Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Rushion Interviews Golden Globe winning ,Lovecraft Country, & Lean on Me star Regina Taylor speaks on playing Michelle Obama's Mother in "The First Lady!"

Transcript

Rushion Interviews Golden Globe winning ,Lovecraft Country, & Lean on Me star Regina Taylor speaks on playing Michelle Obama's Mother in "The First Lady!" · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversations Masterclass. I am your host,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Rashan McDonald. I recognized that we all have different definitions
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: of success. For you and may be the size of
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: your paycheck. Mine is inspiring people to accomplish their goals
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: and live their very best life. It's time to stop
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: reading other people's success stories and start writing your own.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Please always talk about because people always talk about their
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: gifts to their purpose. If you have a gift, leave
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: with your gift and don't let your friends, primarily or
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: cord cut stop you from planning or living your dream.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: My next guest is Regina Taylor, a two time in
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  Speaker 1: Double A CP Image Award winning actress, playwright and activists.
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  Speaker 1: She plays the role of Marion Shields Robinson, Michelle Obama's
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  Speaker 1: mother in the ten week anthology series The First Lady,
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  Speaker 1: which appears on Showtime every every Sunday night PM. I've
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  Speaker 1: been watching it very very well, talking about more detail,
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  Speaker 1: Mrs Reginia Taylor's first film was the made for TV
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  Speaker 1: movie Crisis at Central High, which started Jordan Woodward and
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: when she portrayed one of the first black students to
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  Speaker 1: integrate the Arkansas school system. Taylor next going to praise
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  Speaker 1: for a role as Mrs Carter remember that drug addictive
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  Speaker 1: mother in the eighteen and nine Lean On Me with
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  Speaker 1: Morgan Freeman. Other film roles include Spike LEAs Clockers, a
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  Speaker 1: fly away series which we would talk about, The Unit,
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: and love Craft Country. On today's show, will be discussing
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  Speaker 1: her career, longevity and the anthology series The First Lady.
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  Speaker 1: Please welcome to Money Making Conversation Masterclass the incredible Regina Taylor.
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  Speaker 1: How are you doing? I'm great? Thank you so much. Well,
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  Speaker 1: first of all, a career uh enacting. I mentioned because
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  Speaker 1: I wanted to mention your first role and then the
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  Speaker 1: current role, because that's a body of work in between.
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  Speaker 1: There there's a testimonial to your skill set, but also
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  Speaker 1: the ability to not just hang around, but to be
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  Speaker 1: a part of the process, the creative process, to be
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  Speaker 1: able to make your make a name for yourself and
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  Speaker 1: a respected name for yourself. But tell us how it
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  Speaker 1: all started for you, miss Taylor. I started out as
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  Speaker 1: a later I've been writing since I was a baby.
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  Speaker 1: My mother taught me to write children's books. She wanted
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  Speaker 1: me and she was a teacher, so it's very mindful
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  Speaker 1: that she wanted me to be able to write my
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  Speaker 1: own story right, my own narrative plays a little chocolate
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  Speaker 1: girl in the center of the story, and Bill whirls
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  Speaker 1: around her perspective. She thought that was survival to creativity. Uh,
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  Speaker 1: and to to start channeling that early. So I always wanted,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: I always wrote, always loved writing. Went into college as
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: a journalism major, and uh that that was my path
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  Speaker 1: until I took an acting class. Just about a credit
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: was just really always we talked about because doing the
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: pandemic in the word pivot became a very popular term.
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  Speaker 1: You know, being able to make adjustment. You see your
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: path going one way and then you pivot to make
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: an adjustment. So you went to college, journalism was your dream,
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: your goal. You you dreamed of a life in that
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  Speaker 1: put an acting class. What in that acting class? Ms?
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  Speaker 1: Regina Taylor made you go wow? Or was it a
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  Speaker 1: series of things that happened once you took that class.
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  Speaker 1: But in the same way that I love I love books,
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  Speaker 1: I love writing because you get to immerse yourself into
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  Speaker 1: someone else's life, learned to their skin, seat that their
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  Speaker 1: eyes take, that turney with them. I love books and
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  Speaker 1: I love writing for that. When I took that acting class,
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  Speaker 1: and still am a very shy person, uh bit timid
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  Speaker 1: and in public. So to be able to then give
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  Speaker 1: myself to another character, uh that I am again stepping
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  Speaker 1: into someone else's shoes, seeing the world with their eyes,
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  Speaker 1: I am speaking, uh, with their voice and still my own. Uh.
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  Speaker 1: That was very um challenging, and it was exhilarating and
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  Speaker 1: it got me over my shyness a bit and uh,
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  Speaker 1: just owning my voice in a different way. So that
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  Speaker 1: was that was very exciting. I still didn't consider myself
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  Speaker 1: an actor. That was like acting class one on one.
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  Speaker 1: What did it was? Henry Bonda was at the school
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: Southern Memphis University here in Dallas, Texas. And yeah, and
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: uh he was doing a live broadcast UM from the
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  Speaker 1: school for TV of oldest living graduates. So he was
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  Speaker 1: right there on campus, right there in the theater department.
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  Speaker 1: I had finished a class and I was following him
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  Speaker 1: down the hallway because I was too shy to say hallo. Uh.
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  Speaker 1: And this agent saw me stalking him and came over
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: said are you an actress? I said sure, And she
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  Speaker 1: said there's this audition this weekend off of the freeway
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  Speaker 1: in Motel six and she was like, do you want
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  Speaker 1: to go to this audition? I said, okay, because I'm
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  Speaker 1: no fool. I brought my biggest cousin with me, Philip
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  Speaker 1: uh and made up a resume. Uh, took a polaroid
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  Speaker 1: camera uh and and took a picture. And I went
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  Speaker 1: in and I got the I got the job. It
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  Speaker 1: was starring Joeanne Woodward, Crisis at Central High about the
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  Speaker 1: first to integrate the Arkansas scho system, Little Rock nine,
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  Speaker 1: And I played Minny Jeene Brown, this real person. Um.
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  Speaker 1: I got to embody her spirit for the TV movie.
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  Speaker 1: So that was my first professional job. This opportunity came
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  Speaker 1: from following Henry Father down the hallway in school. You know,
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  Speaker 1: you took an acting class s m U University and
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  Speaker 1: an audition and you went in. Did you get that? There?
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  Speaker 1: Was it a cold audition that give your lives before
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  Speaker 1: you walked in? Yeah? If they gave me lines, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: and I read yeah. Wow. Now you know when you
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  Speaker 1: when you walk into that, because you go from every
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  Speaker 1: fund Now you're Joe and Woodward, okay, which is another
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  Speaker 1: incredibly talented actress in her in her time. Yes, and
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: then you're talking about a very dramatic role, which is
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  Speaker 1: historical but based what were you a emotionally at this part?
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  Speaker 1: You know, you're still in school. What was happening here
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  Speaker 1: with you? Uh? Well, I was just very excited too,
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  Speaker 1: M get to at this experience. Uh was what it
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  Speaker 1: was about. My first time on a plane to go
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  Speaker 1: from Dallas, Texas to Arkansas to the actual school where
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  Speaker 1: we shot was was very exciting. And as we were shooting,
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: there are people who were watching the shoot living across
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: the streets, some of them who were coming across and saying, oh,
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  Speaker 1: I was here the day that the military came in
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  Speaker 1: to escort these students into the school, and I was going,
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  Speaker 1: this is real. And I think it really made a
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: last impression about how art social justice um can be
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: bridged in the work, through the work, and that's your
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: entire career. So now we fast forward to the First Lady,
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: another role where you plan somewhat the reality you're you're
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: you're watching something out in this series. Now, my takeaway
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: in this series is that I will be right back
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: with more Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rushan McDonald. Now
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: let's return to Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rashan McDonald.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: You know we always see the final product. You know,
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: them making it to the White House. There's a there's
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: a role that they played, there's a life there. So
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: you really don't see you don't really don't peel back
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: the covers of who they were as a child, who
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: they were as teenagers, how did they meet, what, how
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: did a relationship come about? And this series does that
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: for me, and I was and and and and it
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: goes he's life, he's person's life is layered in each
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: episode and in different time periods, like in episode I
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: Sold last Night, all three of them got married on
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  Speaker 1: the same day in this particular episode, you know, and
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: and so what was your take on this series when
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: the opportunity came to you and then as you're watching
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  Speaker 1: the series play itself out. Yes, I think it's really
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  Speaker 1: great series. And seeing these three powerful women, uh, from
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  Speaker 1: Michelle Obama, Betty Ford, Eleanor Roosevelt in these powerhouse actors,
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  Speaker 1: in these roles Viola Davis to Michelle Peiffer, Jillian Anderson.
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  Speaker 1: Uh take on uh, these roles and what it is
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  Speaker 1: to be a first lady. Definition of first lady keeps changing.
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  Speaker 1: Rogerson steps into those shoes. Uh, and certainly with these
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  Speaker 1: particular women. Uh. They are conscious women making a statement,
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  Speaker 1: going outside, pushing the boundaries of what the role of
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  Speaker 1: first Ladies should be. From Eleanor Roosevelt uh speaking out
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  Speaker 1: on women's rights and rights of people across the board
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  Speaker 1: in her time, UH to UH Betty Ford talking about
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  Speaker 1: help and mental health and physical health and speaking out
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  Speaker 1: when people were mainly silent about certain issues. UH. And
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  Speaker 1: with Michelle Obama embracing so many issues including being uh
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  Speaker 1: the issue of being a black woman as the first
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  Speaker 1: Lady for the very first time in our country's history. UH.
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  Speaker 1: The challenges of each women, each woman is to have
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: a voids one of being a woman and and challenging
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: what the expectations, what the boundaries are, and being a
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  Speaker 1: woman uh continues to be uh challenges that we face today.
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  Speaker 1: So it's really I think interesting how these stories interweave
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  Speaker 1: different times, different women and similar challenges. I'm thinking of
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  Speaker 1: Mrs Regina Taylor, you know, one of the stars of
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: the anthology series First Lady This Errand on showtime every
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  Speaker 1: Sunday night at nine pm Eastern Standard Time and Pacific.
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  Speaker 1: The thing that my takeaway was that you know, you
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  Speaker 1: do have Jillian Anderson, you do have Fallola Davis, you
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  Speaker 1: do have Michelle Peiffer, But the young actresses who played
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: the roles, Oh my, they were just so I was.
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: I was. They threw me into the series. I'm gonna
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: tell you right now, even before I got to them,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: they drew me. If they if they didn't do their job,
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  Speaker 1: if they weren't magnetic, if they wasn't uh, and they
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  Speaker 1: they got me, They got my heart, they got my spirit.
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  Speaker 1: I feel for their lifestyle, their concerns. They're not being mentioned.
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  Speaker 1: I have to take a few moments with you and
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  Speaker 1: also allow you to speak on them, because to me,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: they're the key to the series because, like I said,
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: we know who Michelle Obama is because we as a
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  Speaker 1: first lady as well as Eleanor Rose, but as a
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: first lady as is you know Betty Ford as a
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: first lady. But that journey to be in that first
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  Speaker 1: lady is so important. And they are fantastic, can yes
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  Speaker 1: all each one? Because you go uh in terms of
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  Speaker 1: seeing them as adults, uh, in in the role in
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: the White House and thing you do. Uh going back
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: in terms of history drawing bath curtain, who were they before? Uh?
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: And certainly speaking on Jamie Lawson and Um who's playing
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: also playing Michelle Obama as she goes to high school
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: through law school, uh college, and you also have young
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: Man de Niro Um who is Julian de Niro who
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: is playing at the young uh Mr Obama how they
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: met night as we're watching. So it's so, you know,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: it's like, you know, black love, real love is uh.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: You know she was his boss, you know, uh, and
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: you know, you know the thing about it is that
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: we don't this we're called pivot that we talked about
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: earlier in your career. You went to school as a
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: journalist major and then actress. The acting bug hit you
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: once you hear the class took a class in acting,
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: and next time you know, you're one of the most
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: talented actresses in our era. And in this situation, like
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: she says she didn't like public speaking. That's why she
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: intentionally flunked a course. That's what she says in the storyline,
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: so she wouldn't be valid victory because she didn't want
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: to make a speech. And then speech so and then
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  Speaker 1: she becomes one of the most pronounced speakers of our generation.
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  Speaker 1: That's really interesting. That's why I say it's important because
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  Speaker 1: what you see here was not what now in her
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  Speaker 1: final version. You know, when you go high, you know
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: when you go low, we go high. You know all
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  Speaker 1: those quotable statements that she said in our lifetime and
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  Speaker 1: become a leader, not on for black women and but
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: but our people, for people in general. Let you know
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: why this series is important because you need to see
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: HI started Hi, I built momentum and how the final
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: product was able to play itself out because of that journey, correct, Taylor,
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  Speaker 1: That's right. Um. We get to see also foundationally where
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: they come from. Um. Michelle Obama's I was talking about
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: her family, family ties that keeper rooted Chicago south side, mother,
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: bothered stable, uh and always also playing this role. Uh.
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  Speaker 1: Marian Robinson seeing uh the strong bond between Michelle Obama
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  Speaker 1: and her mother that she brought her into the White
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  Speaker 1: House with there to live, I was going, yes, yes, absolutely,
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: that makes sense. If they're facing new challenges, new terrain, uh,
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: coming up against a major obstacles on a world stage.
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  Speaker 1: She wanted to bring her mother with her at that
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: when you instabilitate that backbone, not only for herself, when
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: you when you play these roles, you know, these roles
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: these real life roles which you are playing here and
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: you know and somewhat played a character that was built
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: into Lean on Me when the Lean character was a
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: real life role. And and then of course we talked
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: about your first introduction in Crisis Central High. But then
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: our Our fly Away the period. Yes, yes, Our fly
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: Away was a period piece, but it's also based on
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: a life, a period of how we were treated and
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: how people a period of time. These pieces seem to
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: be part of your signature. Do you go after these roles,
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: this Taylor or they just see us this dramatic actress
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  Speaker 1: who can handle this body of work. I am blessed.
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  Speaker 1: I'm blessed these roles that have come to me until
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  Speaker 1: they are in mind, and I am encouraged by this
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  Speaker 1: path now whenever run though I think it was with
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: any One to ninety three was the series of Our
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: fly Away and reason it was important to me because
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: you know, I guess what, there were many black people
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: on TV and lead actors, of black leite actors leading
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  Speaker 1: in that role. When when someone brought that project to you,
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: you know, do you do you? Are you aware of
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: what's happening? Are you just just happy for the opportunity.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: I am happy for the opportunity and certainly you know,
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: uh with these roles. Fly Away was my first TV series. Uh,
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  Speaker 1: and I think on Friday Night. I think it was
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: Aaron on Friday Night. I believe I want them. I
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  Speaker 1: got the script they said, you know, coming audition, and
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  Speaker 1: what I did bring with me. I brought my roots.
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  Speaker 1: I brought my family, I brought my my my grandmother.
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  Speaker 1: I brought myself fully to uh that audition where I
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: come from. Uh, this was a black woman in the
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: fifties in the South. I was shot in Atlanta, Georgia.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: That was a housekeeper. And Uh, it was when I
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: first read the script, I said, oh, well I know her.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: I I and I've experienced her, and I've never seen
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: her fully embodied on the screen. Uh that this woman.
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: Usually at that time, what you saw was a stereotype
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: of a black right. Uh. What you saw were hands
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: and not much beyond the hands, maybe the back. But
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: with this it was it was very special in that
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: you got inside her mind. You knew she had dreams.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: She and it was expressed every day. Every day she
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: would write in her journal and was shared every week.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: At the time of the show, so, uh, you knew
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: she had a mind. That's where you began. And then
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: with that it expanded into not only is she the
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: black woman in the white household, um, and those relationships.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: You saw her at home, you saw her in her
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: community as a woman, you saw her as a woman.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: She had boyfriend right right right, right, right right right,
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: and that's that that that father, she had a order,
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: she had a past, and she got involved in the
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: Civil rights movement right as a foot soldier. And that's why,
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: that's why, that's why, that's why. We'll be right back
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: with more Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rushan McDonald. Now,
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: let's return to Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rashan McDonald.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Your life as a as an actress, as a person
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: excites me when I had an opportunity to set up
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: this interview because there's always a journey a story we
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: try to tell, and your story has always been something
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: that that plays out and it's layered. That's just like
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: I said, these are just some of the stories that
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: movies and series that you've been impactful impacted our lives,
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: especially in African Americans, because we look if we look
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: for that role, we look for that mentor we look
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: for that phase that it's relatable. You have been very
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: relatable to us with that with that statement I'm making
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: is that pressure with that because you know you said
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: you're naturally shy, you're not full What as far as
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: coming out and speaking randomly during this interview, I feel
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: has to be something unique for me because I feel
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: that you know, you don't step out there doing them
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: all the time, but when you do them, you're fantastic
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: at doing them. So that role that you play, that
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: responsibility is it Is it important for you to value
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: what you bring into the table when you do interviews
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: like this, Yes, it is absolutely. I try and be
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: mindful and conscious with all the work that I do,
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: but that's with acting, whether that's with writing. I have
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: a sense of where I come from. I have a
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: sense of UH connecting with community communities, either through interviews
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: or hands on work, mentoring, teaching. I'm constantly doing classes
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: at different universities or high schools or uh through whatever
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: channels are available or making those channels UH. At the
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: same time, I am UH. It has been a wonderful
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: continues to be a wonderful career in being able to
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: make those bridges between entertainment industry and UM. The socialistes
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: that are important to me and UM continue to strengthen
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: our community. You know, when when I when I see
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: the anthology series, because you playing a certain role, You're
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: playing Michelle Obama's mother, but you also have these other
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: to play. How does that? How does that information delivered
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: to you as an actress? Do they give you the
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: entire body of work to see how it plays out?
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: You know, what is happening with Eleanor Roosevelt's role, What
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: is happening with with Betty Ford's role? How's that played
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: out strip wise? For you? Is that important that you
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: know what's happening in their lives so you can understand
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: what's happening in your role with Michelle Obama's character. They
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: shot each of the women's stories, it's ten parts. Each
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: one had ten parts put together. So I did not read,
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: uh the ten scripts for the other two ladies, only
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: at the ten scripts uh that involved Michelle Obama. Because
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: it was really interesting because, like I said, as a viewer,
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: you know, I'm seeing the final product. You know, I'm
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: watching Michelle Obama's role being layered in here, and then
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: I'm watching Betty Forge and her characters, like, you know
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: she I didn't know she was a divorced woman. I
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: didn't know she drink alcohol. I didn't know she smoked cigarettes.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: I didn't know that at least in the series they
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: showed that they participated in premarital sect you know, and
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: things like this. You know, it really was like I said,
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: that's the final product is what you get to the
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: White House. And that's all right, but always know, these
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: people are human and we tend to put them in
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: the in the White House, and we started putting standards
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: and not even that the every day person can live
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: up too. And that's why I was important to see,
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: you know, Michelle say, you know, I don't like public speaking,
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: But that didn't mean that she didn't eventually rise to
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: the occasion of being a public speaker. You can see,
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: you know, she was a daddy's girl. You know that.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: You know she had a proud father, you know, and
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: and had to deal with that. And remember the scene
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: in the hospital show, I write to check how much
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: you're gonna cost to get my dad up front front
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: of the line and get him out of this lobby.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: You know, when you when you're reading these scripts and
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: you're taking this information? What did you learn about Michelle
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: Obama Rutina Taylor? But I've always known she was fierce.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: You know who know she's a fierce woman, right. Uh?
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: We know that she stands for what she believes in. Uh,
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: she is outspoken? How did she get that way? And
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: in studying forward this, I went through a lot of video,
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: but also book was was very central where she outlines
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: her past, her family, uh, the sources of strength in
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: her life. Uh yeah, Uh I think, Um, I'm a
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: huge and admirer believer in Michelle Obama. Well I think
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: we all are. But guess what, we are huge admirers
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: and fans of Regina Taylor. When I see you, know,
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: it's always fun when I see somebody which I could
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: I use the word legend and I don't use the
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: word let loosely when I say that about you. When
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: I can think a body of works that can vividly
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: come to my mind, clockers that that body of work
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: by Spike Lee always stays in my mind when I
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: saw it in a movie theater. And and then you
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: know the The Unit and Lovecraft Country. You know, all
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: them are different for you, all them player role and
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: all of them leave a lasting impression, Miss Taylor, Is
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: that your goal when you get on that screen to
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: you know, when you lay down the work that you
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: want to even impression on the on, the on, the viewers,
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: on the people who are seeing your work are just
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: the work that you're participating in. My my goal is
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: always to try and find the truth, uh, multifaceted truths
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: of the characters that I play uh to uh in
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: this body to um give insight to share who um
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: we are body work, who we are uh, and we
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: are complicated, we are multifaceted. We we are both light
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: and dark and how we make these journeys and a
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: lot of times we discovering this uh, the the resilience
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: of the human spirit a lot of times and in
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: the characters that play uh that that's always I'm always conscious.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: I remember being a child and uh uh seeing a
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: black person on the screen, thank you, and uh you
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: would hollow down the street and say, oh, there's a
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: black person. There's a black person after come on, come on,
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: come on, had to go see you, Samon David Jr.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: Come on, Yes, Diane Carol, Oh my god, Bessie Tyson,
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh um clip Wilson. The list was short,
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: you know, it was just uh it, yes, thank you,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: thank you. And I got a chance to work with him.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: You know, I remember as a child being going, oh
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: my god, what a beautiful black man on the screen.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: And he's showing us as us as us uh, fully
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: and holy and unabashedly with no shame. They called me,
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: mr Tis, I know you're gonna go there, and he
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: slapped that sheriff. Oh my yes. It took our breaths away. Yes, yes,
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: and I'm sure some TVs went off forgets what we
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: were cheering. We were cheering in the community. Yes, yes, yes, yes,
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: absolutely so. Uh. To to be able to work with
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: someone like that, uh and and a piece uh that
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: was a Western uh called a good day to die
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: uh and then to have him as mentor and friend
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: uh is is awesome and I'm quite um it's grateful,
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: humble uh in terms of of the journeys that I've through,
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: the work that you've done well. Her journey is continues
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: every Sunday night. It's called The First Lady, a ten
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: week anthology series. You gotta catch it. Please go back
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: to the First when you catch it. But she's a
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: multiple in double ACP Image Award winner, she's a multiple
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: Emmy nominated actress. She's an activist, she's a playwright. And
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: I'm from Texas. So I'm gonna claim you're okay, Houston, Texas,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: Dallas girl okay, and we're gonna win together. But more importantly,
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: You're talent will forever be stored on DVD, v C
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: or digital. You're brilliant. Please thank you for coming on
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: Money Making Conversation. Mr Regina Taylor, thank you, thank you.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: If you want to see you catch any episodes of
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: Money Making Conversation, please go to money Making Conversation dot com.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: I with Sean McDonald. I am your host,