From her dance roots to leading roles, the actress shares how discipline, purpose, and community shape everything she does.
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00:00I was very inspired by the women in the original,
00:04specifically Pearson, played by Gina Torres.
00:07I just, I really loved her strength that she had
00:10and in her dominance.
00:12And I just felt like she was a powerhouse.
00:15And although Erica is different from her,
00:19there's a lot of inspiration I did pull from Pearson,
00:22but I had to, you know, put a pin in it.
00:25I'm going to come back to it because I didn't also,
00:27I didn't want it to be like I was copying something
00:31because exactly what you're saying is I'm,
00:33I also left room for me to add to it
00:36and to fill in colors as Lex and in life experiences
00:40and women in my life that have inspired me
00:43to fill the shoes of Erica Rollins.
00:46Another person is my mom who was a paralegal
00:49for the majority of her life
00:51and now still is running a law firm
00:53where I'm from in Baltimore, Maryland.
00:55And she also happens to be a very fabulous lady.
00:59So pulling a little bit from her mixed with things
01:04that I found relatable to Erica, just as Lex
01:08and the things that she was fighting for herself
01:11and trying to prove her worth to other people around her.
01:14You know, I think that is something we all can relate to.
01:17And so just taking a time to be truthful
01:20to what was on the page and lean into that.
01:23And I really believe that Erica's really an amalgamation
01:27of all of these wonderful, powerful women in my life.
01:31Ted is making you and me co-heads of entertainment.
01:34Come again?
01:34This time next week, you, me.
01:36You being on top of me?
01:38That's a fantasy that's never gonna happen.
01:39We'll see about that, Ricky.
01:42For my first question,
01:44the premiere of Suits LA is right around the corner.
01:47What excites you the most
01:48about the upcoming premiere of this show?
01:51I'm just, I'm excited for people to see it.
01:54I've been part of the conversation for a year now.
01:57And I only can imagine how long it's been of a process
02:01for the creator of the show, Erin Koresh.
02:03So just the fact that it's finally going to
02:07see the light of day.
02:08I'm just thrilled for people's energy.
02:11You know, I wanna hear the feedback
02:14and I wanna just see what happens for us
02:18in the fate of the show.
02:20But also I'm just really enjoying being present
02:24and focusing on what I can see and do in front of me.
02:29And so just, we're filming,
02:31we're actively filming as it's airing.
02:33And so to, again, just maintain
02:37the focus being on the work at hand.
02:40I think all the other things will fall in place
02:41if the work is good.
02:43So that's kind of my approach to juggling the two.
02:48At the same time.
02:50And I also read that you worked very hard
02:52to earn the role of Erica Rollins.
02:54Can you take us inside the audition process
02:57and what it meant to you to finally land that part?
03:00Yes, wow.
03:02So I went in four times for this.
03:07Three of those times I didn't officially have it yet.
03:11And then the fourth time was it,
03:12I did already have the job,
03:14but then needed to do chemistry reads with some guys.
03:17But it was an amazing process.
03:22When I first went in,
03:23it was with Aaron Korsh, the creator of the show
03:26and the original,
03:27and with Dave Vardis, the original producer,
03:31and also the original casting director as well,
03:36Bonnie Zane.
03:36And so this was my first time in front of people
03:40in a very long time,
03:41since I wanna say before the pandemic.
03:46So a lot of our industry has changed.
03:49A lot of it's, I mean,
03:50the reason we can Zoom now is everything has been,
03:55either send a self tape or get on a Zoom.
03:58And so I remember showing up and walking into the room
04:03and just to break the ice,
04:04I was like, I'm just so happy to be here in person.
04:07Like, thank you for showing up for work today
04:09because this doesn't happen anymore.
04:11We all kind of like laugh together
04:13and was like, yeah, that is really amazing.
04:16So just got that out of the way
04:17and then was able to focus on the work at hand.
04:20But it was an exercise.
04:22I remember describing to a friend of mine,
04:24like it felt like a masterclass
04:26of just really stretching me as an actor,
04:30really throwing me massive adjustments
04:34and direction and trying things
04:37because we have the time to try new things
04:40and taking out a line and adding a line.
04:42We were in there for some time
04:45and it just, it'd been a while
04:47since I had to do all of this in person.
04:48And so I ate it up.
04:51I love peeling off energy
04:53and being in the room with people.
04:55And I think they could feel that too.
04:57And it just, they were very warm and welcoming to me.
05:00And eventually got called back and had to do it again.
05:04And I did a chemistry read with Steven
05:07and he was lovely from the jump.
05:09Met him and I'll never forget,
05:12he was wearing like, I don't know,
05:14sweat pants and a beanie to our chemistry.
05:18And I'm all dressed up
05:19in the few business attire items I have in my closet
05:24because I'm not corporate whatsoever.
05:27And we just got straight to it.
05:29And he was awesome to play with from the beginning.
05:34So yeah, it was definitely,
05:35it was a lot of steps to it.
05:36I think in that chemistry,
05:38I also met Victoria Mahoney for the first time,
05:40who was the director of Pilot,
05:42who is also a powerhouse and a fabulous woman.
05:47And so just having the opportunity
05:49to be directed in the room with her
05:51before even getting the job,
05:53I was just grateful to be in there,
05:56even to be side-by-side with Steven Amell
05:58and in his portfolio is what it is.
06:01So I just trying to remain in the present.
06:06I remember vividly that after one of these times going in,
06:11I was waiting for my Uber outside of the casting office
06:15and took a selfie
06:17because I wanted to remember that moment.
06:20And that was the moment I felt like it was mine.
06:23And that moment just popped up in my phone
06:25as a one year ago today reminder,
06:28like a few years ago.
06:29And it just made my heart sing
06:31because I remember that feeling of being there
06:34and be like, wow, I think my life might change.
06:40And I got the call that I was Erica Rollins.
06:43So been on and been rocking and rolling ever since.
06:46So I wanted to actually stay on the character of Erica.
06:51She's known as savvy and strong-willed.
06:53I wanted to ask you,
06:53how did you prepare to step into the role?
06:56And did you pull any inspiration
06:57from any real life figures at all?
06:59Absolutely.
07:02Leading up to the first audition,
07:04I went back to watch the original show,
07:08which I had never seen at that point.
07:10And I wanted to watch the first episode
07:13to understand the tone, to understand the world.
07:17Accidentally binged the whole first season
07:20when I should have been studying for the audition.
07:23But I did watch everything.
07:25And I was very inspired by the women in the original,
07:31specifically Pearson, played by Gina Torres.
07:34I really loved her strength that she had.
07:38And her dominance.
07:39And I just felt like she was a powerhouse.
07:42And although Erica is different from her,
07:46there's a lot of inspiration I did pull from Pearson.
07:49But I had to put a pin in it.
07:52I'm going to come back to it
07:53because I didn't want it to be like I was copying something.
07:58Because exactly what you're saying
07:59is I also left room for me to add to it
08:03and to fill in colors as Lex.
08:05And in life experiences and women in my life
08:08that have inspired me to fill the shoes of Erica Rollins.
08:13Another person is my mom,
08:15who was a paralegal for the majority of her life
08:18and now still is running a law firm
08:20where I'm from in Baltimore, Maryland.
08:23And she also happens to be a very fabulous lady.
08:26So pulling a little bit from her
08:29mixed with things that I found relatable to Erica
08:34just as Lex.
08:35And the things that she was fighting for herself
08:38and trying to prove her worth to other people around her.
08:41I think that is something we all can relate to.
08:44And so just taking a time to be truthful
08:47to what was on the page and lean into that.
08:50And I really believe that Erica's really an amalgamation
08:54of all of these wonderful, powerful women in my life.
08:59And Baltimore is a great city.
09:01It's my second favorite food city.
09:03I'm from New Orleans
09:05and I think Baltimore has comparable seafood.
09:08Definitely, I love it.
09:09I agree in return.
09:10Yes, I think especially if we're talking specifically seafood.
09:14Yes, New Orleans is like second best.
09:17I'm gonna say we are best because I have to be biased.
09:22But that's cool, yeah, wow.
09:25So I was also reading that you have a background
09:27in dance and physical therapy.
09:30I wanted to ask you,
09:31when did the transition into acting come about?
09:33And when did you know that
09:34that's what you wanted to do with your life?
09:37Oh, wow, thank you for asking me that.
09:40Yes, I was a dancer my entire life.
09:41I started at three years old
09:43and I went on to be a dance major
09:45with the physical therapy element as a minor.
09:48And I felt that I had reached a physical cap.
09:57I think in college, I grew more as an artist,
10:02but I had reached my maximum physically as a dancer.
10:05And as you know, dancers,
10:06we have to do crazy things with our body.
10:09We're like athletes.
10:10We're like, we're honestly like football players
10:11without the padding, right?
10:14And so it doesn't last forever.
10:16And that mixed with the hard truths of finances
10:24and trying to support my parents,
10:26trying to support my college education.
10:29I think it was just time for me to step away.
10:34So I actually didn't finish college.
10:36Fun fact, I am a dropout.
10:39And I knew that as I developed as an artist,
10:43I knew that I loved performing
10:45and I've always been in tune with my body
10:48and I love being a performer.
10:50And it was just a matter of figuring out
10:52how I could perform for the rest of my life.
10:55I knew that dance wasn't forever physically.
10:58I knew that most oftentimes
11:00after you're done with the physical,
11:02you become a dance teacher or a choreographer.
11:07And I love all of the teachers
11:09and the choreographers that I've come to know over the years,
11:11but I knew that that wasn't my path.
11:15I wanted to still perform.
11:16And with acting, we have an incredible opportunity
11:20to perform forever until our final days.
11:24And so that is what encouraged the shift into it.
11:29I think I had family members who as a child was like,
11:32you need to be in acting, you need to do acting.
11:34And I did a little bit of theater
11:35throughout being in elementary school,
11:38but I was fearful to speak on stage.
11:40I knew how to move on stage, but I didn't wanna talk.
11:44And so just finding my own way,
11:47developing as a young adult during college
11:50and getting the courage to try something new
11:53and to completely pivot.
11:54And so I went to school in Philly.
11:57At the time I was majoring in dance
11:59when I was living in Philadelphia.
12:01And when I dropped out, I went back home to Walsmore.
12:05I worked for my aunt in her hair salon.
12:07I did hair and I saved up to move myself
12:11and put myself in acting school in New York.
12:13And so I did a year of acting
12:18at New York Film Academy actually.
12:20I'm very proud to say I went there
12:21and tried my hand in New York after I graduated.
12:26Didn't go so well.
12:26I have some interesting stories
12:28about me trying to make it in New York
12:30as a film and TV actor and found my way in Los Angeles
12:36because friends convinced me I should try it
12:39and I had nothing else to lose.
12:41And so I moved to LA and everything quickly changed
12:46for me when I arrived here.
12:47And I've been grateful to have been working professionally
12:52in front of the camera as an actor ever since I moved.
12:56And beyond acting, I also saw that you're a producer
12:59and you also have your own creative space, Ego Lab Studio.
13:03What inspired you to create that?
13:04And how does that fit into your overall artistic vision?
13:08I think the dance background actually inspired that.
13:11I don't have siblings, but I grew up in a dance studio.
13:15And what the studio provided me was a family,
13:19an extended family of girls and boys.
13:23And all of us are just artists and we needed a place to be.
13:28Even when we didn't have dance class per se,
13:30they had a lounge set up for us.
13:32We could come just hang out
13:33and just not be in the streets, you know?
13:36And so to be in this creative environment
13:40and building with people and meeting new people
13:42and having that sense of having the siblings
13:45without the actual blood relation, it meant a lot.
13:53And so me moving so far from home,
13:56now I'm on the West Coast.
13:58And granted, I found my village,
14:01but I knew that I wanted a sense of community,
14:04an artistic community.
14:06And a photography and videography studio
14:10made the most sense
14:11because of obviously the industry that I'm in,
14:14but also my husband and I share a production company.
14:18So that also runs out of EGOLAB's walls as well.
14:24And there's always, you know,
14:26there were so many times where we needed a space
14:28and we were renting other people's space
14:30and trying to find a home for things that we were creating.
14:35And it was just like, we need to create our own.
14:38And so together him and I are running EGOLAB
14:41and we're almost at our year of being open
14:45to the publicly open last March.
14:46And that is a massive milestone for me
14:51as a first time business owner.
14:54And, you know, in Culver City
14:56where I didn't know anyone
14:58when I first got into Culver City and got this building,
15:00but the sense of community that has evolved
15:05as a result of opening our doors
15:07has been extremely fulfilling.
15:09Well, congratulations on that Lex.
15:12I know that is a big milestone too,
15:14especially in the world we live in as well too.
15:17I just want to say I'm looking forward
15:18to the premiere of Suits LA
15:20and I look forward to everything that you do in the future.
15:22Thank you so much.
15:23I really appreciate you.
15:24Thank you so much.
15:25I appreciate it.