‘American Crime’ Star Regina King on On-Screen Chemistry with Andre 3000

To know Terri LaCroix on “ABC” is to dislike her – and that is the point.

This is considered one of the the reason why Regina King has a lot fun with her. Terri is nothing like Aliyah, the militant Muslim character King played within the show’s first season, which earned the actress her well-deserved first Emmy Award. Terri, an upper-class elitist, is meaner, but additionally much easier to discover.

“Everybody knows Terri,” King, 45, said in a recent telephone interview. “Terri enjoys power and likes to be in control. He’s so far from Aliyah and so far from me. She’s stuck and I really enjoy playing her.”

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This time, produced and created by John Ridley, the series tackles racism, classism and homophobia through the prism of the alleged sexual assault of a working-class teenage boy. Terri’s son, Kevin (Trevor Jackson), is a handsome highschool basketball star who can also be considered one of those accused of assault. When the accusations begin to flow and threaten all the pieces Terri and her husband Michael LaCroix (Andre Benjamin aka Andre 3000) have worked so hard to realize, Terri wastes no time on a lawyer and goes on the defensive.

“She’s unlikeable, but most Black people I’ve talked to understand her position and where her thoughts go in that space,” King said. “They may not like her and she may not be their friend, but most upper-middle-class Black people understand why Terri is the way she is. Getting to where Terri is is no easy feat. So why would you ever want to leave? That’s how she looks at it.”

In the primary season, many of the African-American characters were from middle and dealing class backgrounds. But this season we’re dealing with a black family that’s wealthy, well-connected and downright snobbish.

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“Elitism is not the domain of Black people,” King said. “It’s just an elitist thing. I know a lot of people like that, not just black people. But isn’t it great that this time the elite family is a Black family? You don’t see Black people like that on TV.”

But do not be fooled by elitism. As with King and most of us, family comes first to Terri.

“She becomes vulnerable. “Family is the most important thing to her,” said King, who has been within the industry for 31 years. “For the first time in a long time, she is one of those little people. Meryl Streep said – I know I’m twisting this quote – one of the greatest things about being an actor is that you get a role that is nothing like you. But part of your job as an actor is to find a bit of yourself in the character, because that makes it real to people. It’s always fun and that’s why I love this art form so much.”

Unlike Aliyah, Terri is married and has an undeniable physical and emotional bond with her husband. Let’s talk in regards to the power couple. When asked in regards to the on-screen chemistry between her and Benjamin, 40, King chuckled.

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“He’s wonderful,” King said of her TV spouse. “He’s an exquisite man. He really is. It was a simple ride. We have great chemistry. We are each parents of boys. My son (Ian Alexander Jr., 20) is a yr older than his son Seven. We are each single parents of only children and we each like to smile.

We smile too, Regina. We smile too.

airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. If you missed the primary three episodes, you may catch up on ABC.com.