You can have all the success in the world, but if you’re not balanced and centered, your entire life will suffer for it. Actor Tracey Love Graves has discovered a way to balance her extraordinary career, thriving yoga practice, and family while maintaining her peace and grace. While many are consumed with chasing the next opportunity, she devotes herself to thorough preparation, trusting that whatever comes next will unfold naturally, confident in her incredible ability to rise to the occasion and seize the moment.
Can you share some memorable experiences from your early days in Los Angeles while working on comedies like “About Last Night” and “The Wedding Ringer” with Kevin Hart?
I think the most memorable experience to me was how Regina Hall spoke life into me in between scenes while we were shooting “About Last Night.” I grew up watching her, of course. We saw her in “Scary Movie” back when I was in high school. I looked up to her. She’s highly revered in my eyes. In between scenes on “About Last Night,” she kind of checked in on me. She asked me how I was doing. How did I end up here? What am I working on? She said things like I should be doing commercials… She just kind of hipped me to the game and showed that you can be successful and still have a normal life. And still forge your own path.
Another thing she did for me is talk about me to other people who introduced me to casting directors who introduced me to my first agent. I kind of owe the trajectory of my career to her. I also owe it to the producers who had me audition for that role, of course, but I would not have known what to do after that if it were not for her.
That’s an amazing story. How did you transition from comedic roles to more dramatic ones, such as your appearances in “Being Mary Jane” and “Hawaii Five-O”?
I just started training, and I just became more comfortable. I actually find myself to be naturally sarcastic and naturally funny. Dramatic roles are probably my greatest fear in the world, which is why I love doing them because I love scaring myself to death (laughing). I started training, and I became more comfortable with genre-switching. And those were the roles I was given to audition for.
What challenges did you face as a Black actress in Hollywood, and how did you overcome them to achieve success?
Honestly, the challenge I have faced in Black Hollywood is the lack of roles for us. Also, the roles that I am given as a Black actress usually don’t fit my style of delivery. Oftentimes, the roles that we are given as Black actresses portray us as a monolith and we know that we are not. We come in different varieties. We come with distinct speech patterns. We have individually unique presences on stage. I have actually found a lot of people say it without saying it. Can you be more Black? Can you be a little more sassy? Can you be a little more urban? We are starting to see a change now, but it was unfortunate for a long time to see that they only wanted us to be Taraji P. Henson from “Hustle & Flow.” But it’s changing now.
How important is representation in the media, and how do you think it has evolved during your career?
Representation is paramount because it changes social perception. It quells fears because a lot of people are only ignorant or prejudicial, or hold stereotypes because they are uneducated. Oftentimes, our friends and our family are not educating us about the differences in other communities. We get a lot of our education, unfortunately, from film and television.
Can you share some of the key lessons you’ve learned about resilience and determination on your journey to success?
Where do I start? I don’t know when this strike will be over. I am in… (Editor’s Note: Due to the strike; we are unable to include the name of the new horror film in this interview.) If the strike is not over, you can’t print that. If it’s over, you can (laughing). I just had this conversation the other day with my coach who reminded me of this, because I always forget… When we do these roles and we walk off set, we have to leave these roles on the stage. We, as actors, will replay every scene over and over again. We will tell ourselves how we could have or should have done it differently. I was reminded that action is literally living in the past. We need to stand in our presence. We need to stand in our confidence. We need to stand in our self-efficacy and know that what we did is good enough for the moment and the directors and the editors will take our work and create art. I am being reminded right now to trust the process, because that’s the only way I will be able to move forward. I am being reminded right now to let go of the past, because that is the only way to move forward. Also, I am being reminded to stay confident and stay extremely positive, and know that I did my best. And I was prepared.
Could you describe some of the roles or projects that have been particularly meaningful to you, and why?
I would love to talk about this latest one… I will talk about Hawaii Five-O. Hawaii Five-O was meaningful to me because one of my favorite teachers was my JROTC instructor. Her name is SFC Patricia Chapman. When I graduated, she was no longer teaching, but she came back to our school for the graduation. She is another one who was just an example of what being a strong, honest, and determined brazen Black woman was. And I love her. When I booked the role, the character was originally a 45-year-old Hispanic male. When they decided to give me the role, they didn’t change his name, but his rank was Sergeant First Class. I had just received her phone number from another classmate. So, I decided to call Sergeant First Class Patricia Chapman and let her know that I just booked a role and I have her rank. When I told her, she lost her mind because Hawaii Five-O is her absolute most favorite show. We both started crying…
What advice would you give to aspiring actors, especially those facing obstacles in pursuing their dreams?
I would just tell them to keep practicing and build up their confidence. That’s really the only way through. We lack confidence when we lack training. But when we know what we are able to do, we can show up prepared, ready to give and serve the project, and not be focused on ourselves. It is when we are unprepared and we lack confidence that we become so self-centered, thinking that everyone knows we’re not prepared. One, that’s not true because everyone else is thinking about themselves. Two, we have a duty to show up ready to go so we can transform that energy and serve the project. It unifies everyone to serve the project and get out of their own heads. I would say just work on your craft. Work on your craft and know that you are capable. Know that your unique fingerprint and addition to every project is valuable and necessary.
Be’n Original
