Celebrity Coverage
Deborah Ayorinde combines horror and history in ‘Them: The Scare’
Photo credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Deborah Ayorinde returns because the star of Prime Video, the horror anthology series created by Little Marvin. The talented actress currently stars as Dawn Reeve, a homicide detective in Los Angeles in 1991. Last season was set in Compton in the early Fifties and highlighted a period when racism was rampant. The terror continues in the brand new installment of the series, titled .
This season, viewers will receive a first-hand account of Reeve’s experiences along with her personal and skilled struggles, in addition to the investigation right into a series of gruesome murders in Los Angeles. Ayorinde shines again in the lead role, showing off her range and versatility on screen. More essential, nevertheless, is her position among the many growing list of black women in the horror genre.
“I’m so grateful that I’m doing this at a time like this because, yes, a lot of people were running so that I could walk,” Ayorinde explains to ESSENCE during a candid conversation. “In many cases, I stand on their shoulders and I don’t take it lightly.”
Starring alongside a solid that features Luke James, Joshua Williams and the long-lasting Pam Grier, the film goals to remain true to its roots while still striking fear into viewers. “By doing this show, I learned how dedicated and appreciative horror fans are to this genre,” she says.
Ayorinde’s attention to detail and the cinematic genius of Little Marvin created the proper balance between history and horror. Whether one is a fan of the genre or not, this season of Them will keep viewers on their toes while exploring thought-provoking topics.
ESSENCE: Going back to the primary season, what was it about Livia’s role that intrigued you adequate to wish to proceed her?
Deborah Ayorinde: Going back to where I used to be in my profession at the moment, I instinctively knew I used to be on the verge of something great in my profession, but I just didn’t know what. I used to be really in search of a job that may really stretch me as an actor and allow me to point out what I could do, in addition to something that felt personal to me. And it was very near my heart. And once I got the script, I felt it was so big and so great and so beautiful that I truthfully didn’t think I might get it.
It’s that imposter syndrome thing, you already know what I mean? I literally read it and they said there have been a number of other people in the combo and I used to be like, “Okay, I’ll read it.” As I began to get further into the method, I just began to appreciate, “Oh shit, am I going to get this role?” But it was literally the role of a lifetime and I knew it once I read it. There are roles that you just just know are going to be big and wonderful and beautiful and impact loads of people.
You have appeared in projects similar to AND , but this might be essentially the most immersed role in the horror genre you’ve got ever seen. As you ready to enter ?
With the primary season, in case you remember, it was throughout the pandemic. So we’re almost done shooting. We literally had probably five days and needed to take a break. So that is who I’m as an actor and the way in which I used to be rocking with Lucky, I didn’t allow myself to completely come out of it and completely release it until we were done. So through all these months, I believe it ended up being six months off, I stayed along with her with one foot.
But for me, with all my roles, especially these, music has been an enormous preparation tool for me. I mainly create playlists for all of my characters. In season one, I created a playlist for Lucky of songs that I felt like she would hear on daily basis, songs that she may not have heard but that spoke to the moment she was going through, spoke to her emotions. I also made one for Dawn. There are loads of songs on this playlist that I consider bops. You know what I mean? But for me, it was only a throwback to a time in the ’90s once I was like, “Oh, music was just so…” Not that it’s like that now, nevertheless it was just so good. And also songs that talked about where she was emotionally, about loneliness, about this type of attempting to be a superwoman and so on.
I need to remain there because that is the primary time I’ve heard an actor use this method. How did you prepare the playlist?
Basically, I used to be born in London and as a family we moved to the Bay Area. For me, once I was in London, I remember being more into American music and then more into East Coast music, New York rap, Bad Boy and all that stuff. But it wasn’t until I moved to California that I began listening to songs that were very specific to California and very specific to the Bay Area. I picked a few of these songs from the playlist to remind me of the primary time I saw this completely different place, the primary time I drove across the bay from the San Francisco airport and my uncle played the soundtrack as he drove us. And literally from top to bottom, I can sing each lyric in this soundtrack due to it. It just brings you back.
I listened to loads of Tupac. Of course, Tupac is known everywhere in the world, but at the moment I listened to him rather a lot. I put it on a playlist. I put Too Short on the playlist and E-40 on the playlist. I say, God, so many individuals. I really like 90’s music so Brandy, Monica and all of them put it on the playlist. And again, I included some songs that appealed to more emotions. And interestingly enough, I managed to take heed to a number of songs from my Lucky and Dawn playlist. For me, it related to among the moments she goes through, the identical emotions.
What was it like working alongside Pam Grier during ?
It’s hard for me to even put it into words. It’s such an honor. And I do know she was like, “Just call me Aunt Pam.” It’s just the way in which she paved the way in which for therefore lots of us to exist in this industry, in case you just sit at her feet, she is going to literally inform you stories that can make you say, “Are you kidding? Me?” And just normal. She’ll say, “Oh yeah. Oh yeah, I sang in that. Oh yeah, once I did this and that… She tells you stories all day long and you simply sit there and say, “This woman is amazing and amazing. And I feel honored that she said yes. I feel honored that she blessed the universe with her legend. She really is. And she feels so safe, too.” Aunt.
So I felt very, superb working along with her. I felt very protected working along with her. I felt very seen working along with her. I do know she’s been through a lot in this industry and it makes me feel empowered to see her now and see her still working, still creating amazing art and just having fun. This is just amazing. That’s the easiest way I can put it, truthfully, because there are really no words to explain it.
Is there anything in particular that you just learned or took away from her, directly or not directly, as an actress?
I might say that the foremost, foremost, most significant thing is to enjoy what you do, because in case you don’t enjoy it, then why the hell are you doing it? She still enjoys it. He still tells jokes. He’s still fidgeting with this thing. And I feel like I’ve just seen loads of actors who only do it a fraction of the time that she does it, and I’ve probably only been through a fraction of the things that she’s been through each personally and professionally, and they’re already jaded . They don’t really like the method anymore. But she’s not like that. She still enjoys it.
And yet one more thing that I took from her, and that is the acting thing, nevertheless it’s a extremely personal thing to be honest with you. It was as if she was herself unapologetically. It just makes me feel, I do not know, it just gives me permission to take space and just be myself. Yes, she is amazing. Honestly, I could rave about her all day.
The role you play this season; you might be in a extremely essential position. I believe of ladies like Lupita Nyong’o, Betty Gabriel and the work that Angela Bassett worked on “Having Black people because the lead in these horror movies is basically culturally essential. What do you consider the representation of black women in the horror genre?
I believe it’s amazing. I just like the indisputable fact that we will make horror movies because often after we’re put on the forefront of horror movies and TV shows, we’re really capable of, like I said before, show what we will do, show our range, play complex characters, sometimes be the hero , and sometimes a villain.
I support us and proceed to do my best to represent us well in order that next time can be easier. But I believe that is exciting, not only in horror but in all genres. This really shows that we aren’t a monolith, that we don’t should be lumped into one or two bags. This excites me and I’m blissful to be a component of it. And the actual fact that you could say my name in the identical sentence as people like Pam, Angela, Lupita is an honor for me. I’m really excited concerning the work we have done and plan to proceed doing.
Celebrity Coverage
The most elegant moments of beautiful Billie Holiday – essence
William Gottlieb/Redferns
When Billie Holiday entered the stage, not only her voice turned her head – it was her presence. Known as Lady Day, she embodied the timeless type of beauty that cannot be reproduced – only worship. More than an icon of jazz, Holiday was a plan: her appearance, its mastery and its unrestricted elegance are still inspired by generations of black women who understand that beauty concerns the soul, as in style.
In the Nineteen Forties, the singer was known for wearing a deep, dark lipstick, which made her hair decorated with gardenia relatively more. Her eyebrows have contained throughout the least times been thrown out and eyelashes? Flirts, feathery and unforgettable. Sometimes she liked to take care of cool and canopy with packaging, contained throughout the least times emanating this sort of glam. In 1939, she added to the photo session, gardens in full bloom-nevertheless it surely’s eyelashes and it is a soft look, to which we’re still attracted.
Quickly until 1947, when the legend hit the stage on the Downbeat Club Manhattan. No foundation, no powder – just daring lipstick, natural leather and star power.
Until 1957, Billie modified every little thing to her performance to Newport Jazz Festival, leaving Gardenias behind, but keeping a characteristic red lip. And because of all this she never avoided the camera. New head shots, latest corners – because my love is contained throughout the least times in style.
In honor of the late icon we rejoice some of the most unforgettable moments of beauty Billie Holiday.
























Celebrity Coverage
Hannah John -kamen on Thunderbolts* and always remains ready to get close – essence
Killer Action Role on television, science fiction Odyssey Outlaws and Hyper-Dystopian Stories are stuffed with the movie Hannah John-Kamen as a performer with strength in her emotional performance on the screen. A 35-yr-old English actress known for her roles in movies similar to Andas, just like the television program, Likeand is ready to bring her to her because she had large roles supporting in lots of successful franchises. He represents his role Ghost (Ava Starr) in Marvel. Directed by Jake Schreier, The Asterisk within the title of the film is an actual show Way Marvel, and the filmmaker intended to be this story to be the departure of Disney franchise and resign how very different it’s from the more shiny repertoire of Marvel’s movies.
“Jake’s lens of this film was very, tonally specific”, he describes John-Kamen through the conversation. “It was like creating an independent film in the Marvel universe – Jake had a level of sensitivity and nurturing this story.” Re-reembodiment John-Kamena Ava Starr as a spirit, a killer for employment, is a key paria of the newly formed group, which was later recognized within the film as Thunderbolts, the name developed by the character of David Harbor, Aleksiej Andreovitch (Red Guardian).

The family roots of John-Kamen reach her Nigerian father and Norwegian mother, who performed significantly different works as a criminal psychologist and fashion model. With her established experience in Performance’s art, she was able to introduce her history of upbringing in a house stuffed with beauty and brains in her roles on the screen. The English contractor doesn’t stop his roles on television and film and cooperated with the maestros cinema, similar to Steven Spielberg (), and now Jake Schreier. “It’s quite difficult, because when you filter abroad, you revolve with a time difference that is easier to say than to do,” says John-Kamen. “In this world it can be a lonely lifestyle that concerns the spirit, and I grounded, taking breath and seeing my loved ones, friends and hugging my dog.”

Florence Pugh leads as Yelena Belova, a self -sighted super agent who suffers from disturbing episodes that recreate memories of the past that persecute her. The unusual childhood injury Belova led her to becoming a one who acts probably the most alone. Belova and Starr are a fortress behind Anti Hero Alliance of the Thunderbolts. They are the one women in a six -person organization who meets with controversial forces. “He, very, controls himself, his body and making decisions very much,” the John-Kamen explores. “She is Fort Knox and is a lonely wolf.”

The unusual moments of the comedy from the forged, which incorporates Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Pullman and many others, does so related and feel more human than OR. Without having shiny superpowers, which make up lightning, they’re forced to face their reality without pursuing fandoms and public support. In the film Arch Nemesis Thunderbolt is the vengeful figure of Louis-Dreyfus, Valentina Allegra de Fountaine-infiltrating director who tries to manipulate and remove the Marvel Hero team.

During the 2 -hour journey, which makes up the history of Thunderbolt’s origin, the audience experiences the way in which these qualified warriors are still fighting for the worst problems. Ava Starr remains under the radar for many of the film because he has more sequences than words. “Her guard is very elevated,” says John-Kamen. Ava Starr appears when Yelena Belova needs her most to save the world overtaken by darkness. The character of Lewis Pullman, Robert “Bob” Reynolds, is armed against Thunderbolts, and his arch symbolizes how our minds may be as powerful because the uncomfortable villain.

Schreier’s approach to this film within the Marvel series was to enlarge greater than outside, removes all glamorous aesthetics that makes the heroes so aspirative. Even in Thunderbolts marketing, a wheat box standing in the course of the box is caught to satirize the trail of superheroes created within the Marvel cinema. Each anti -hero character stands in front of its own internal battles created by the trauma and wounded within the script by Eric Pearson. “We really laughed between shots,” Hannah warns me, talking in regards to the heavier features of the film. “I really created this beautiful family in this cast.”
In general, it is a story that follows wounded individuals who learn to treat. Along the way in which, they establish a family bond and support system. In 2025, when people can feel more disconnected, the narrative of Thunderbolts hits the home harder, watching the characters construct sufficient confidence and mental Harta to stand in themselves and their newly discovered friends. “I think that at the end of this movie I want you to hug a loved one or make sure someone feels safe and informed him that they do not have to boldly smile,” John-Kamen says.
Celebrity Coverage
Karen Pittman in the latest drama Netflix “Forever” – Essence
Karen Pittman during the thirty first Guild Actors Guild Awards. Photo: Maya Dehlin Spach
Karen Pittman is just too accustomed to prime quality content. From, to, she built a profession playing dynamic characters at the center of an intelligent, conscious society. But in the recent Netflix Pittman series, he enters the unknown territory – each skilled and emotional. Adapted by Mara Brock Akil and the performer produced by Regina King, the concert again imagines the iconic novel by Judah Blume from 1975 through a up to date lens, concentrating black love, family and growing pains of adolescence in America Pre -Floyd. This is a type of project that usually doesn’t come – and Pittman knew about it after the jump.
“I don’t have such a thing on my work on TV,” says Essence. “I did it in the theater, but not in this way with these colleagues.” When Akil turned to her regarding the role of Dawn Edwards-Reduer with a high power and fierce protective mother-she showed that the stars were leveled. “Not very often in your career, as an actress, people will allow you to break your mold and do something else,” he says. “And Mara is known for the concentration of black women. It meant to me.”
In the series Dawn is the mother of Justin, teenagers moving in the old flame, identity and independence. It is an effort that required Pittman to make use of his mother’s own instincts – but with restraint. “Dawn and I are two very, very different mothers,” he says with amusing. “But this level of cruelty in how it protects my children? I am completely adapted with it. There is no compromise for me in this way.” While Dawn emanates what Pittman calls “Razzle Dazzle” – a type of presence that makes people sit straight when he enters the room – she can be harsh, sensitive and struggles with the terrifying transition to permit her son to enter a situation that she will be able to’t control.

The series takes place in 2018, and sometimes the Nominee Actors Guild awards as “preliminary sketch”. Before Pandemia, before he calls for racial justice, the series records quiet fears that defined so many black households. “This is an uncertain place for a mother,” he explains. “Watching your child goes to the hostile world. This program reflects where we were as a country and why Dawn is so focused on the development of the Son.”
This helps that Pittman’s stars are Wood Harris, who plays Father Justin. Two actors divide not only skilled chemistry, but a typical language that reaches their roots. “We spoke smoothly with each other,” he says. “Wood was simply an ideal star-open gentleman, accessible and full of respect for work. Our heroes love deeply, and the conflict between them concerns noble problems, not a small drama. This made the scenes rich.”
The dream team doesn’t end there. Pittman lights up, saying that he’s directed by King, whose artistic instinct and private experience have added work. “Regina grew up in Los Angeles, she was the mother of her son at this age – there was such a large synergy,” he says. “He is the director of the actor, completely commanding, but also related to the crew in a way that made the whole set feel grounded.”
But this Akil, says Pittman, who built the foundation. “Mara could write for everyone, do everything – but she decides to warm up her work around us,” he says. “She is intended in a way that I have never experienced. We saw her influence by: – But this series gives us a different dimension of her vision. It is delicate. It is sharp. It is deep, deeply black.”
For Pittman, It’s greater than a brand new loan on her impressive CV – it is a type of return home. A probability to stretch, cooperation with creators that admires and tell a story that resonates at every level.
“This is one of those rare times in which work, people and message are consistent,” he says. “And when it happens, you jump.”