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Updated
2/21//03 We're Hangin' With..... MICHAEL MICHELE by: Lynn B. Gorgeous
Michael Michele first came to our attention as a doctor on the "E.R".
t.v. series. She's played lawyers and cops as well and takes on a tough
lady-cop-in-conflict role in the new action drama Dark Blue. When
we spoke with the classy actress recently, she gave us the scoop on her
athletic background, growing up as a mixed race child, working with hottie
Scott Speedman from the show "Felicity", and how she approaches
her career. (WARNING: Dark Blue is
rated "R". Michael had so many good things to say that apply
to young women that we wanted to bring you her interview) AGW: You are so attractive, it that more a curse or a blessing? M: I spent five years trying to get on "Homicide". I was told 'go over here and be the cupcake because that's what you're going to get'. And so it became a mission of mine. They have 22 hours of footage of my playing a cop. My friends say 'you play cops, docs and lawyers'. I've not played a lot of roles where I'm 'chick on the arm'. I played Ali's third wife in Ali but I don't have a lot of cupcake roles on my resume. I don't have a problem being the 'babe' but it's not what I'm attracted to. If I'm asked to do photo shoots or awards shows, I take the opportunity to enjoy being a woman and doing hair and make-up. AGW: You were active in sports as a kid. Ever want to go pro? M: If you know sports you know, okay, I've got game but not that kind of game. I still play in basketball tournaments, still run a great deal but I never had that kind of ability. Not the kind of ability my sister had who had a number of scholarships to play sports.. AGW: Did that competitive edge help you in the Hollywood scene? M: I'm a very strong advocate of young girls participating in sports because I think it gives young women a sense of empowerment and a great deal of confidence. You learn to work together as a team and you set a goal and you spend an entire year trying to reach that goal. If you do that for a number of years, it definitely leaves its imprint. I think like an athlete. I set the goal. I think about what I need to do, point A, point B to arrive at that goal and I'm competitive but it's a healthy competitiveness. AGW: Do you always want to push yourself? M: Yeah. 'I can do this. Okay , I'm tired but I can forge ahead'. You get that inner voice that says 'you can do it. And then you have a lot of screaming coaches like I had 'get off that bench and get in there', it helps. AGW: Did playing a cop on the "Homicide" T.V. show help you with this Dark Blue role? M: It's the same kind of cop. I spent a lot of time with the Balto (Baltimore) P.D. and it was the homicide division. I wasn't playing a homicide cop in Dark Blue. I was a sergeant on the LAPD and although I've done cop shows; I've been a lawyer with the NYPD. I definitely needed to find out what L.A. was like and what the cops were like in Los Angeles and I had weapons training again. I can load 'um and I can shoot 'um (laughs). I have no interest in it because I'm completely petrified of guns. I don't own them but I can use them if I need to. AGW: Did you see any similarities between athletes and cops… M: There's
a great deal of athleticism involved with being a cop. But you see the
cops in New York city and they're hanging out at dunkin' donuts. AGW: What acts as an anti-drug for you? M: I was always an athlete. I don't have time for drugs. It's funny. I live a very healthy life. I've mentored for years and have two mentoring programs in New York. My girls and I talk about this all the time; both my sixth graders and my high schoolers, that when you have a sense of responsibility, when you have some place you have to go tomorrow, whether you're in school or have a job or are pursuing a career, when you have a sense of responsibility and have goals you've set for yourself, you don't have time to be hung up or hung over. You realize that you aren't at your best and can't function at your very best. ''ve been working since I was 15 years of age and I've been involved in sports forever. So, I didn't have the time to get caught up in any way. I still today don't. I don't want to wake up and not be all that I can be physically and psychologically. AGW: How does it feel to be an African-American actress working today? M: All of the obvious. There are greater struggles clearly but something that Will Smith said, 'when you do succeed, set an goal and achieve it, there is a great sense of accomplishment because you know that you have had to overcome great odds'. There is a challenge every single day just to keep your head above water and keep employed. I choose to be more prepared than I'm expected to be. To be more professional than I'm expected to be and try to surprise people. When I walk into a room, I'm going to go beyond your limitations. AGW: What was working with Scott Speedman like? M: Luscious
Scott Speedman (grins). Luscious, shy Scott? He's really charming. I never
had a love scene before. I had all that apprehension but the fact that
he wasn't ripping off his shirt and saying 'hey, baby' made it better.
It seemed as though he had the same kind of apprehension and concern and
shyness that I had so it was nice. It was two people feeling the awkwardness
but comfortable enough to make it truthful and honest. We kept giggling.
Finally Ron (director) said, we're going to make this fun. AGW: There are a lot of racial elements in this film. As a mixed-race child, how did that effect your fitting in? M: It sounds cliché but it does start at home. If you are an Asian child, a Latin child, a white child, if you grow up in an environment where you don't feel loved or supported, then you don't feel like home is a safe place, you move through the world as an insecure individual. My parents weren't like that. I have a very strong, smart black woman as my mother, who I strongly identify with. I have a very smart, loving father who just so happens to be white, who I strongly identify with and who raised my sister and I to move through the world with independence and confidence in who you are. I have always had a very strong sense of who I am understanding that when I walk into a casting office, they're not looking for me to bring in Julia Roberts' audience. I'm a woman of color. I don't deny either part of who I am. I embrace it and go where I'm needed. AGW: Did you meet with any female LAPD officers? M: I always go to the women first. I spent a lot of time with women in Baltimore, spent a number of days with women in the LAPD. I was under the assumption that every day is a problem of [prejudice against women] but surprisingly, that wasn't the big issue they talked about. They talked about being mothers and having to face life and death every day. They talked about the difficulty in having lasting, successful marriages. It's more an issue of how do I raise my children. AGW: You were in How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. Would you like to do more comedy? M: With limitations. I know drama and I can do comedy so long as it walks a line. Can I fall down and put my pants on my head? I don't think so. But I can have a sense of humor and that I would like to do. AGW: What's next for you? M: I'm very interested in doing something in the action genre. I'm thinking like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. Something where I can use my athletic ability. Move over Halle Berry!
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