenty five, I wanted an oscar. I still don't have one. I haven't even been in anything that would give me a consideration for an oscar. I haven't even been in that conversation I would. I don't know. That was just a childhood It's superficial. I know it is, but oh my goodness, I just it was just sort of something I romanced in my life. Right, So I still have the twenty five year old version of fat But now I just am more comfortable with myself and
I trust myself more. And what was different with my twenty five year old self than now? I think I was much more of a romantic and now I'm not so much of a romantic.
Really, I don't think so.
I I okay, here's the thing. I am a romantic, but I thought that being a romantic about life meant that you would find the best of romance, that life would be so romantic. And I don't think that life is as romantic as I thought.
You are aging like fine wine.
Right, So what's the most misunderstood thing about being a woman who ages publicly in Hollywood?
That they that there's some kind of neutering thing that goes on, you know, where you don't think of women as sensual or sexual beings or real you know, real women. Is stereotypical things that begin to happen in terms of roles and casting and writing. And that's what our black writers do it as well. It's not it's not a white Hollywood thing where this happens. It just happened, and it's boring as ship. It's really a boring.
Be sexy. You can still be romantic. You don't have to Grandmammy. You don't have to anto me.
That's why I call you Miss Whitfield, because if I call you Lynn.
But that's boring though, But that's boring.
Still got that everything, you still got the the sexiness.
Well it's fun. And so I said, if I get this old therapy.
Just keeping e things the mask and now you put the mask onto the red light.
I have it. I don't do it as often as I should, but I'm going to because that would be the only thing, just keeping everything tight.
But the energy about you, it's the energy that you have, is the energy stuff any Mills has. It's an energy police.
Oh my god, lord, Yes, yes, so that's it. I just I just think they do that and that's boring. It is so so boring. Uh. How they the stories that they write, how you're perceived.
Yeah, I get what you're saying.
They want to write you into parts that they think a older woman should be playing basically.
Yes, yeah, yes, they want to write that in you know, comfortable world. Everybody ain't got children, they are barren women. There are women who never had children who are really interesting, who have a life. And even if you do have children, if people have lives, separate from their kids and their husbands and their like appendage rolls. I don't know. I'm very just fascinated by interesting women who continue to be productive and have have a life, and they do and we do, so I don't like that.
We appreciate you for joining us always.
And I don't want to end on something I said. I don't like that. Does that sound fussy? No? No, but I mean no. I know we have to go, but you will always get me talking, and I always leave here saying did I say anything that's gonna be?
You've earned the right to say whatever you want. That's okay, right, right?
But did he tell you that I was one of the early people to make him take his hat off? And I don't know how many people have felt his and how and how it just is amazing. I'm just so happy and i've seen you without and you're very handsome with.
When when you come up here, he starts to blushing and pace.
Back and yeah, I saw y'all sitting up in here looking border ship before I got here. But thank you so much, But thank you so much, and thank you for supporting the Shy and all my cast made, and mainly for supporting me always and always being kind and never making me too controversial. But I was saying, maybe I need more controversy because then you don't think you.
Don't want to be contrived.
That's why I'm glad what you I don't know if he was trying to do that, but contrived contriversy like contrived controversy.
You don't need that.
I don't, right, I can't even do it. I know I can't. But you know, the people who do, they find them. Come on, see, I don't agree with that.
I don't agree with that.
I feel like the people who are actually good because you said that earlier, make sure you're good. You're actually good. Everybody knows that you're you're great. I think that's it hurts to say, but it's a lost art of being great. But anytime you're doing art, you should be being great. I don't have a lot of great people out here.
Yeah, or at least trying. You know, we can make mistakes and do a sloppy copy and maybe it didn't work, but keep working at it and getting down to you want to act.
No, I'm actually going to be I'm producing.
You're producing.
I like producing.
Okay, that's good. I could see that.
What about you I did before. But I'm good, You're good. I'm good.
I know it's a lot of work. It's hard to work. It's a lot of work. Well, you won't thank you so much.
Season seven of the Shot is streaming now, Miss lynd Wit Phil, thank you so much.
You're quite welcome. Thank you for having me wake that ass up in the morning.
The Breakfast Club