Her longevity in Hollywood also has to do with adhering to advice from the veteran thespians and filmmakers she’s come across since getting into the acting game.
“Tyler Perry said that the greater your success, the greater your responsibility. [He also emphasized] staying spiritual. I remember him having a spiritual adviser that he was in connection with and I think that was very important. People start talking about you and spreading false information and it can really affect your spirit. So faith is very important to me,” she says. “Also, Lynn Whitfield had kind of guided me, certain techniques she would talk to me about, about losing yourself in the character.”
Aytes completely cloaks herself in the April Malloy character in order to present a woman who is dynamic yet vulnerable, a strong woman with weaknesses, a principled woman but one who is also contradictory, and she does it in a way that resonates with audiences as authentic and sympathetic.
“You know, all I want is for people to watch and really believe the character and not think about Rochelle and invest in that person. When you watch TV or movie and the most important thing is that they care about the character. If you don’t care about the character, then you won’t care about their story or anything else. So I hope that I’m doing my job and that they believe the character,” Aytes says.
ABC’s “Mistresses” airs on Mondays at 10 p.m. EST.
