{"id":67690,"date":"2013-12-12T15:09:01","date_gmt":"2013-12-12T15:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/0de2709a84.nxcli.net\/0-kjasnb\/2013\/12\/12\/tika-sumpter-talks-tyler-perrys-a-madea-christmas\/"},"modified":"2018-12-18T08:40:16","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T08:40:16","slug":"tika-sumpter-talks-tyler-perrys-a-madea-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/tika-sumpter-talks-tyler-perrys-a-madea-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Tika Sumpter talks Tyler Perry\u2019s A Madea Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tika Sumpter talks Tyler Perry\u2019s A Madea Christmas<\/a><\/strong>By Wilson Morales<\/p>\n

December 12, 2013<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Coming out this week is another hilarious film from writer-director-producer Tyler Perry<\/strong>, \u2018Tyler Perry\u2019s A Madea Christmas<\/strong><\/a>,\u2019 starring Perry, Kathy Najimy, Chad Michael Murray, Anna Maria Horsford, Tika Sumpter, Eric Lively, JR Lemon, Alicia Witt, Lisa Whelchel<\/strong>, and Larry the Cable Guy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Madea gets coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise visit in the country for Christmas, but the biggest surprise is what they\u2019ll find when they arrive. As the small, rural town prepares for its annual Christmas Carnival, new secrets are revealed and old relationships are tested while Madea dishes her own brand of Christmas Spirit to all.<\/p>\n

For Sumpter, who has appeared in the remake of ‘Sparkle’ and in numerous TV programs such as ‘One Life to Live,’ ‘Gossip Girl,’<\/strong> and ‘The Game,’ <\/strong>this marks her second outing with Tyler Perry. The Queens, NY native currently plays Candace Young on his TV series ‘The Have and The Have Nots<\/strong>‘ on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network.<\/p>\n

Coming up for Sumpter are roles in ‘Ride Along’ <\/strong>with Kevin Hart<\/strong> and Ice Cube<\/strong>, ‘My Man is a Loser’<\/strong> with John Stamos<\/strong>, and the James Brown<\/strong> biopic ‘Get On Up,’ <\/strong>where she plays Yvonne Fair<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In speaking with Blackfilm.com, Sumpter goes over her character in ‘A Madea Christmas,’ working with Tyler Perry, and her upcoming projects.<\/p>\n

How would you best describe Lacey?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tika Sumpter:<\/strong> I would describe Lacey as an overachiever; someone who tries too hard a little bit to make everyone happy, but ultimately a loving, family oriented person.<\/p>\n

What was the attraction to doing the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TS:<\/strong> Well, I love the character. She\u2019s a good-hearted person trying to do the right thing and what\u2019s best and her direction at times is off-center, but also, I\u2019m glad I got to work with Tyler. He\u2019s done a lot for a lot of people who weren\u2019t working and helped them get on the map. I just totally looked up to him. He\u2019s a great business guy and also a great creator; someone who took the reins when nobody would give it to him. I was just happy to work with him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Although Madea is the draw, with her name on the title, your character is the center of attention. How does it feel to be the co-lead of the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TS: <\/strong>I love it. Any time you have a character where you are the center of why everything is happening, it\u2019s always a nice thing. I don\u2019t who wouldn\u2019t be flattered by that as an actor. \u201cSo, you want me to play this role?\u201d I\u2019m in everyone\u2019s lives in this movie. It\u2019s exciting and I\u2019m flattered and I like her character at the end of the day. That\u2019s why I really did it.<\/p>\n

How is Lacey different from Candace, your character from Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TS:<\/strong> Well, Lacey wouldn\u2019t half the things Candace does. Lacey\u2019s definitely an overachiever but she doesn\u2019t have a chip on her shoulder, and I feel that Candace has bricks on her shoulder. I think Candace is a good person, but there is so much she\u2019s had to deal with in her life that sometimes it takes a lot of digging to get to that good person, and if you cross her, how dare you. She\u2019s had so many bricks thrown at her in her life, she sometimes doesn\u2019t know how to be vulnerable and all the things that I think Lacey is.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How is working with Tyler from both a TV perspective and film perspective?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TS: <\/strong>To me, Tyler is Tyler. It\u2019s really not that different. He\u2019s definitely focused and knows what he wants. When his train starts, you have to move with it, and you have to know your stuff and you have to know your lines and know where you are at. He will definitely help you. If he\u2019s not getting something, he will help you get you there. I\u2019ve seen him do it with so many people, but you definitely need to come on board and know what you are doing.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the message behind A Madea Christmas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>TS:<\/strong> I think there are message behind everything. I think this movie has so many messages. One is really accepting people for exactly who they are. Even with bullying, you have to stand up for yourself in some aspect. For me, it\u2019s about family and bringing them together; bringing two very different families together and it\u2019s about love.<\/p>\n

From \u2018One Life to Live\u2019 to \u2018Gossip Girl\u2019 to \u2018Sparkle\u2019 and to \u2018The Haves and the Have Nots,\u2019 all of your roles have been different. Is that by design?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TS: <\/strong>I don\u2019t want to be typecast. I have this other movie coming out with John Stamos called \u2018My Man is a Loser\u2019 and when I did \u2018Gossip Girl\u2019 and these other projects, I feel like why do I have to be held in somebody\u2019s jar? This is what you look and this is who you are. When I walk in a room, I\u2019m not just that person. There are so many different aspects. I\u2019ve lived in two different worlds. I don\u2019t think anyone is just one thing. I put me in a corner as that and when I walk in a room, I prove that to them. They see me as something beyond what they see.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You have \u2018Ride Along\u2019 coming up. What\u2019s it like working with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TS: <\/strong>Gosh. Ice Cube is actually quieter that I thought he was. He\u2019s funnier though. He\u2019s like a dry sense of humor but he\u2019s quiet and he\u2019s a Gemini like me, where I\u2019m loud. Kevin is all over the place and he\u2019s a hot mess and I love being around him. I just watch him and see what he did and just his comedic moments and timing is something amazing to watch. Even like Tyler, his comedic moments. I used to drama all the time, so it was nice to be around laughing and seeing how other people work. I love to learn so I\u2019m like a sponge on set.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Then you have the James Brown film, \u2018Get On Up,\u2019 coming up. What\u2019s your role in the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TS:<\/strong> I\u2019m playing Yvonne Fair, who was one of James Brown\u2019s background singers. She actually was his artist and prot\u00e9g\u00e9. She was like James Brown as a girl. She actually recorded \u2018I Feel Good\u2019 and he changed it to his version. She was a soul singer and they had a baby together. It\u2019s one of the relationships that James Brown had and that Tate Taylor will focus on in the movie.<\/p>\n

Will you be singing in the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TS: <\/strong>I don\u2019t think it will be my voice. I know I just got put in more scenes but I think it will be probably be the original recordings. I don\u2019t think they will re-do those.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re not working, what keeps you grounded?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>TS:<\/strong> My mother, my family, and my really close friends. I\u2019m a girl who just wants to be around love and positivity and want to uplift my friends. I want them to be able to enjoy life. I\u2019m not saying that you have to be a billionaire or anything like that, but I want them to be able to come with me to dinners and events. I want to them to be part of my world. What\u2019s the point if you are not sharing with anyone? Outside of working, I\u2019m just kicking it with my friends, movies and dinners and wine.<\/p>\n

What are your plans for Christmas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TS: <\/strong>Family. Hang out with my mom. I have siblings and we\u2019re all talking about what we are doing. It\u2019s so weird because when I was young, I was really quiet, so I see myself reverting back to that when I\u2019m in my household. But that\u2019s like my happy zone; being in the house with my family with music, the football games, or whatever. It\u2019s just goodness.<\/p>\n

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