Christina Elmore on playing Condola in ‘Insecure’: ‘It’s such an exciting blessing’
The actress also opened up about working on Lena Waithe's 'Twenties', which she calls "quietly revolutionary"
On the latest episode of TheGrio‘s Acting Up podcast, Insecure‘s Christina Elmore broke down her journey throughout Hollywood, playing Condola on the HBO hit Insecure and more.
As Insecure fans know, no one is stirring it up drama-wise on the series than Condola. During season 4’s climactic finale, Condola revealed to Lawrence (Jay Ellis), who recently reconciled with the lead character Issa (Issa Rae), that she was pregnant with his child. Season 5 has since followed the fallout of this reveal, with the latest episode diving into Condola and Lawrence’s relationship as they attempt to co-parent their child.
Elmore was introduced to the series later in its run and revealed to theGrio‘s Cortney Wills that she understood some of the fan apprehension to her character.
“It can feel like when a new friend comes into a friend group,” she explained regarding Condola’s introduction in season 3. “Even for me, as a fan of the show, it was like, ‘Um are you about to mess up the energy? What kind of vibes are you bringing? Who are you replacing?'”
She also spoke to her character’s polarizing nature, and how it’s evolved since she joined the series.
She quipped, “I think people did like her…and then, I mean the baby!” As for Elmore herself, she loves Condola. “I love Condola though…I like that she is the adult in the room, I like that she moves with confidence and grace, but is also very honest and clear. I think she had a couple moments where she forgot to, um, help Issa along the way, but for the most part I think she’s kind and generous and happened to have sex with her boyfriend at the time and got pregnant!”
Insecure‘s legions of fans, of course, have plenty to say about Condola and the series at large, especially online. Coming into a show with such a dedicated following, Elmore revealed, was “such an exciting blessing.”
She told us, “I didnt know that the role would grow to what it is, so I thought that I was just coming on for two episodes at the end of season 3…it was already one of my favorite shows to watch so I was like, ‘Yay I’m happy to be here!'”
Elmore also stars in Lena Withe‘s Twenties on BET, which she explained is also “quietly revolutionary” for television, as the show centers a masculine presenting queer woman. “How cool that we can watch her story, and she can be authentically the person that she is and have these two straight friends…we’re not having to hold up some sign and banner, you can laugh with us as we get into some shenanigans.”
She added, “that feels lowkey revolutionary.”
Elmore opened up about her career, navigating Hollywood, and more on the latest episode of Acting Up, which is available to stream now.
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