UP IN THE AIR
An Interview with Tamala Jones
by Wilson Morales


December 3, 2009




It wasn't that long ago when actress Tamala Jones, who's most notably recognized in urban films such as 'Booty Call,' 'The Wood,' and 'Two Can Play That Game,' revealed that she went through some physical changes to secure a job and later regretted that decision.

Things seems to be pretty rosy these days for the Pasadena, California actress as she sees dead people as a medical examiner on the ABC medical drama 'Castle,' which is doing well in the ratings.

She will also be seen in a film that most are saying is the best film of 2009.

How did last night go?

Tamala Jones: Oh my God. Last night was beautiful. They all were great, everybody in the movie was fantastic, and I love the director, Jason Reitman. He is an amazing person, and to be so young and so grounded and well rounded. He’s 27-years-old!

So what attracted you to the film? Tamala Jones: George Clooney and Jason Reitman. (laughs) It was time for me to start playing with the big boys. I don’t care how small the role is, I need to be seen with these guys. These are the guys who are getting films greenlit. I’ve been doing Black Hollywood, if you will, for a very long time and I said, “I have to start all over now.” I have to start letting people see what I can do other than comedy. I love Karen Barnes because most of the movie is fun but when you get to her you want to laugh but you don’t know if she is quite serious in saying what she’s going to do, and she was.

You’ve done a lot of films and TV, but would you say this is your biggest exposure to date?

TJ: I would say so! It cuts to all the audience, not just one in particular. Everybody loves George Clooney, everyone loves a great movie.

Without giving too much away regarding the plotline, how would you describe your character?

TJ: She’s one of those people that takes life a little too seriously. She has pushed herself, she’s worked hard, she has goals she’s achieved. Up until the point she gets fired things were going to plan. She’s been promoted, she’s now running the violin company, she has a great office, now she’s told she’s being let go? She was gonna get married at 35, start having kids at 40. She’s mapped out her life and this is something that’s not in her plan.

As an actor you, like everybody else, go through spurts of unemployment. How do you deal with that? TJ: It is turmoil. I don’t like just sitting around not doing anything. When the writer’s strike came you had no choice, you couldn’t do anything. If you did you’d be fined. There really wasn’t anything to do. It’s hard going on auditions waiting to hear if you got the job or not. I was sitting around for hours doing nothing. I found myself cooking for my friends, just trying to do things. Your character is obviously a colorless role, but as a black actress there’s obviously bouts of unemployment, because unless the role calls for a black actress the roles are not there. TJ: They’re not. What I decided to do, and I can’t take all the credit. I got together with my manager Danielle Allman-Del and my agent Barry McPhearson, and strategized. “Okay, the work is not there for the black actresses, where do we go from here?” Barry was like, “We can get you parts for everything, no matter what the color is, we just need to check with the casting people and make sure they’re game for that. We need to think outside the box.” I was like, let’s do that! Send me out for the role, I’ll make it work. The last two roles I got were like that, the role I play on “Castle” was not written for a black actress. They checked with the casting person and I’d auditioned for her several times, and she said, “okay, let’s see what happens, I’ll bring her in.” And I got it! It’s really about the relationships you have, and not just with actors or producers. The casting director you have to keep a good rapport with as well because they’re the ones who call you in, they’re the ones who say, “Okay, I’ll see her.” The casting directors are key.

How was working with George and Anna?

TJ: Anna is just blossoming as an actress. She’s gonna be huge. I look at her as a Jodie Foster type. She’s not only funny, she can be serious, she’s absolutely stunning to me, and she’s got a great energy about herself. Not jaded at all, very humble, and I can honestly say the same thing for George. I worked with him on “ER” back in the day. I played Eriq La Salle’s niece, and he remembered. He remembered working with me and that was so long ago! I was playing this 13-year-old at 19-years-old and he remembered, and that made me feel so good, and he’s so charming and so wonderful to be around. You look at a huge star like him who’s had all this success. You see he is the same from “ER”, he’s probably the same from his childhood. I didn’t know him that long. Sometimes you run into people who are just getting started in Hollywood, they’ve got a little bite, and they’re just mean and kind of arrogant, and you’re like, “Wow, I just finished working with someone way way higher up on the totem pole and they’re nothing like this.” I love George Clooney, and he’s not hard to look at. (laughs) He’s an amazing man.

How’s the TV show going?

TJ: The ratings keep going up and up, and I have to thank all of my fans who keep writing into the show because the producers heard you guys and they’re starting to write more of my character onto the show. I was happy, because first of all Lanie was not a series regular, they made me one. Two, she was not written for a black woman, they took a chance on me and they loved what I did. I was just happy to be employed and be on a great show, but the fans wrote in and the producers have heard so you can see me more often!

That’s great. Which do you like more, doing TV shows or film?

TJ: I like both. If it was a perfect world for me I would do my TV show, full season, and then go do two movies in my downtime then go back to doing my shows. It’s two different worlds. With TV you’re in people’s living rooms every week and people see you, people who don’t go to movies on the regular watch. I’ve been different places and people are like “Oh, you’re that actor on that show!” It’s a great feeling. The movie people when they recognize you want to know when you’re doing another movie. I’m like, “Hold on, guys, I’m coming.” It’s different, but they’re both great feelings. Movies are a bigger arena than television, but television is starting to take over because you have all those A-list actors from the movies coming into television. It’s starting to even-out a little bit.

This is a big year for you. You’ve got a TV show that’s starting to blow up, you’ve got a film that urban folks can see you in, and now you’ve got a film that will probably be nominated for best picture. You were also on a magazine cover talking about your personal life. How do you stay calm in all this? TJ: My secret is family. Family and real friends that have nothing to do with the business, have known me forever. They don’t care about the glitz and glamour, they care about your well-being and how you’re accepting life and if you’re happy and all the things that happen in an average life. To have those people around you, accepting you, making sure you’re good. Making calls, wishing birthdays, hanging out, spending time with your grandmother, that is the best. It helps me enjoy everything that is going on around me. They really are happy for you, and they really are rooting for your success. They want you to be the best that you can be. I wear a wig on “Castle”, and for awhile the wig wasn’t good. They had to bring in another hairdresser to put it together to make it good. Before I could even say it my brother, Craig, the middle child, called up and said, “You look like Rick James’ lovechild. What’s up with that wig?” (laughs) I just laughed, because the producers had already talked about fixing the wig. Family members keep you in line with stuff like that.

Do you have another film lined up after this?

TJ: I’m trying to do that now. It’s been a little difficult, not just for black actresses but actors in general. After the Writer’s Strike there was talk of an Actor’s Strike, so a lot of productions didn’t go in. If you were already up-and-running like “Castle” was you continued shooting. Some things have picked up but there really isn’t anything available for anybody until next year. I will have to get back out there and audition and see what’s going on. I ran into Craig Robinson from “The Office” and he was telling me he has some stuff going on he’s trying to get greenlit. It’s really about connecting with other people and seeing what they have going on in the New Year. Chris Rock said he was gonna do something then too.

Is there anything you want to play, anyone you’d like to portray? Biopics are pretty big right now.

TJ: Biographies are the best. I have two I would really like to do. One, I would like to do a story on Minnie Ripperton. My mother loves her as well as listening to her. We know her but a lot of people do not know who she is, we don’t understand the energy behind the voice. I think that would be such a great story because here is this woman who had such a beautiful spirit and gift to sound like a bird. To come in contact with John Lennon who was in the studio next to hers and had to stop what he was doing and was like “what is that beautiful sound?” and had to come in and listen to her. If I were to tell her story, because she died of breast cancer I would like to give half the proceeds to the foundations of research for breast cancer. When she was alive women couldn’t talk about it freely even though it was happening to them, and now we have all this technology and can get things done. I would love to do that. I have another one I’m kind of on the fence about, because it’s two stories. The Tammy Terrell story, and if you’re gonna tell her story you have to tell Marvin Gaye’s story. I know there’s been people who’ve tried to tell this story for awhile, and there’s been some issues with the family. Not a lot of people know she was in the business at 15-years-old. She sang backup for James Brown. She married a champion boxer before the whole Marvin Gaye thing, that’s where her name Terrell came from. I like doing period pieces, especially of those times. I love “Cadillac Records”, I love “The Temptations Story”, I even love “The Five Heartbeats”, that’s a cult classic. I love the dress, hair, and attitude of that time.

What do you think, at the end of the day, is the driving message that is going to get people to go see “Up In the Air”?

TJ: Besides the actors, it’s the story of being let go of your job. It’s happening right now and people can relate to that. You even have real people at the beginning and end of the movie telling their stories. It’s okay to be let go sometimes because it brings better things. It’s a relatable thing for people to see.