Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Danielle Brooks

Episode Date: February 20, 2024

Oscar and Tony nominated star of “The Color Purple” Danielle Brooks joins the show. Over tuna melts and Thai steak salad, Danielle tells me what it was like to inherit a role from Oprah Winfrey herself, and losing her anonymity seemingly overnight with the success of Netflix's “Orange is the New Black.” This episode was recorded at Superba in Hollywood, CA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I love my home. I do. I love it so much. But I also love vacationing. I work a lot. And sometimes it bothers me to think how often I'm not actually there to enjoy it. I mean, whether I'm going on a fun vacation with Justin or traveling to New York for work, there's big chunks of time that I don't get to relish that sofa I pined so hard to buy or baked cookies that I can make with my stand-up mixer that I got for Christmas. And I realize there is a way that I might feel better. If I became an Airbnb host, I could make use of the space when I'm away and make some extra cash. I mean, my next vacation could essentially pay for itself. Like my extra Airbnb cash could go into an account for that trip to Paris I've been pondering.

And then basically the trip is free. Do you see what I'm saying? I mean, I know that's not technically how math works, but okay. Also, if we're saving money hosting, this means I could do some shopping, right? And the weather is also very nice in Paris at this time of the month, and I just feel like it might be... Okay, you know what? I'm going to talk to Justin about this. Thank you for letting me share this epiphany with you. appreciate it your home might be worth more than you think find out how

much at airbnb.com slash host hi it's jesse today on the show you know her from orange is the New Black and The Color Purple. It's Grammy Award winning and Tony and Oscar nominated actor Danielle Brooks. You know who I'm struggling to say? Who? Martin Scorsese. I just finally got that. That said it right, right? Yeah, that is right.

I was trying to explain to my mom. I was like, and we were sitting right behind Martin Scorsese. This is Dinners on Me, and I'm your host, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Orange is the New Black started its run shortly after Modern Family began, and I had a few very close friends in that cast, so Danielle Brooks and I became friendly just through seeing each other a few times every year. I also knew Danielle was a serious Juilliard-trained actor who had a passion for theater, so I immediately felt a connection to her and was always so glad to see her when I did. We recorded this episode one week before

the Oscar nominations were announced. Danielle's a pretty humble and down-to-earth person, so when talk of nominations came up, she blushed and quickly brushed it off. I was so sure that Danielle would be included on that list, though, and it took everything in my power not to just tell her that. Listen, I didn't want to jinx it. I brought Danielle to Superba in Hollywood, in an old Spanish colonial-style building off of Sunset Boulevard. It used to house the British pub The Cat and the Fiddle, which was a hotspot for rockers like Keith Moon and Rod Stewart. Walking in, you pass the patio with its yellow striped umbrellas and lush vegetation, where it's rumored Casablanca allegedly filmed scenes.

It's got that old Hollywood glamour, so it felt like the perfect spot for someone with Danielle's star power. I mean, she's 34, and she's been nominated for a Tony and now an Oscar. Okay, let's get to the conversation. But I'm looking at you on your Instagram and all these different events you're going to.

First of all, just having to do that red carpet and do the Hollywood thing night after night. Are you like me where you're just constantly in a state of anxiety or do you relax into this stuff? This time I'm relaxed. I think I'm really just kind of going in with 10 toes on the ground just to enjoy it. That's all I can do. I've really been trying to take in everybody's eyes and what they're wearing and how they smell and just like all the things because it happens so fast. Happens so fast. That happened so fast.

But also, you're meeting all these people who are your icons. And you're like, how is it possible that I'm in the same room with these people? And just the pressure of that moment. I remember meeting Oprah at the night before party. And it did not go well for me. Oh my God, what happened? Because I was so nervous. I was just so nervous. I get that way around Viola Davis.

I've met this woman a hundred times. Okay. But every time I'm like, hi, I'm from South Carolina. And I heard you're from South Carolina. And I was like, this whole time, I always get super shy around her. And I got to get over it because I play her daughter in Peacemaker. We're actually probably going to have more scenes, hopefully. Oh, you'll get over it.

I'll get over it. For sure. I remember going up to Emma Stone because we had just seen her in Cabaret. I don't remember which movie she was in at the time. Maybe it was La La Land. But we talked about Cabaret. I could see that she lit up

because I was like, oh, someone's talking about something that's not just this thing that we're in right now. And it was a really lovely conversation. But then in my head, I'm like, you're taking up Emma Stone's time. You need to like let her be with her friends. And so I like exited the conversation prematurely. And Justin, my husband, was like, why did you like she was like disappointed that she let you laugh.

I was like, was she? And I was like, I think she was. And that's the thing, though. When you talk about being in a room with these people, I'm actually getting to the point. They're also in the room with us. Yeah, that's right. When I think about you, I'm like, you are just, like, do you, like, you, like, you, like, the crazy career that you've been able to have and the dumb, stupid talent that is, like, all in this body, like, it's crazy. It's crazy.

And so now I'm at the point where it's like, okay, you know what? I'm going to just sit and let them come to me. And if they come to me and they're cool, great. Like, so Awkwafina came up to me the other day. She's so cool, right? She's amazing. I love her. She's so cool. Wait? She's amazing. I love her. She's so cool.

Wait, who was I just... Oh, Jennifer Coolidge was talking about being at a table where all these people were, and she can't remember anyone's name. And she was naming the people that she was at this table with, and they're actually the people that have really difficult names to pronounce. And she was just badgering. It's the worst. It's in one of her speeches that she gave.

You know who I'm struggling to say? Who? Martin Scorsese. I just finally got that. That said it right, right? Yeah, that is right. I was trying to explain to my mom. I was like, and we were sitting right behind Martin Scorsese.

I was like totally messing up. I know it, but like it's still a hard last name to say. So, obviously, the last message I sent you was the day I saw your movie, Color Purple, on Christmas. Wait, do you want to order? Should we order first? Yes, I love food. Do you know what you want?

Good, how are you? How are you? Good. My name is Katie. Nice to meet you, Katie. What are you known for here? So we're known for our breads. We make them fresh daily in our Venice location.

This one has three different varieties of sourdough bread. So it's a poppy seed sourdough baguette, a traditional sourdough lavon that we char in our hearth. Wait, no, I heard that your sourdough is turning 10 this year. Is what? It's turning 10 this year. Did you know this? I did know this. Do I know something you don't know? Yeah. Yeah, your sourdough is turning 10 this year. Is what? It's turning 10 this year. Did you know this? I did. Do I know something you don't know? Yeah. Yeah. Your sourdough is turning 10 this year. Yeah. It started 10 years ago. You were, you were barely out of high school then. Actually my 10 year reunion is this year. So the polenta is really good. It has a seeded

flaxseed crust with pumpkin seed. Uh, the artichoke conserva is artichoke is diced super finely. And then we smoke it in our hearts. And it has like peppers, lemons. Come on, somebody. I'm going for the artichoke conserva, honey. Yes. I'm going to do the fresh cheese. And I'm going to do the Thai steak salad.

Awesome. And then are we thinking about like a ginger time lemonade? We are thinking about that for me. Yeah. That's exactly what I was going to get. Okay, cool. Danielle, do you want to? Yes, honey. I'm about to eat. It is time.

Can I please get the tuna melt sandwich? And I'm going to indulge in a white wine. Yes, honey. Our Sancerre is really nice. It's like a nice dry finish to it.

Yes, whatever you say. Let's do that. Okay. Got you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm excited. So, yes, I sent you a message.

Yeah. So Justin and I bought 20 tickets to the opening. Come on, somebody. Let's talk about support. Yeah, Christmas Day. Love it. Because we had a lot of family in town. Danielle, it's such a special movie.

Thank you. And I know you have your own trajectory with Color Purple. Yeah. I have my own. I feel like a lot of people have. I want to know yours. Yeah, so for me, Color Purple was required reading when I was in school. But I remember seeing the book because I remember very vividly the art of the book. For me, Color Purple was required reading when I was in school.

But I remember seeing the book because I remember very vividly the art of the book. It was purple and it was Celie in the rocking chair. Which now it's us. It's me, Taraji, and Fantasia's face on it. Yes, I know. It blows my mind. When I went to Walmart and I was like, what? That's insane. Yeah, amazing.

We'll talk about that. Okay, okay. Because you have many full circle moments in your career that I was like, what? That's insane. Yeah, amazing. We'll talk about that. Okay, okay. Because you have many full circle moments in your career that I'm like blown away by. But I just, you know, I've seen every iteration of this film. Yeah. The film, then the musical, now this new film. And it's, I just feel like every time I come at this story, and obviously I'm a white dude from Albuquerque. But for me, every time I see it, I just I love discovering something new about it.

And I feel like every person who's been in charge of this story has brought something so beautiful and new to it. And you kind of just like I kind of can't believe that it can keep being reinvented in all these different mediums. Yeah. Thanks for sharing that, because I'm always so interested in other people's connection to it. You know, I have my own connection to it. And for me, it started and a lot of people might know this already. But then I realized a lot of people don't know this was I saw it on Broadway when I was 15. I had won this internship. My dad came with me and then he took me to see The Color Purple because at the time the only two black shows was The lion king which technically it's a black show because there's black actors but it's about animals so that's it okay and then color purple so he chose the color purple and thank god he did

because it changed my life and that's when i picked up the book and was hooked because the connection that Celie has with God, you know, the first lines, dear God, and feeling like her, feeling ugly, feeling less than and just not seen at the time when I was 15. You know, being dark skinned was not cool. Having curly hair was not cool. Being a bigger girl was not cool. I felt like Celie and the connection with God being that I grew up in the church and everything. The only thing that I felt like I had when I was a teenager was journaling like Celie did and talking to God. So I was truly hooked, but did not realize when I was, you know, playing Sophia on Broadway 10 years after seeing it in 2015, 2016, that I was going to be taught how to become a Sophia. And so it wasn't until, you know, getting to play her eight shows a week and singing things like Hell No, where I truly was able to cancel the noise and say hell no to my fears and doubts and all of those things. But it wasn't until the movie and all of the life lessons I had to come through that I was able to own my power.

And I felt that through Sophia. She taught me how to own that. I didn't grow up in the industry. You know, I don't... So I'm really learning how to navigate. There's nobody to teach me how to walk through Hollywood in this industry or even Broadway scene. Like, nobody was teaching me that.

Because you came to love acting through the church right that's right through like doing the nativity scenes which i also did yeah albuquerque but i also i i i know that like for you juilliard was like this high in the sky thing like you didn't think that was for you until you met someone that went there that you even realized that that was a possibility so truly like kind of you know walking through these doors not even realizing their doors at the end in the moment that you're walking through them it's kind of scary first of all but then also when you're in that next room you're like where am i right now where am am I? What is it?

I don't know what this world is. Right. I don't know how to navigate it. Yeah. So I really had to get comfortable with feeling like I didn't have the answers and being okay with things, feeling like this might be a dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. You know, navigating that. So I finally have come to a place in my career, in my life, where I know who I am.

I know my purpose, what I'm here to do. And I'm very proud of what I've been able to accomplish and who I've become, regardless of if someone who is making way more money than me or has way many, you know, all the opportunities in the world. Like, I'm cool. I'm good. Like, I know who I am. I love that. It's a really hard place to get to. Oh, my God. These are massive.

Let's go. This bread is am. I love that. It's a really hard place to get to. Oh, my God. These are massive. Let's go. This bread is gorgeous. I love food. Me too. Ain't no shame in my game. Take a picture of this bread. What I'm truly holding on to is you never know what's on the other side. So keep the faith.

And I've been saying this, and I don't care who's listening. I do care but like if you've heard me say this or will hear me say this a hundred times because I'm really trying to like put it in my bones like yeah if God has given you something and said like this is what I'm I'm it's on the other side like there's this thing that you have or this i don't know like this the purpose for your life i'm and god is whispering that purpose in your ear um to not rush the um fulfillment of that promise because it always is sweeter than you could have ever imagined like i'm trying to like continue to remind myself of that i feel like you're the walking embodiment of that, though, because I think back to, like, Color Purple being your first Broadway show. Then you getting to do that 10 years later and getting a Tony nomination for it.

And then, you know, later, like, reimagining it in a film version for your first studio film. Yeah. I mean, that's like, I feel like if that's something Universe sang, we got you. I know. What is? I know. And then also, I mean, did you do the piano lesson as your audition for Juilliard? I did.

Okay. I did. Another big moment there, you know, and to be able to do that on stage. Oh, my God. I was a wreck. When I got that call, I was like eight months pregnant. I almost had the baby right then. I almost went into labor, Jesse. Because I was like eight months pregnant. I almost had the baby right there. I almost went into labor, Jesse.

Because I was like, what? What is life? And they didn't even know that I had used this monologue to get into Juilliard. You know, but I'm going to be real with this audience. I'm not going to say it didn't hurt a little bit

to not get nominated. You know what I mean? I know, Danielle. But I was like, okay, I'm going to trust the process here. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, I talk to Danielle more about trusting the process, specifically around auditioning for the Color Purple film over six months after her Tony nominated performance on stage and what she learned through that process. Oh, and also how Oprah helped. Okay, be right back. There's something about a PB&J on white bread that just, it's a spot. Not sourdough, not French, just good old plain white bread. Lately, I've turned to Hero. Hero's classic white bread has zero net carbs, zero sugar, 11 grams of fiber, and five grams of protein.

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Advisory services provided by Fidelity Personal and Workplace Advisor LLC for a fee. Brokered services by Fidelity Brokered Services LLC. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. Well, I want to hear more about that because I know that that had to have been an ego-bruising experience. To have done something, gotten nominated for a Tony Award for it, been lauded, won a Grammy Award for singing the material, then to have to go back into an audition process to prove that you were the right person for the next iteration of that. Jesse. I don't wish that upon my worst enemy. And not only that, I'm one of the good ones out here.

I'm actually really easy to work with. I'm not some diva to be like, oh, should we hire her because she might give us issues. Don't you get so mad because I'm the same way. You'd be so lucky to have me on set. I'm a joy to be around. That's right. I make banana pudding.

I'm the best. So, yeah, that was tricky for me. Definitely. Six months? Six months, man man take me back to the first time that they said they want to see you and like what you went what you went through knowing that that was a possibility but you were gonna have to maybe reprove yourself yeah so they were shopping names around and i had a relationship and still do have a great relationship with Scott Sanders. And he had also produced both Broadway shows. So I was low-key trying to text him being like, hey, I heard this is happening.

But he wasn't giving me nothing back. He was just kind of like, that's great. We'll call you when we're ready. And so I waited around just hearing the buzz from the industry that they're starting to cast. So my agent, Shana Perlman, just really stayed on them. And then Bernie Telsey, who's a great casting director, was just in my corner. So they got me the audition with Blitz, the director. Yes.

Ended up meeting with him on Zoom and spoke with him for about an hour, hour and a half about the character, which I was super excited about. Normally, that's where I get the job. Just sit me down with the director. I promise you I'm going to get the job. Now, let me tell you, if you're out there casting, casting and doing the little audition thing ain't my best strong suit. Put me in front of the director.

Put a camera in front of me. I've got you, right? Because everybody's not that great at it. Yeah, it's true. So we sat and talked for an hour and a half about the character, about his vision. And I was, like, excited about it. And then they were like, we want you to put yourself on tape singing Hell No. And I'm like.

There's literally a Grammy-nominated. It might have. A Grammy-winning album. Yes album in which you sing that song. There is a Grammy award in my home for singing that. And not only that, any little thing like we did more than just hell no in that album. Right. And so I just said, you know what? This thing is bigger than me. So get out your way, Danielle. Do what you need to do to tell bigger than me so get out your way danielle do what you need

to do to tell this story to get this job like get rid of ego it's not that deep sis you want it or you don't and i wanted it yeah so i put myself on tape singing hell no i just think that's got to be wild because it's almost like going backwards in the process too yeah it was it was it felt like going backwards in the process so then I was shooting um Peacemaker at one point and talking to James Gunn our director slash creator and I was telling him like I really want this job I don't know what to do. I think I had heard, I don't know if this is true, but I think Jessica Chastain had written a letter to a director at one point. Somebody wrote a letter to a director. And I hit up James Gunn. I said,

James, should I write Blitz a letter telling him how much I want to do this? Because at that time, I was really starting to hear specific names coming out to play Sophia. So I was starting to feel the pressure. And so I send the letter to Blitz. I ain't hearing nothing back, but that's okay because he was going through his process. And then they had me do a chemistry read with Corey Hawkins. Who you knew from Juilliard, right? Jesse. We were in the same class. We have known each other since I was 17 and he was 18. That's crazy.

We are best friends. We went to Juilliard together. I don't know how much more I got to show. Yeah, yeah. And so I did a chemistry read with Corey. Mind you, Corey's already got the job. And I love him. He's my best friend.

He already had the job. He didn't audition for nothing because he came off in the Heights. So he'd already proven himself in the Heights. On film. Even though I already proved myself, too. But whatever. Right, right, right, right. Count your blessings.

Count your blessings. And so we did a chemistry improv. It was like how this bread got butter and it's just melting. Easy. Yeah. It was that easy. Yeah. Like spreading butter on them toasts.

And be back when it's time. Can I ask a question? Yeah, yeah. At this point, had you met anyone in person or was it all over Zoom? This is all over Zoom. Just an interesting thing. Yeah. That's the time we're in.

Okay. That's the time we're living in. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. And so they called me back and I'm thinking, this same day, I'm thinking, oh, my God, they're calling me to give me the job. They're calling me to give me the job. This is great. Yeah.

No, they call me to be like, can you just do this one side over so it comes off a little more younger? I was like, oh, my gosh, yes, sure, sure. So I do that. And then September, I want to say it was a day or two after my birthday because it felt like the best birthday gift ever. They tell me, my team tells me, Danielle, the director, Blitz, wants to sit down with you one more time for Zoom to make sure, you know, he's making the best decision. And at this point, Jesse, I'm over it. Yeah. Six months.

Yeah. I'm over it. Yeah. Six months. Yeah. I'm over it. So I get on a little Zoom and assistant comes up and he's having small talk with me. He's like, how's the audition process going?

I'm thinking to myself, I don't want no small talk with you, but I'm going to walk with Grace. Yeah. So instead of hitting that button that says mute and taking off my face, I said, I'm going to keep it on because I really wanted to be like, can you just call me when you're ready? Yeah. And I said, I'm going to stay on. I stayed on the phone. And all of a sudden, boom, Oprah Winfrey pops up on the screen. And you don't have to bring her in until you didn't get part. And she called and she said, Danielle.

And I go, yes! In the highest pitch voice crying. I couldn't do nothing but hold my chest. She's like, Sophia's a pretty name, man. I said, yes, it is. And I knew in that moment that I had gotten the job. And I also knew in that moment my life was about to change. And it has changed.

It has changed. Anyway, that's the story. It's a very unique thing that you had to do. And the fact that you were recreating something that had been discovered, not only by you, but by Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey and like figuring out how to bring not only Danielle's version of Sophia, but also Danielle's version of Sophia that wasn't the version that you just did. Yeah. Yeah. How many years before?

Almost 10, but it's like eight, eight something. Right. Right. Because we finished in 2016, 17, 18, 19, 20. Yeah. I mean, I sort of did the same thing with Take Me Out. Yeah. You know, I had to follow Dennis O'Hara's footsteps,

and he wanted Tony Ward for his performance of it. But it is, I felt very intimidated to, like, figure out how to carve my own path with this character, because there are going to be people who only remember Oprah's version. Yeah, it's hard. It's hard when you're... I think that's where I live, though. Like, that's my happy place.

I've done a lot of... A few. I can't say a lot. But even with the piano lesson, that was done by a Peta Murchison. And having to make that my own. Even when you think of things like Shakespeare, you've seen other Beatrices.

But for me, I'm like, shit, let me make my own Beatrice. Let me make my own Bernice. I'm going to make my own Sophia. That is But for me, I'm like, shit, let me make my own Beatrice. Let me make my own Bernice. I'm gonna make my own Sophia. Like that is fun for me, even though I'm like ready to really originate some more stuff. But, um, so I always start with what's on the page. Like I enjoy going in and out of like every line, every word, every period, like just getting so specific. Like people ask me, like, how did you come up with respect, you know, when I'm going in to talk to Mr.?

And I just got that because when I talk to my husband and I'm trying to get him to be listening to me, I over-articulate my words. And so I'm just going to over-articulate in this moment. And it's just like, to me, the Bible is color purple, Alice Walker's words. And I lean into what people say about Sophia. And so even in that scene, when I'm meeting the owner of the man's parlor or whatever you want to call it, meeting mister for the first time, and he says, can you read the sign? Then I read the sign.

Of course I'm going to pop him on the chest because Sophia is that person. She just, like, you know, is very bold. Just thinking about how Sophia speaks and how she's like a horn, like, all my life, all you know, she's coming. You know what I mean? But mean but then like getting to live in the quiet moments but to your point i did still want to hold on to the essence of what miss

oprah did in that dinner scene watching youtube clips and hearing that she improv'd that um bit uh when she talks to celie and thanks Celie for being there. Miss O improvised that because Steven Spielberg said, what would Sophia say? Oh, wow. So I was like, man, I got to just honor her through my work in this moment. Like, how can I make people feel how she made me feel? I love that you're saying that because for me, watching that scene and knowing the original movie, that's when I was like, oh, Danielle has taken this really into her own hands and is offering a completely different version. So it's interesting that you pointed out that very moment is one that you are honoring Oprah when I felt like that was, yes, you were, but you were also offering something completely different.

Thank you. And so authentically you. Thank you. But see, I feel like that stuff, that's a collection of that, but also a collection of playing Sophia on Broadway for you because that is rare. A lot of people don't get that opportunity. No. When you're on Broadway, as you know, the audience is going to tell you right away what's working and what's not working.

So that's actually something that, at least that, you know, laugh into the cry, I found while playing her on Broadway. The audience told me when it was working and just how to craft that moment to land. And it's been so trippy because you watch it with an audience and you hear people laughing with Sophia coming out of her pain and finding herself again and going through this rebirth, but then immediately everyone gets quiet when she goes into, you know, her pain. Like, of what she's experienced. Or her thankfulness, rather, to Celie. And I, to be honest, just, I didn't know I had it like that.

I was like, okay, girl. Go back and I'm like, you are a craftswoman, Danielle. You do know how to create a character and build and mold a character. You've got that inside of you, girl. You did actually pick something up from Juilliard. You did. I mean, like, it's really cool. You're very good. Thank you.

Yeah. There is, I mean, like, obviously, you know, with a piece of theater, you do it eight times a week. And, you know, Color Purple in specific. Oh, here it comes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Tuna melt.

Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm going for it. That tuna melt looks insane. Oh, my God. When you're doing a piece of theater, you live that experience every night. And Sophia has quite a difficult, you go through a lot. Mm-hmm.

And because I know how hard it was with Orange is the New Black and some of the stuff that you had to do on screen there. Yeah, yeah. And I'm thinking about how much work has to go into filming just any scene in a film. You know, you're getting it from different angles. Sometimes it takes days to film things. How did you protect yourself through going through specifically the scene when you're beaten and then all the stuff in jail and then the dinner scene? Like, how did you navigate coming out of that, first of all, at the end of a work day and going back to, like, you know, be a mom and just protecting yourself?

It's a lot. Yeah, there were times. I mean, yes, thank you, though. It is so tough, you know, because as actors, we do give so much of ourselves, you know, and sometimes you it can can be tough to trust your director too, because you're like, do they understand how much the weight I'm, it takes to do this over and over again. And you just got it. And now you want me to do it another day when I know you got it in the can. And that's what happened with the

dinner scene we had gotten that taped but because it was COVID everyone wasn't at the table so they got my coverage and I thought it was pretty fire yeah yeah yeah we're good we're good yeah nothing by the way nothing's a bigger relief than when you have a scene like that you know you're anticipating and you know it's done yeah you know that you did your best. You let it go. You let it go. However. You have to do it again another day.

And I was like calling on the ancestors. I'm like, y'all, I need you to whisper in my ear every pain and every moment that you've had that has been heavy and weighted on you. Please come down and and give that to me so i can deliver this for all of the sophias of the world you do it again you let it go and then you realize they want to do it one more time yeah pause just for that it was tough and at that point i actually told blitz who i do love as a director

so i don't want anyone to interpret it as i don't i told him no i said sir i'm not doing this again i know you have it like i saw the dailies you're good and he was like please we just want to get um fantasia's shoulder sealy's shoulder in that shot and i'm like are you kidding me and so they actually did have miss oh call me miss oprah called you call me or i call her i don't remember but i told her i said i can't do this like this is too much and she was like i'm telling you the ancestors will never leave you you have everything that you need inside of you and even though you know those things it is something to be be said about when Oprah Winfrey tells you. Yeah. Because there is just like, you want to make her proud too, or at least I wanted to really

make her proud. Yeah. The day, Jesse, the type of actress we are, we know this work that we do truly is of service. Yeah. It is giving back, giving voice, letting people be seen, letting people be heard. So I'm going to do what I got to do. And I showed up again and it took a lot of physical therapy for that scene with the white mob and it had to do chiropractic sessions and stuff because I pulled my back out. You know, it took moments with my therapist. It took, you know, just being a mom and like just getting off of myself and all of that to shed Sophia every day. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Danielle talks to me about what it was like to be famous in the span of 13 hours after Orange is the New Black dropped on Netflix and why a certain red carpet moment from those days still haunts her.

Okay, be right back. Sometimes between meetings, being on set, recording this podcast, and juggling dad duties, taking the time to cook a meal sadly falls on the back burner. And although I do make a really mean grilled cheese in a jiffy, it's nice to know I can turn to Factor for a balanced and nourishing meal. Every week, Factor delivers ready-made meals to my doorstep. So when I'm too busy to spend more than five minutes preparing a meal, it's perfect. I just pop it into the microwave for a few minutes and I have a restaurant quality

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DINNERS50 at checkout to get 50% off. That's code DINNERS50 at factormeals.com slash DINNERS50 to get 50% off. This episode of Dinners on Me is brought to you by BetterHelp. Relationships take work. I think the ones worth having do at least. I've been married just over 10 years now, and it hasn't always been easy. But one of the relationships I'm most proud of in my life is my marriage. I love the way marriage has changed me and challenged me and taught me how to be more understanding, collaborative, and loving as a person. A common misconception about relationships is that they have to be easy, but sometimes the best relationships are when both people are willing to put in the work to make it last. And therapy can be a place to work through the challenges you face in your relationship with your friends, your significant other, your family, or your colleagues. I

personally was very late to embrace therapy. I just started talking to someone about a year ago, and I can't tell you what a difference it has made in my life. If you're thinking about starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's online, making it convenient and easy to fit into your schedule. Visit betterhelp.com slash dinners to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash dinners. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. I was very invested in Olive Orange's New Black, mostly because at the time, Leah Delaria, who's still a very, very close friend of mine,

I remember when she told me she got it. I probably have told this story before, but like, you know, Netflix was not a thing really. Not at all. And so I was like trying to be excited for it, I was like what do you do is it a web series I don't understand what's happening and so that's what I'm calling it web series yeah no one really knew and so I started watching it to support her and kind of thinking like oh boy what am how am I gonna lie to her and then all of a

sudden was like oh my god this shows amazing and I also just remember how we met your character, Tasty, in it. It was like in a shower scene. I almost didn't do it, bro. Yeah. No, I almost didn't do it because I had just come out of Juilliard. I was probably like a year out. It was my first TV job. And they said they wanted me to be topless.

That's why I almost didn't do it. Because I was like, I can't start off my career as the girl who just shows her tits no this is going to be horrible and I'm playing an inmate so I'm playing a stereotype of a black woman no I almost didn't do it

and my mom told me not to and my dad said follow your heart and I listened to my dad's advice and didn't even have to show my tits because I had just gotten you know asked so many questions going back to like not feeling like any question is too dumb to ask I called everybody I called Meg Simon who's the casting director I called Kathy Hood who's the head of Juilliard I was asking like is this gonna mess up my career?

He was like, girl, if you don't go take that job. And I went and took the job, and it changed my life. Yeah. Seven seasons. Yeah. But also, I was watching some clips of the show, and where your character goes is remarkable. I mean, Tasty becomes an activist.

She becomes a voice for so many people. There's some really incredibly moving scenes of you, you know, asking people to sort of rise up and take back their lives. And I can only imagine that a lot of that is because it was you playing this part and the writers were like, okay. Because from what I understand, she was only supposed to be in an episode or two. And I have receipts because people don't believe in stuff like that. But I actually still have the breakdown of them saying recurring for two episodes. Wow.

Yeah. And so then, you know, seven years in, you're still there. Seven years in. And your arc is incredible. If you look back to, like, that shower scene and then look forward to, like, season seven,

the work that you were doing. Mm-hmm. I mean, and that is a testament. I'm going to blow a little smoke your way, but, like, that is a testament to your talent. Thank you.

Thank you. I mean, like, why would you not want to trust this remarkable human being with this character art? Did you feel like because that show was so big and it was one of those, you know, the first bingeable shows where it's like, you know, out overnight, you know, everyone can watch all 13 episodes or whatever they were. What was, was there pressure around like having such kind of hitting the ground running so fast? Hell yeah.

What was that like for you? Struggle. You talking about being a therapist? Yeah. That's where it started because in a matter of 13 hours, we had become famous. It took 13 hours to get through the first season and they were available just like that. So people sat down and binged, watched our show. I came out of my studio apartment in Harlem on 116 and Madison, get on the bus and I felt

a shift. People were immediately, that's that girl, that's that girl. Scary. And I'm 22 years old, 23. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know how to navigate. And we damn sure weren't making enough money. Well, that was what we went experience with Modern Family. I mean, obviously

like Ed O'Neill and Sophia were making more money and Ty and Julie had been working in that industry for a while. But like for me, who hadn't done a lot of television, and Eric Stonestreet was just sort of his first big thing. You know, we were thrust out into like the world as these television stars. Our paychecks didn't necessarily reflect a way that we could protect ourselves from that.

Exactly. And we couldn't afford to take cars places. I was taking the subway still. You know, it was tricky. You can't pay for security when you really need it. You don't have the funds for taxis and drivers. It just, you feel so vulnerable. Not only that, the pressure of being a woman and having to look like something

and get your hair and makeup and your clothes together. We was out here thugging it. You hear me? I'll never forget going to this Eminem concert with Natasha Lyonne and Samira Wisely and Natasha had invited us and you know Natasha been in the game yes they give us badges that said celebrity and me and Samira looked at each other like what we got badges that say celebrity mind you I'm rolling in with leggings that got holes in them and a head wrap on my head because my hair wasn't done. And there's still a picture to this day of me in those leggings.

And I'm just like, this is horrible. On like their little red carpet that they had. Oh, my God. So just it was really hard to navigate in the beginning. But luckily for us, and I'm sure you might have felt this way too, we had each other. Yeah. Then people that are right alongside you that you can be like, are you going through this? I'm going through this. How are you feeling? I'm feeling like it. So that was really helpful. Yeah. But I mean, like, you know, your, your twenties were sort

of like, those are the years that you're supposed to make mistakes to be messy. And it's like, maybe not. Maybe not. I mean, my mom mom's a minister so there was a lot of pressure to be perfect growing up and so coming into this industry i felt nervous because i was so scared to get it wrong and it's tough out here you know what i mean but now in my 30s, I'm much more sure of myself and kind of like have realized people are going to have opinions about you regardless. So just move the best way you can move and always operate out of kindness. Keep it about the work. Enjoy the work. And I always say, if you ain't having fun, you ain't doing it right.

And enjoy a good meal with friends. You know what I'm saying? Like, enjoy life. Enjoy the tuna milk. Danielle, I adore you. You have one of those, Chris, musical theater, straight plays, television, movies now. It's like you're just hitting it on all cylinders. I'm just so proud of you.

I love you. Can I tell this one story though? Yeah. So I had just come out here to do, um, this is in Juilliard days. I came up here to do showcase, right? What year was that? This was 2011. Okay. And I had gotten a car. I think I had gotten a car, whatever it was. It was the early, early stages of my career. And I'm riding down Sunset. And who do I see on my left? You!

I was driving next to you? You were driving right beside me. Are you serious? And it was my first celebrity spotting. And I was like, oh, my God. I just saw Jessie. That's so funny. And I think you waved at me.

Like, you're just like, hey, whatever. And I was like, oh, my God. I'll never forget that moment. If you told me, like, 11, 12 years later, we'd be sitting here having lunch together, that would be crazy. I never forgot it. And then running into you later down the road. Yeah. And there was a picture of me in a car, and I saw you walking, and we took a picture together.

Yes. It just reminded me of that moment. We were color purple probably yeah yeah yeah I think I was doing I um I was once driving to set and um I think we were shooting the pacific palisades and the there was construction and so the highway had was trying to like merge into like one lane and there was this car that was to my right um that was like kind of driving funny slow and like jerky and i was like just go in front of me like i was trying to let this person in finally the person rolls down the window and she goes i'm a really big fan and i didn't really look because i was trying to like see where my car was going and so i waved her in front and she as she's going in front of me she goes i'm hillary sw, my God. You know who that just happens with me? Like, coming here?

Yeah. Chris Rock. Chris Rock is walking down Sunset, and I roll down the window, and I'm like, hey. And he's giving me that, like, okay, sis, how you doing? I'm like, no, it's Danielle Brooks. And he's like, hey, it's so cool. I love it. It's really great when you can, like, with people that you know do what we do yeah and

like just shout them out it's awesome but also i have to remind myself that people always love to be told that other people like their work like i like when i say oh i should probably i shouldn't i shouldn't send that person a message telling them that i like their show or like i don't want to bother them like do i ever like get disappointed when someone says that they like something I did? No. No. Yeah. I think that's what it is, too. Like, just keep putting out that energy

when you love somebody regardless of if they say anything back. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you, Jessie. I'm so happy

that you came on this. I know. And thank you for my meal. Next week on Dinners on Me, you know him as Crosby on Parenthood, and as one of the co-hosts of the very popular podcast, Armchair Expert, it's Dax Shepard. We'll get into what it's like to interrupt President Obama

and how his wife, Kristen Bell, has inspired him to take a new tack on Instagram haters. And if you don't want to wait until next week to listen, you can download that episode right now by subscribing to Dinners On Me Plus. As a subscriber, not only do you get access to new episodes one week early, you'll also be able to listen completely ad-free. Just click Try Free at the top of the Dinners on Me show page

on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today. Dinners on Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and A Kid Named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans Del Schee composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balans-Kolasny and Justin Mikita.

I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.