So Mrs. Dixon has made quite an impact on the show.
Roz Ryan: Yeah. She kicks butt.
You like that, don't you?
Roz Ryan: Yeah.
Why?
Roz Ryan: 'Cause I kick butt (LAUGHS). No, I like it because I get a chance to just stretch, and have a good time. And she's fun.
You've been a performer for a long time. And you actually had an opportunity to have a record contract when you were 15?
Roz
Ryan: Yeah, but I didn't take it. I took the
money and went back to school. They were talking about legal guardianship
and traveling and I was scared. It didn't really appeal to me.
And now, if you look back, do you regret it?
Roz
Ryan: I don't regret anything. But I'll tell
you, I've always wanted to be a singer and have a hit record. And I've
had two Broadway shows, two television shows, a few movies, and no hit
record. But I don't think it was a mistake, because I think that everything
I did in my life brought me to this point, and I'm very happy.
Roz Ryan: Oh, well the main attraction for me was (Executive Producers) Ed Weinberger and Reuben Cannon. Because I worked with both of them on "Amen," and I love them dearly. And then Reuben called me in New York, and said, "This part is for you." And he sent me the script and I read it, and I said, "Okay, yeah. I can do this with my eyes closed." Because I know Ed, and I know what he likes. And I knew what he wanted in the character. And he allowed me to be Mrs. Dixon, as opposed to portraying her. He just let me be her.
What would you like to see her do in the upcoming season? Any twists or turns you'd like her to take?
Roz Ryan: Not in particular. I think I want her to do what comes natural with the writing, and the course of the show itself. But I would like for her to remain that very strong black mother figure. And to help the children. To just guide them along and grow, and keep everything centered. It's just basically her whole function anyway.
Do you feel a responsibility
because of your character?
Roz
Ryan: Very much so. Because of my character
and because of me as an individual. All of the kids on this show are --
well, on "Amen," I was the youngest. On this show, I'm the oldest. And
all the kids are between 22 and 28. And I feel a very powerful responsibility,
because my children are that age. So it's a very motherly instinct thing
about me, that I just embrace them, and they're my babies. And I feel very
responsible.
And as not only a woman, but an African-American woman on television, do you feel responsibility as well?
Roz Ryan: Very much so. Because we have four young, beautiful African-American sisters on this show. And they look up to and listen to me. So I have to make sure that the advice that I give them is correct, accurate and digestible.
Doesn't seem like you're having a problem doing that.
Roz Ryan: Not at all. They're my babies. I love them.
Do you think you'll sing something on the show?
Roz Ryan: I'm singing on a couple of the upcoming episodes, but my biggest thing now is that I am so blessed. I just want to do what comes natural. I'm just so blessed, and I'm so happy with my life, and I'm happy with the course that it's going. I get to sing on the Disney project that I'm working on. I can sing in the clubs. I can sing in the church. So if she doesn't sing on the show, it's no big deal. There's two upcoming episodes where I'm singing. But it's not like I'm gonna be doing it every week.
You're having fun the way it is.
Roz
Ryan: I'm having a good time.
Interview Archive
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