The Actor Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Actors

CCH Pounder

52 i CCH Pounder CCH Pounder (Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder) is a familiar figure on television, having appeared in dozens of popular shows, including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Miami Vice, The X-Files, ER, Law & Order, and The Shield, as well as in numerous films. I caught up with CC at her personally owned art gallery on Sunset Boulevard, while she was on a break from shooting her current show, Warehouse 13. ‘‘How did you find your way into acting?’’ ‘‘Quite by accident. I was born in Guyana, South America, but grew up in England where I attended boarding school. When I was around eleven, I got hit in the back of the head with a ball during a cricket match and su√ered memory loss. To improve my memory, the nuns at the school had me recite poems. I really enjoyed entertaining them with my recitations and discovered that I was pretty good at performing. The nuns entered me in elocution competitions, and I began winning awards for our school and eventually studied acting at Ithaca College in upstate New York.’’ ‘‘How was that for you?’’ ‘‘Coming from Guyana, I had a very strong Caribbean accent, which I felt set me apart from the others. One day, my elocution teacher, Stella Curran, asked me, ‘Do you think you need to change the way you speak?’ ‘Why? Isn’t it fine?’ ‘Yes, it’s absolutely fine!’ Her giving me permission to speak in a way that was me filled me with a new confidence and a sense of pride. Then in high school, I befriended a Nigerian girl, Abimbola Shekoni , who helped me open my eyes to who I was. One day she was playing a record, Say It Loud: I’m Black and I’m Proud by James Brown. I said, ‘But we’re not black.’ ‘Well, of course we are,’ she said. ‘We are black people! We are from the continent. You are just displaced. You’re from our people.’ This was an awakening for me, a real eye-opener. Being able to speak in my own natural way and knowing who I am not only gave me a sense of self, but this made me curious about other people and their inner emotions. I came to understand that this was an integral part of the actor’s job.’’ ‘‘Did your self-awakening continue as a professional actor?’’ ‘‘Absolutely. In the early years of my career, I expected to play all 54 The Actor Within di√erent types, but I was cast as weak, sniΔing, victimized women. One day, I told my agent, ‘Enough! I want roles that say something positive, relevant, and inspirational. I wanted to be more than an actor—an activist who could use television to influence society.’ ’’ ‘‘How were you able to get cast in roles that portrayed women more positively?’’ ‘‘Getting roles usually comes down to what you’re o√ered, but it also has something to do with if you’re willing to make sacrifices. After I started turning down roles, I starved for a year. Then I received a script for a part on the television show L.A. Law, but it was as another victimized woman. I decided to go for the part of the judge. My agent told the producers, ‘She’s interested in the role, but she’d really love to read for the part of the judge.’ And then, of course, I had to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could play a judge.’’ ‘‘Apparently, you did.’’ ‘‘Yes, I now mostly embody strong characters, but that little sniΔing person—she’s inside me, too, except I don’t have to parade her out anymore . What acting does is take you beyond the circumstance of a particular character to discover her essence, her soul—like the prostitute with a heart of gold. The actor looks to portray her character’s complexities and that which illuminates her humanity.’’ ‘‘Your role in the independent film Bagdad Cafe (1987) was a perfect vehicle for that. Brenda is angry and disillusioned until she meets Jasmin, a sensitive German woman, played by Marianne Sägebrecht, who after leaving her husband in the middle of the California desert, rents a room in Brenda’s rundown motel and café.’’ ‘‘Yes, that’s right. Brenda is like a tied-up, barking dog. People are afraid...