Tatyana Ali Interview
- 1. Sheisforevergone,affectionatelystoreddeepinourhearts
andmindsandreservedforthecomfortsoflatenighttelevi-
sion.Sure,weallfellinlovewiththethenyounger,whole-
someactressTatyanaAliandherknee-highsocksasshe
deftlyplayedtheBankscharacter.Wewatchedhercomeof
age,discoverboys,andgetlifeadvice(bothgoodandbad)
fromoldercousinWillduringsixseasonsof“TheFresh
PrinceofBel-Air.”
ButMs.Alihasabsolutelynotime
toregaleyouaboutherchildstar
past;herplateisquitefullwithnav-
igatingabrightfuture.
AfterputtingHollywoodonhold
tograduate,withhonors,from
HarvardUniversity,theNewYork-
bred,Trinidadianbeautyisre-
emerginganddoingdoubleduty,
workinginfrontofthecameraand
behinditwiththecreationofher
ownproductioncompanyHazraH
Entertainmentthatwasco-created
withhersisterAnastasia.
Let’sgoaheadand
getthisoutoftheway
withaquickness:
AshleyBanksisdead.
RealTalk
withTatyanaAli
“Westartedourproductioncompanywiththethinkingof
makingavant-gardeurbanentertainment,”saidAli.“Budgets
aredifferent.Thereisagreatplusin(that)fact,especially
howweshopped‘Buppies.’Weshotitonourownandthen
shoppedittonetworks.Sowewerereallyallowedcreative
freedomandautonomytobringthecharacterstolife.”
Thoughthefuturefor“Buppies,”Ali’sgroundbreakingweb
serieswithBET.com,isuncertain,HazraHrecentlyreceived
thegreenlightfromTVOneforasecondseasonof“Love
ThatGirl”thatisscheduledtoairthisfall–amajorvictory,
particularlyinthetroubledurbanentertainmentmarket.
Shotunconventionallyinarecordingstudiooverthecourse
ofjustfivedays,seasononeof“LoveThatGirl”unitedAli
withcomedianMartinLawrence,whoservesasexecutive
produceroftheshow.Alongwiththeshow’screatorBentley
KyleEvans,theyappeartohavefoundaworkingmodelfor
survivinganever-changingmedialandscape.
“Selfdeterminationisincrediblyimportantinthisclimate.
AnastasiaandIstartedourproductioncompanywiththat
belief.Andthusfar,we'vehadsuccessingettingourprojects
outthere.Therearesofewblackshowsontheairbecause
manynetworksbelievethattheiraudienceswon'trelateto
charactersofcolor.Ibelievethatthat'ssimplyuntrue,”
explainedAli.“Audienceswantgoodstoriesregardlessof
theethnicityofthecharacters.”
Evenwithallthatonherplate,Alistillhastimetosqueezein
recordinganalbumandstretchheractingchopsonthebig
screenbystarringinthethriller“HotelCalifornia”andthe
upcomingdrama“MotherandChild”starringNaomiWatts,
KerryWashingtonandSamuelL.Jackson.
The31-year-oldindustryvetopeneduptoUrbanInfluence
onafewothertopicsandgotreal,provingwhysheisall
grownup,nolongerAshleyBanks,andaforcetobereck-
onedwith.
Onbeingyoung,gifted,blackandAmerican:
“Peopleofourgenerationaretakingtheiridentityintotheir
ownhands.Beingayoungblackpersoninthiscountrydoes-
n’thaveonefaceorjustonebackgroundoronelook.We’re
reallyfreenowtocallourselveswhatwewant.Seeingarep-
resentationofyourself,thereisasortofprideinthat.Weare
soenthralledwithglamourandthemoneyandthefameand
sortofallthecapitalistnotionsofwhatbeingsuccessful
means.Ithinktherearemoreimportantthingstoconsider,
likeintegrity,honestyandhavingarealmissioninyourlife.”
Howshemaintainshersanityintheindustry:
“Iwouldsaythatthekeytosurvivingistodoyou.Ithink
alongthewaypeople–andtheydothistoanybody–say,
‘Youneedtobelikethispersonoryouneedtobemore
sexy.’ThatwassomethingIgotalot.Ithinkitisimportantto
beyourselfandevolveandworkonyourcraft.Ithinkyou
getofftrackwhenyoustarttomakedecisionsbasedoffof
whatotherpeopleneedtosee.”
AnyregretsonleavingHollywoodforHarvard:
“WhenIfirstgotbackIthought,‘Whoa,didImakethe
rightdecision?AmIgoingtogetwork?’Butlookingback
Iwouldn’thavemyproductioncompanyifIdidn’tgoto
schoolandifIdidn’thavemyproductioncompany,Iwould
nothavetheopportunitytoexpressmyself.”
Onthepressuretoproduceandstarinaproject:
“There'salotofpressurewhenyou'rethelead.I'mnotonly
theleadbutmyproductioncompany,HazraHEntertainment,
isalsoinvolved.It'sagreatresponsibilitybutoneIfeelI'm
readyfor.I'veworkedwithsomeincrediblestarslikeWill
(Smith)whohavereallyshownmewhatleadership,teamplay-
ingandhardworkareallabout.”
Whatagirlwants:
“IwanttostretchtheboundariesofwhatevenIthinkIcan
do.WhenI'mnervousaboutplayingarole,that'sthesurest
signthatIhavetodoitbecauseitusuallymeansI'llhaveto
getoutofmycomfortzonetodoitright.”UI
LenoraE.HouseworthisassistanteditorofUrbanInfluence.
Spring2010www.urbaninfluencemag.comI53
Entertainment&Influence
ByLenoraE.Houseworth
52Iwww.urbaninfluencemag.comSpring2010
Beingayoungblackpersoninthis
countrydoesn’thaveonefaceor
justonebackgroundoronelook.We’rereallyfreenowtocallourselveswhatwewant.