Alfre Woodard's Got the Beat!
Alfre Woodard
The only complaint Emmy winner Alfre Woodard has about her latest role? The humidity. "Oh, my goodness! We're in our fourth month and everybody is like, 'I just need a breath of air that has no moisture in it,'" laughs the actress, who's been filming the new cop drama Memphis Beat (Tuesday, 10/9c, TNT) in New Orleans. Other than that, it sounds like the good times are rolling in the Big Easy.
TV Guide Magazine: Was playing Lt. Tanya Rice an easy sell for you?
Woodard: I was attracted to the fact that it's a police story, but it wasn't about DNA and fibers. It's about the characters, and they seem like real people who just happen to solve crimes.
TV Guide Magazine: Tonight's mystery gets personal for Tanya when she catches the eye of a handsome Coast Guard officer. Details, please!
Woodard: Some things are a surprise, but I'll just say he's very bold, approaching me to the point that I can't believe it. He is younger and persistent.
TV Guide Magazine: True Blood fans are digging you as Lafayette's mother...
Woodard: That was so much fun, because she's nuts and awful. I'm doing it because [Nelsan Ellis] asked me. He said, "Would you be my mama?" At first it was only one scene and they called saying, "It's only a few lines." And I said, "Are they good lines? Hell, I'll do it if they are good lines." I've shot three episodes already and there will be more.