Dominique Fishback ready for star turn
Dominique Fishback has been garnering acclaim for her nuanced portrayals of tough yet vulnerable, damaged but resilient young women.
She broke out on David Simon’s two HBO series, “Show Me a Hero” as Billie Rowan, a pregnant teen living in the Yonkers projects, and “The Deuce” (which returns for its second season in September), in which she plays a prostitute named Darlene.
She makes her film debut with a riveting performance in Jordana Spiro’s “Night Comes On.” Fishback, 27, is on screen almost constantly, displaying remarkable range as Angel, an 18-year-old released from juvenile detention, torn between rescuing her sister (Tatum Marilyn Hall) from a group home and avenging their mother’s death.
Fishback grew up in Brooklyn and understands how her characters feel living in a world marginalized by mainstream society. Not knowing how to navigate the system, her mother was scammed when she tried helping Dominique gain entree into acting; her high school — where she was valedictorian, prom queen and MVP of the basketball team — did not prepare her for college.
In person, though, Fishback seems the polar opposite of Billie, Darlene and Angel — she throws open the door to her publicist’s office wearing a vibrant, colorful jumpsuit. Fishback is exuberant, with a joyful smile. The following is an edited transcript.
Q: Were you nervous about carrying your first movie?
A: No, I was ready for the challenge. I’m built for this; this is what I’m supposed to do. I’ve been wanting to be an actress since I was 10. I would watch “I Love Lucy” and think, “I want to have a show like her.”
My mom didn’t know how to get me into it and we got pulled into a few scams. But when I was in high school, I found MCC Theater’s Youth Company. I didn’t have any real training. I always wrote poetry, but now I had to write and perform my own material. That got me started. I had never considered theater as a kid — even though I lived right across the bridge from Manhattan, we didn’t go there.
Q: David Simon wrote the character of Darlene with you in mind after “Show Me a Hero,” but how did you land the role of Billie?
A: I’d just gotten an agent, and it was my first audition. I’d been told to think, “Can someone else come in here and give the same audition? If so, you didn’t work hard enough.” In the audition for Billie, I’m telling my boyfriend I’m pregnant and after he responds, Billie says, “I don’t know.” But I said it three times instead of one, three different ways. Casting director Alexa Fogel said, “That was weird ... but we’re going to keep it.” Then I didn’t get a callback for two or three months. But eventually I did.
With “The Deuce,” David said he wanted me for Darlene, but I should not take the job just to take it. But when I read the scene where Darlene is watching a movie with a client and crying, I thought, “How can I not do that?”
Q: Your next movie is “The Hate U Give” (due out in October), which deals with racial issues, but this time you get to play a different kind of character.
A: She is more fun — she cares about hair and makeup and shoes. I’m very fortunate I get to go back home to HBO and David Simon and portray characters that are overlooked.
“I’m built for this; this is what I’m supposed to do.”
— Dominique Fishback, on her first movie role