Tichina, you portray Leo’s grandma with so much love and depth and are still funny. What do you hope the viewers take away from your role?
I’m hoping that they’ll feel refreshed like I felt. You don’t normally get to see a Black grandma be cool and help her grandchild through the bullying thing. I think it’s a wonderful teachable moment and a wonderful piece of work that my daughter can watch.
You know, I was a little hesitant about playing the grandma thing. But once I read it and started talking to our director, he had a wonderful vision with this film. So, for me to be able to play a role that’s different and crazy and kind of a little bit like myself, I definitely enjoyed it.
Lastly, Tichina what was the best part of this project for you?
I’ve been asked what my favorite scene was, and I didn’t have a favorite scene. What I liked was watching the other scenes and watching everybody else. It was nostalgic for me because I wake up on Saturday mornings. I’m 50 years old now, but when I was their age, I used to get up in the morning with my sister on Saturday mornings and we’d watch wrestling, kung fu and “Soul Train.”
I’m hoping that there’ll be many more main events to come.
