AUP EP.17: Raising the Bar: William Jackson Harper
Transcribed: Cameron Blackwell
Jul 15, 2021
William Jackson Harper: And until equal justice under the law is a real thing and until being able to just move through the world unbothered, especially when you’re not doing anything that requires anyone to check in with what you’re doing and who you are and why you’re there until we actually reach that, we’ve got some work.
Cortney Wills: Hello and welcome to Acting Up, the podcast that dives deep into the world of TV and film that highlights our people, our communities, and our stories. I’m your host, Courtney Wills, entertainment director at theGrio. And this week we’re talking to William Jackson Harper. We’ll discuss his impressive turn as royal in the Underground Railroad, the Emmy nomination that’s already under his belt for the good place. And what we have to look forward to when he takes over HBO Max’s intriguing series, Love Life.
I am counting down the days until we get the list of nominees for the primetime Emmy Awards, and so I’ve been thinking a lot about who I want to see nominated this year with so many outstanding performances from fantastic Black creators and actors, actresses, I think that it’s only right that we spend some time to highlight some of the people who don’t always get the shine that they deserve. There have been too many groundbreaking performances to list right now, but gosh, when I think of some people whose names I just know I need to hear when those nominees are listed off, gosh, I mean, HBO delivered so many truly inspired performances. Jurnee Smollett in Lovecraft Country, Jonathan Meijers and Lovecraft Country. Anjanue Ellis and Lovecraft Country. Obviously, I really want to see Lovecraft Country get a lot of attention and a lot of love this year. Courtney B. Vance was so good in that series, which was also really, really, really good in NatGeo’s Genius Aretha. If you missed it, he played Aretha’s father in the film and it was a really stirring performance. I think that that project deserves some shine. I hope that Cynthia Erivo might get nominated for her turn as the queen of soul, as well as Omar Dorsey, who we got to speak to on Acting Up a few weeks back and I think is a really worthy contender himself, not only for his role in Genius Aretha but also for his beloved character, Hollywood on OWN’s Queen Sugar.
Gosh, McKayla Cole just won a Peabody Award for I May Destroy You. And she better get some serious nods for that masterpiece that she created and starred in and was totally snubbed over at the Golden Globes. I think the Clark Sisters was really, really good. I hope Aunjanue gets some recognition for that. I think that over at Amazon Prime, Barry Jenkins’s Underground Railroad delivered some, gosh, just magnificent performances from so many really talented actors. Last week on Acting Up, we talked to Yvonne Orji and Amber Ruffin, two women whose names I hope I am reading in the coming weeks when the Emmy noms are finally announced.
I’m rooting for Insecure. I am rooting for The Amber Ruffin Show. I’m rooting for Black Lady Sketch Show again, because truly say what you will, there’s nothing else like it. It’s just mind-blowing what Robin Thede and her team have been able to achieve in that sketch category. There are so, so, so many people worthy of all of the flowers this year. And one of them, I think, is my next guest on Acting Up, William Jackson Harper.
You all might be more used to seeing him flex his comedy skills over on, I don’t know, the hit show, The Good Place. And that role earned him an Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series. But now he’s got some serious drama under his belt. And I think that this performance in the Underground Railroad is worth some recognition. It is really worth a watch. It is extremely well done. And Barry Jenkins continues to amaze me. And the casting was just perfect, really. I don’t know that I would have ever imagined William Jackson Harper playing someone like Royal so beautifully, but that’s exactly what he did. And I’m so glad that he’s my next guest on Acting Up.
William is also going to take over the shoes that used to be filled by Anna Kendrick on Love Wife. That was one of the first series that HBO Max unveiled when they launched that platform. And gosh, it is like a story that I thought that I would write one day. I’m so sure so many people think that their love life could, you know, their dating journeys could be a movie, could be a show. And, you know, they did it over at HBO. The first season was all about Anna Kendrick’s character and kind of a revolving door of relationships that she had in her adult life. And it was really fun. I liked it. I remember that I devoured that show in, like one really long night that I couldn’t sleep and I liked it. It didn’t get as much buzz as I thought it would, but I certainly did not expect it to keep going this way with a brand new character. And as soon as they announced that that’s what they were doing, I thought that it was brilliant because of exactly what I said before. So many people’s normal run-of-the-mill or crazy, shocking journeys through dating life is TV-worthy. The most mundane things are also things that feel so unique to us. And then you watch a show like this and you realize like, oh, gosh, I’m pretty basic. So anyway, Love Life is really good. I really liked it. I can’t wait to see what William Jackson Harper does with this role when we follow his character’s love journey. We have a while to wait because they are in production now. But luckily, he did dish a few details. Check it out.
Hey, William, last year, you told us just kind of like what Juneteenth meant to you, and this year we’re talking about freedom, which is really what I think was so beautifully illuminated in the Underground Railroad, was like the concept of freedom and that like ever moving target for our people. I think, you know, the people on Valentine Farm were free to an extent until they weren’t. And Juneteenth is so much about the fact that that was the day that everyone knew that they were free and that until that point, none of us were really free. So I’m asking people to think about, like, what does freedom mean now for us? You know, until when will we actually be free?
William Jackson Harper: You know, there’s there’s no answer, that is going to be satisfactory for me, but I think that freedom to me is being able to engage with the world on your own terms without infringing upon the experience of other people. And I think that there’s definitely been progress made. But I feel that, you know, especially as Black people were running into, you know, like it’s like so much feels much more open than it did. And then every now and again, we’re reminded like, oh, but things are a little bit different for us, you know, and there’s ways in which it’s like, OK, we engage with the world on our own terms. That could still mean that you’re going to encounter something that is violent and repressive. So it’s like, you know, it’s in until, you know, equal justice under the law is a real thing. And until, you know, like just being able to just move through the world unbothered, especially when you’re not doing anything that requires anyone to check in with what you’re doing, who you are and why you’re there. Until we actually reach that, you know, we’ve got some work. So, you know, I mean, I think that we’re making progress, but it’s becoming very clear to me. Thanks so much, that it’s we’re running again.
Cortney Wills: And we have to forgive me because I am I’m rattled every time I see that. I think that was my third watch. But this was the first time I just heard Dan on Episode eight and nine of the Underground Railroad, which were so fantastic. And oh, my gosh, I’ve seen so much of your work. But I felt like this was the William that we’ve never, ever seen before. And I wondered if it felt like a different experience for you.
William Jackson Harper: Oh, totally, absolutely. You know, like I do a lot of comedy and I play very cerebral characters in a lot of ways and this is not that, you know, it’s it’s not that Royal is not a cerebral person. It’s just that his manifestation is very, very different, you know, and I and a lot of ways, like one of the fun things about playing Royal is that he embodies a lot of things that I aspire to. You know, he’s he lives by his own code. He’s someone who acts rather than gets paralyzed with his own thoughts. He’s someone who’s deeply empathetic and quietly confident. And, you know, all these things. He’s like he’s the kind of guy that maintains eye contact, but not so long that it gets creepy. You know, it’s like he’s he’s that kind of person. And it’s all these things that I’m working on, you know, in a lot of ways. And so it was a lot of it’s like I want to say it was like fun to, you know, to play. But it was definitely something that I found myself admiring the character and wanting to try to live up to who he is in my mind.
Cortney Wills: I think a lot of people were swooning over Royal for a way, in part for the way he treated Cora. And in part, I think because of all of those things that you said, you know, he was quietly confident. He really did feel like a hero, you know, and he gosh, I, I don’t know if I, like, curse at the screen so consistently upon losing a beloved character as I have when we saw when Royal met his end, this was just so like, of course it would be that, but also like, oh my gosh. Like just so crippling. And it was so awful to see that love story and so abruptly and to see this this person who felt safe, I think he was one of the people that we felt very safe with in this journey of the Underground Railroad. And he was just gone in a second. And I wondered, like I mean, it really did provoke so much anger from me. I mean, like, sad. Yes. But also we’re on Episode eight & nine, have a pretty heavy project. So we’re kind of almost past sad. And I had already evolved every time into just shock and anger. What were the emotions you were going through playing, you know, these scenes out?
William Jackson Harper: Well, you know, I think that rule doesn’t know that he’s about to go, you know, and so for me, playing the scenes was like I wanted to be with Cora. That’s what I wanted. You know, I wanted to have Valentine Farm thrive. I wanted her to stay. You know, I didn’t want people kicking her out because she’s a fugitive, you know? And it’s like, what does that even mean in this world where it’s like, oh, so she’s she’s she’s decided to be a free person and she’s a human being, decided to live like a human being. And that makes her a danger. It’s like, screw that, you know, like it was. Yeah. So I was, you know, like so in the playing of it, we really leaned into the lightness and the gentleness and the hope and, you know, like the positivity between us, you know, and that’s that’s what we played. And until it was until that was over. And I think that, you know, I think our time on Valentine Farm was something that we were you know, it was like a moment where we all get to breathe a little bit and watched Black people in this story be happy and have fun and joke and have joy and laugh.
Cortney Wills: Yeah, so beautiful. Like so much joy in those couple of episodes like Episode eight, so much joy that I don’t know that I’ve ever seen people who are representing our ancestors looking like that at a time like that, feeling that kind of joy. You know, I’ve never I’ve never seen a barbecue among, you know, Black people in slave times on screen. And it was just a new kind of beautiful and a new kind of familiarity.
William Jackson Harper: Yeah. And, you know, we just had I mean, those scenes, we really just enjoyed being together, you know? I mean, there’s a lot of lines I got to improvise. We were just having a good time, you know, and it’s like we so we I think we really enjoyed as a cast and as the crew just living in those joyful moments. And so when it does come crashing down, it really hurts because I think that it feels you know, I think it feels present. It’s just like everyone like one of the things about the novel is that everyone felt like modern to me, you know, like they didn’t feel like all these old people that their brains were completely wired differently. It was like they all felt like they had thought about what’s what. And this is where they decided that they felt, you know, where they came down on certain things. And I think that there’s something in in our show that also feels really modern. And the people that very just it feels present. It doesn’t feel like some people from a long time ago. It feels like folks that, you know. And I think that that it hurts. It really hurts when it ends the way it does.
Cortney Wills: And it also felt like you knew it, I knew it and I didn’t actually read the book, I have it now and I’m reading it now, but I didn’t read this, so I didn’t know what to expect or exactly what was coming. But it did make me feel like, oh, wow. Like now I know why that book won so many awards like this is about then, but this is about now too the arguments, the people from the farm we’re having the debates, if you will, about, you know, the acceptable Negro. Right, like the good Black folks made me think a lot about Makhaya Bryant and the conversations that we’re having now about what makes us acceptable or not. But it also felt like. When I was watching that joy and I was allowing myself to experience that joy, I also knew what it was. It was too good to be true. Of course, this is not how this is not how this story ends. They made it and they’re on a farm. And then sooner or later, this is going to be a trend that catches on and we live happily ever after. I knew how the story went, but what does it say to have, like, even that audacity? Like, even now? I think it’s measurable, right? Like, if you’re just look at Hollywood, we say, wow, there’s so many more not only actors of color, but creators of color, directors of color. Barry Jenkins is making shows like this with a budget like this for Amazon and telling these kinds of stories. And it’s come so far. And then we also know that that’s happening amid a national crisis. What does it say that those moments, whether on screen or in real life, are still kind of feel too good to be true? You know, like we have to expect that things are going to come crashing down no matter how far or loud or visible we get.
William Jackson Harper: Yeah, you know, it’s you know, I feel like, you know, I wish I could put my finger on why I feel sometimes, even as, you know, when things are good, I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Yep. I can’t put my finger on it. I really don’t know. I mean, like, I, I think that there’s a part of me that is like thinking about the fact that for the longest time, Black people economically just weren’t allowed to participate, you know, and, you know, there’s a lot of things that are just sort of, you know, gently sort of understood and rigged in a certain way that, you know, certain heights are just like going to be a much, much tougher climb. I guess it’s like when you see Black people succeeding, there’s always a chorus of people that want to explain it away and say why they actually shouldn’t be, why it’s not really deserved, because, you know, everything has been sort of skewed for so long that seeing folks sort of make it feels like an anomaly in certain ways. And that’s and it’s just not it’s not true. There’s successful Black folks all over the place all the time. And it’s I think that seeing that backlash against Black success feels that I feel like that’s never gone anywhere. You know, I feel like that’s always been around.
Cortney Wills: That’s the thing. Yes, that’s the throughline.
William Jackson Harper: Yeah. And so it’s like so yeah, I think that there’s something about Valentine Farm which just sort of feels like. Right. You know, this is a Black success story, but what will the backlash be? Because that is that’s unfortunately very common in American society. And and so it’s yeah, I, I mean, I can’t I can’t put my finger on why exactly I have that sort of feeling, you know, and why that looks that way to me. But it just it does feel that way quite often. And I don’t think I’m alone in sort of having that sort of like sort of watching clouds above you just like, OK, is this going to be is it going to rain on me? Am I good? Am I good? Am I good?
Cortney Wills: Yeah. Well, one of the I mean, you’re you’re touching on something that really was dredged up when I watched the Underground Railroad, which is this idea of like generational trauma and that it’s almost like a built in anxiety, like we’re wired. You know, I have at times that I was alone in that. And then you talk to more people and mental health starts to be something that we discuss and examine. And you realize, like, you know, I grew up the little I learned about slavery. I thought, wow, my great, great, great, great, great great great grandmother or grandfather was a slave. And and now, of course, I know, like, there were not many greats there. You know, my great great grandmother is is part of this story. And it’s not very long ago. And if you if we look and we were able to examine and more of us, I think we’re able to see the stories and the experiences of just that generation of just our grandparents and our great grandparents, this trauma and this kind of collective trauma and reckoning with that trauma, like we’re still in it. We’re still going through it. Right. I think as a people and I thought that this story really kind of tapped into that for me. And we also see what the backlash to Black success looks like in modern times. I think we’re coming up on the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, which was another example of exactly that Black Wall Street being wiped out. We had our first Black president followed by Donald Trump. That idea is kind of just something. That we’ve seen over and over in real life, and I had never really correlated it to these times at the Underground Railroad, was set in until now, and that was just one of the ways that I thought this project was so powerful and so illuminating and brutal at the same time. But it felt like a necessary and very well and delicately handled representation of that brutality. And my last question for you about this project was, did you know and if so, like, how did you know that the pain and the brutality of the time would be handled in a way that you could be proud of and you’d want to participate in? Because we know that’s not always the case.
William Jackson Harper: Right? Well, you know, I think for me, one of the most exciting things about this story is the idea of resistance is the thing that’s central to it. Right. Like, it’s not about enduring it. And just like watching a lot of pain and waiting for things to change, it’s about Cora of being like, eff all this I’m out, I’m going to do whatever I have to do to get away. I think that just sort of the active nature of her resistance is something that really felt like it was going to be special. And, you know, you never really know if, you know, the pain is going to be something that is going to be handled well. But I think that there’s something about in this story. One of the things that really stood out is there are no white saviors. You know, there’s no one that’s going to there’s no like, you know, surpassingly good white person that changes everything and uses their white privilege to fix everything. You know, it’s like there is that it is, you know, like you’re seeing the cruelty of slavery through the eyes of the people that are having to endure that stuff. And then also you’re seeing people resist it and you’re seeing people like the fact of the matter is, like a lot of folks, even if they disagreed with slavery, were not going to be abolitionists, they were not going to up in their own lives and risk their life to to fight for someone else’s freedom and on someone else’s behalf. So I think the fact that there are no white saviors that thereby render Black characters in this story a little bit less front footed and effective and render them a little bit more passive, like I think that’s something, you know, that we don’t have. There’s no passive like I mean, there are people in the story that are passive, but it’s like the central characters that are fighting for for freedom are not in any way passive in their, you know, and so like that is I think it balances things out where it’s not you’re not just seeing hurt and trauma that you’re seeing the fight. And that’s that’s important to me.
Cortney Wills: Again, I thought you did a spectacular job in this. I loved you in it. And I know so many people agree with me about that. I’m also excited for what’s next for you though. I mean, I do think the Underground Railroad, brutal and thought-provoking as it was. It also kind of, you know, showed you in a little bit of a different light. And I think it’s got a lot of people thinking of you like a love interest. There’s a lot of people crushin’ on Royal right now, and that’s perfect. Gearing up for your next big role, which is like the lead in season two of Love Life. I loved the first season. I feel like people either didn’t see it. It was really the beginning of HBO Max, or I don’t know. I just didn’t think that it got like all of the attention that it deserved because I binged right through it. I know that you’re producing it. And when I saw it, I did feel like I was going to write that story one day, like I was going to combine all of my dating history. It was going to be this whole series of novels. I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought that, but like. Yes, why wasn’t this show made sooner? You can do it a million times. I didn’t think of that of them doing it with someone else until they announced that you were doing it. And I was like, that’s brilliant. Because these stories would never get old, no matter who the character was. But it also just, wow, I never knew what it was like to, like, navigate love as a white girl in New York. But now I do. That perspective was really cool to identify with and then to also learn from. So I wanted to know from you, like, what about this project, spoke to you and made you want to take it on as the lead and as a producer?
William Jackson Harper: Well, one of the main things is I felt like it used the lens of like finding romance and, you know, sort of the romantic comedy like idea to explore a whole host of other things. I mean, I think that for me, watching that first season, it was like, yeah, sure. It’s about figuring out, you know, who you’re supposed to be with and, you know, fumbling through the dating scene in your 20s, but. It’s also just what it is to be in New York in your 20s. It’s like that’s a whole ass thing. So it’s like I was like I was like, oh, man. Like, you know, everything from like the apartment they lived in to, you know, how small it felt and like how the late people were up and the odd jobs and the you know, it’s like all of that just felt very real to me. And so it was like, what is it to just like figure out who you are and how you meant to move through the world in New York when you’re just like sort of a fledgling adult? You know
Cortney Wills: You see my face, right? I’m telling on myself I totally did that. I moved to New York, I think I was like 19 the first time and then 20 to like twenty four. So, yes, it was a whole other it was a whole movie for sure. A whole season of a show at least.
William Jackson Harper: New York is a big character. And I think that’s something that really attracted me to it. And, you know, in this season, we’re going to explore what it is to be in a different stage of your life. And, you know, because no matter what, like who you decide to be with or if you decide to be with anyone is a big part of, like, your whole outlook and like in the big part of just who you are in the world. And, you know, it’s like, what is it when you’re, you know, a 30 something? Who is who thinks that they figured out life and then everything gets thrown in the air. And you’re doing that against the backdrop of New York City and you know, you’re dating again. And like all that, it’s like, what is that? What does that feel like? And, you know, that is that is something that I’m really interested in and sort of exploring, because there’s a lot of other things that come up other than just, you know, neuroses about does she like me? Does she not? You know, it’s like it’s it’s really just like, wow, who who am I now? I thought that I was this thing and now that’s gone. That was a big part of what my life was about for a long time. And now I have to reconfigure everything. And so it’s you know, I think it’s I think it’s really interesting. And I’m really excited to be a part of telling this story. And, you know, like Sam Boyd’s a great, great, great writer and director and the writers room we have is killer. They’re making some stuff that has made me laugh out loud and is also really deeply affected me. And so I just I just couldn’t be happier to be getting to be a part of this.
Cortney Wills: I cannot I really am just dying to see it. How much of your life and your experience are you are bringing to this? Are you sitting with the writers and are you insisting on certain stories being told whether they’re real or just ones that you think are important for this kind of this character to tell? Because it is an example of a time where it’s like I don’t think it sounds like the show is centered on Blackness, but it also couldn’t be any more of an example of like this thing that people ask for, which is can we have Black actors taking on roles and speaking to wide audiences? Like The Good Place I think does. But that doesn’t start from from that intention. But at the same time, really, I think makes wider audiences relate. Like I said, I relate it to this 20 something white girl in New York on a very universal topic, which is a love life. And so it gives, I think, people, middle aged, white women or 17 year old white boys to relate to this character on his love life. And he happens to be a Black man. And that does a lot for moving the needle when it comes to representation, because there is this whole other side of we’re also just living life like everyone else or trying to, you know, that’s the goal in case anyone forgot, like, that would be fine. I think everyone would be quiet if that’s what we were doing all the time is just allowed to be like everyone else. So I wonder if there’s a weight to to even that element of it, like the racial representation element. And also just carrying a show kind of is like, yes, there’s a rotating doors of other people, but you are the anchor, you know, like you are the main character through and through. So how heavy is that?
William Jackson Harper: It’s it’s it’s a challenge, I mean, like, you know, like as far as like my own personal stories, it’s like we’re not really basing anything on my life persay. It’s like I’ve definitely sat with the writers here and there and, you know, like told them stories of some of the cringier moments of mine, my dating life. But it’s not about like exploring my my dating history at all, you know, but like, it is interesting. And it is kind of like it’s a new thing to sort of be anchoring the show. You know, it’s like honestly, it’s just the hours are intense and it’s, you know, trying to keep the energy up and make sure that you’re actually doing the work. You know, that you’re meeting you’re rising to the level of the material that you’re being given. You know, and that’s something I mean, we’re getting good scripts. And so it’s like I want to do this well, because it’s it’s good. And if I do it right, it’ll it’ll still be good. I don’t want to ruin it, you know,
Cortney Wills: I’m not going to ruin it. Give me a break, this is so long overdue like finally we’re getting you, like, all to ourselves on a project. I really just cannot wait. It’s going to be so good.
William Jackson Harper: I’m really excited about it. And, you know, it’s like it’s like we don’t shy away from issues of race. It’s like it’s but it’s not. But it’s not the thing, you know, it’s like that’s that’s the point. It’s like, look, it’s like race is one of those things that announces itself in weird ways. But it’s not like, you know, I don’t wake up every day being like. I’m Black what does that mean today? You know, it’s like if I get up and I just like go through my day and then most of the time no one says any craziness. And then every now and again someone does. And it’s just like, oh, Lord, OK, let me deal with this. And or do I want to do with this? Because it’s like I got other stuff to do, you know, I don’t have time for foolishness. And so we’re we’re we’re sort of in this you know, we’re not running from the issues of race, but we’re also not like like, you know, really trying to make sure that this is that everyone knows that this is a Black show and, you know, we’re going to do with this. No, if you’re not Black, you’re not going to get it. It’s like, no, it’s for everyone to watch and enjoy. But, you know, it’s like it’s everyone else’s turn to go ahead and just see themselves in Black actors and Black performers and Black characters. That’s what they’re trying to do, that I mean, they’ve done it before and it’s their turn again and they’ll do it. That’s my hope.
Cortney Wills: Yes, exactly. And it’s like a grown up version of this Disney thing. Like, I. I want little white girls to want to dress up like Tiana and Moana, you know. Yeah. For Halloween, just like they do Cinderella and Rapunzel because they think they’re cool that like because they’re being like they also are just cool princesses that are just as pretty and aspirational as the rest of them. Like that doesn’t bother me at all. And I feel like this is representation in a very like chill, mild fun romantic comedy kind of way. But those things, you know, those are nothing like those are moves, you know, and it does move the needle in a less obvious, in-your-face way. So I’m really happy to see that for sure. What else about carrying a show? I mean, it is it’s a different level of your career, right? Look, it has to be already Emmy nominated. You know, you’ve hit a lot of obvious benchmarks for for any actor. And now here is another one. And you’re producing so like, what are the next steps look like? And like what does it feel like right here? Does it feel like things are getting easier, you know, if you will, to make it simple? Does it feel different? Does it still feel like the exact same struggle that you had five projects to go? Like where are where does it feel like you’re sitting?
William Jackson Harper: Well, I guess, yeah, it doesn’t feel like a struggle. I do feel out of my depth, you know, and I do feel unprepared in certain ways, you know, and it’s but that’s also the thing that excited me about first, moving to the city and trying to be an actor on stage was like, am I actually ready to do this? You know, like that. That’s kind of a funny feeling. It’s like, you know, it’s like someone else has decided that you’re ready to try this thing. You don’t think that you’re ready to try this thing, but, you know, you’re going to try this thing. And and so it’s like that. I guess I’m really excited to have the opportunity at this age and at this stage in my career to learn more and to figure out how to do this and how to, you know, to what it is to actually be in every scene of a story. And like, how how do you maintain your energy? How do you maintain the integrity of the character? How do you do what you need to do to in order to be at your best every day? You know, like it’s and so like it’s the struggles. It doesn’t feel as much of, like a struggle. I mean, there are things that are a struggle, obviously, like getting up at 4:00 a.m. is a struggle no matter what. But I mean, you know, like, it’s but I just feel I feel fortunate. I just feel like I wanted to be at this place. I can’t believe that I you know. I don’t know, like when you were listening stuff that’s happened in my career in the last couple of years, it’s like I can’t believe you’re talking about me, you know, like that’s like there’s a lot of things that have happened that I’m just sort of like coursing through them and just doing it. And it’s just sort of, you know, it’s nice to feel like things are progressing. And and that’s that’s what this feels like. It’s another step where I’m you know, I’m not sure if I’m prepared, but I’m really going to try to be the best I can, you know, in the rules that I have.
Cortney Wills: That is so cool and I think I mean, I think I could be talking to you like three Oscars or Emmys from now or Peabodys for you, and I’ll still be like, wow, William Jackson Harper still has imposter syndrome.
William Jackson Harper: It still doesn’t feel real, though. I mean, like, I guess that’s but I think all actors have that to a point. Not all actors, but a lot of actors at that. You know, like I definitely have that where I’m like, OK, this is the last one. This is the one where they’re going to be like this.
Cortney Wills: They’re going to figure it out!
William Jackson Harper: He got us. He got us. All right. You are dismissed. You know, and so but I’ve talked to so many actors who I admired so much, you were like, oh, yeah, I always think that every job is my last job and I feel the same way. But I also am just sort of like, you know, that’s also just a feeling that. That comes with being an actor for a lot of us.
Cortney Wills: I think it’s a feeling that comes with being successful and I think it’s a feeling that is particularly evident when you’re a Black person being successful because it feels like why why me? Like, you know, you worked hard. Imposter syndrome is the one that’s really sticking this year is like, oh, like, yes. I thought again, I thought I was the only one. Like, I thought it was a weird Cortney neuroses that like somebody is going to figure out I’m like, I’m really not that good of a writer. Or like, why don’t you why do you have a podcast like somebody you thought today, a good use of your 30 minutes was to talk to me and you’re starring in this incredibly timely, epic Barry Jenkins directed project. And we’re chatting in my kitchen like somebody is going to figure this out and fix it. And so I think that as as Black folks, it’s it’s so important to give ourselves the the kudos and celebrate, I think, the accomplishments and the progress. And you are someone whose career I have loved watching. I love celebrating. I’m so excited that our listeners got to hear a little bit more from you today, because I think that your future is just so, so bright. And you will you will be one of those incredible talents who still just feel like this is their last one. And that’s refreshing. It’s not all of that common. So I appreciate you, as always. I appreciate your time. And I really appreciate your work on the Underground Railroad, which was just incredible.
William Jackson Harper: Thank you. Thanks. Yeah, no, it’s I mean, it’s I just really I guess, you know, just to circle back to something you’re saying, I feel like Of luck is such a big part of the things that have come my way in the last few years. It’s like I you know, a lot of people get to do not I’m not a lot, but a few people get to be on a show and it maybe it does a couple of episodes or a season and that’s about it, you know, and then it’s like back to the grind of, like, really trying to find the next thing. But I’ve been really, really fortunate in that the things that I’ve been invited to to to work on have been things that have that have really helped and, you know, opportunities that have really been fulfilling in so many ways. And I just feel like I just feel crazy fortunate. You know, it’s like I just can’t discount the role of luck in all of this. It’s because I just I just feel very, very, very lucky.
Cortney Wills: Thanks so much. It was a pleasure to have you on Acting Up. I can’t wait to talk to you again. My Love Life comes out all right.
William Jackson Harper: Yeah. See it again.
Cortney Wills: Today is July 1st, which means that Pride Month is technically over, but that doesn’t mean that the fight for equality ends. So a pride month is fun. We get to bring awareness and get people to celebrate the progress that we’ve made. But in reality, we’re halfway through 2021. We’re halfway through this year. And I think it might be time for a little wake up call when it comes to all of the progress. Right. If you guys know 2020 set a pretty morbid record, it was the deadliest documented year for trans people in the US with forty five homicides in the majority of those deaths were trans women of color. Big shocker there. It looks like 2021 is on track to be even deadlier with at least 28 recorded killings in the community so far.
Even though President Biden has issued a few executive orders to promote the safety of LGBTQ education, housing, health care, access and employment, as well as reversing Trump’s ban on trans people, enlisting in the military and nominating a record number of LGBTQ appointees into his office’s anti trans legislation is more rampant than ever. Thirty three states, one of which you might reside in, have already delivered more than a hundred bills in an effort to restrict the rights and freedoms of our trans brothers and sisters from bans on trans adolescent participation in sports, too, restrictions on critical, trans related medical care families raising trans children, are even finding it dangerous and unlivable in some states to just be who they are.
In Missouri, for example, where I know we have a lot of listeners, there’s already 15 bills targeting the LGBTQ community in motion and they are really moving fast. The kinds of anti LGBTQ legislation that’s being pushed forward are things like rolling back marriage equality, attacks on transgender youth and threats to erase the community altogether. Missouri continues to lead the country in the number of anti LGBTQ bills, introduced to the point that parents and guardians are really worried about how they’re going to live there, how they’re going to raise their trans children and nurture their trans families. And it’s just so sad that in this day and age, that is still such a serious concern for so many people.
Without seismic action, the lives of our trans peers will not change in a real way. On an essential level. Seismic action starts with you and your phone. You have a voice. I know that everyone is tired of politics, tired of elections, tired of hearing that they need to do more. But I’m sorry, you need to do more. If you really want to see the change that we continue to fight for manifest, you have to use your voice. And there is a way to do that, even when it feels like there isn’t it.
Right now, you can find a list of anti trans bills that you can help deflect if you head over to freedomforallamericans.org or the find your representatives function at www.House.gov/Representatives, you can figure out who you should be pointing your messages to. You can call you can write a letter, you can send an email and a phone message would literally take you like one minute. And it’s the smallest little thing that makes a big difference.
Here’s a sample. Good afternoon. My name is Courtney Wills and I’m a member of the City Transgender Alliance. I’m calling to urge my senator to champion the opposition of the anti trans bill they’re trying to push through over in your neck of the woods to ensure that there are protections for transgender children. In our country everyone should have the right to move fluidly across their gender identity without the fear of discrimination. Even if they are a sponsor of the bill, I hope that they will vote against it. Again, my name is Courtney Wills. My address is blah, blah, blah, blah, and my telephone number is blah, blah, blah, blah. You can call me back to talk about it. Thank you for your time.
Click the end. Your job is done. See how easy that was?
Thank you for listening to Acting Up, if you liked what you heard, please give us a five star review and subscribe to the show. Wherever you listen to your podcasts, please email all questions, suggestions and compliments to podcasts at theGrio.com. Follow us on Instagram and Acting Up dot pod. Acting Up is brought to you by the Grio, an executive produced by Courtney Wills and produced by Cameron Blackwell.
