Erika Alexander
“It’s powerful when someone invests in you.”
Erika Alexander got her start as a teen on “The Cosby Show” before assuming the breakout role of Maxine Shaw on “Living Single.” But it’s her latest performance in “American Fiction,” a satire that critiques our culture’s obsession with stereotypes, that’s put her in a conversation she’s never been in before — that of awards season contender. Alexander plays Coraline, the love interest of Jeffrey Wright’s Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a cantankerous author who challenges the industry’s perceptions of “Black entertainment.”
Just hours before sitting down with Variety, Alexander learned she’d been nominated in the supporting category at the Independent Spirit Awards; she attended last year’s ceremony as a guest. “I got dropped off on the highway and walked, scooting around the Porta-potties,” she says, laughing brightly to keep her emotions about the moment at bay. They seep in anyway. “It’s lovely to be talked about like this,” she adds, reaching for a tissue to dab her eyes. “I’ve been in the business 40 years, and yet, never talked about in spaces like this. I think about that with great gratitude. I trained my whole life for this moment.” • How did “American Fiction” come to you? I got a call that Cord Jefferson was interested in me playing the part in his new film. He’s an accomplished writer — I knew of his work in “Watchmen,” so I had a certain expectation that it was going to be good. He explained his vision and my part in it. When someone tells you that he’s imagined you in that space and invites you to play, with no audition — like “I know who you are, and I know what you’re capable of ” — you say yes.
• Cord has said that he was interested in you because you’re a legend, and he wondered why you hadn’t gotten more of these big-screen opportunities after “Living Single.” What does it mean to hear him speak of you that way? It’s a beautiful thing. But it also is something that’s frustrating because someone has assessed me as a risk. Doesn’t have anything to do with talent; “deserves” got nothing to do with it. Not past work. Someone said it’s not worth the risk. It won’t sell; it’s not palatable. I’m not the only one being assessed like that. And that can be very hurtful. It’s powerful when someone invests in you. I’ve been one of the lucky ones — believe it or not — if I’ve managed to last 40 years. That’s grace.
• What interested you about Coraline? Coraline is the quiet storm. Every time Monk — played so beautifully by Jeffrey Wright — turns around, there’s a whole different weather system that he’s in, and he won’t be able to keep the silo around him that is his comfort zone.
She was attracted to him before she met him. He’s had an impact on her and attracted the possibility of a new relationship that could be healthy for him. But what I love about her is that he may be discontented, but she isn’t. She’s not allowing him to change the weather system around her. We’re looking at a mature relationship and a conversation around what it is to find a partner. Black women have been told over and over again we want too much, and yet these characters are walking through the Everglades licking ice cream cones, trying it out.