In Hollywood terms, Sheryl Lee Ralph is the same as her character in “Abbott Elementary.”
However, she was a little surprised to be nominated for her first Emmy as the best support actress in the comedy series.
OK, not a little.
“I was like,’Oh, my god!’,” Ralph recalls saying on Tuesday when his son told her the news. “I can believe it, but I can’t believe it. I’m very happy. That is, I’m out of breath and very happy.”
In Abbott, Quinta Brunson’s ABC comedy about Philadelphia’s underfunded public school, Ralph’s character Barbara Howard has been teaching in the school district for 20 years and is crazy about Brunson’s character. A malfunctioning system. The show has been nominated for seven Emmy Awards and added to the already critical and successful evaluations (not to mention the powerful social media buzz).
Ralph, 65, who has been a screen actress since the 1970s and has been performing on Broadway since the 1980s after the nominations were announced, nodded her first Emmy award, loved the show, and what she was. I talked about what I want to do next. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Why do you think “Abbott Elementary” has struck a chord with viewers?
This show is perfect for this show, which can increase the visibility and plight of educators across the country. Those who make sacrifices, those who are at the forefront of the worst times in the world. We can tell their story, the ups and downs.
Barbara is such an institution of the school. In most cases she seems unwavering. Do you have anything to do with it in your own industry?
In so many ways.So many can say [of the nomination], “Why hasn’t this happened before?” Everything happens at God’s timing. This was exactly what happened at this show. All the shows I went to led me to this moment.
What did you hear from? A real teacher about the show??
They couldn’t love the show anymore. They love the fact that I wear real teacher clothes and real teacher shoes. They love the fact that I have what they think of as a real teacher’s hairstyle. They love the fact that I play it like a real teacher. And my aunt, a retired teacher, became the principal, she says, “Oh, I love the way you are proud of all of us.”
You have appeared on Broadway and have appeared on dozens of television shows and movies since the 1970s. But this show introduced you to a whole new audience. What is it like?
Every 10 years of my career, I am very grateful that there was something to introduce a new generation.I played Barbara Hanley when I started [in the 1977 film “A Piece of the Action”] With Sidney Poitier, and I was a teenager. Then I go to Broadway and do “Dream Girls”. Then, in the 90’s, “Moesha” and “Sister Act 2” appeared, and in the 2000’s, “Ray Donovan” and “Instant Mama” appeared. Then “Moesha” came back, it was the children of the children who were watching it in the early 90’s. It was a wonderful trip.
I love social media and thought my followers were of a certain generation. Marketing people said, “No, your followers are much younger than you think.” I said, “How young are you?” And they said, “From children to 40 years old.” I said, “You’re kidding, right?”
You’ve done a lot in your career, but what’s at the top of the list about what you haven’t done yet but want to do professionally?
If someone had told me that I would play a character like Barbara Howard, I would have said “No, no.” I honestly thought Barbara wouldn’t be visible at the show. I never expected people to really see me. I thought she couldn’t see it. So I leave them open to God.
Would you like to make some great movies that are the scripts I’ve written so far? As all my mentors have always said, as a young black performer, just acting is never enough. You have to write. You have to produce. Try another language. And now that the doors have opened and people can see you about your talents and abilities, I want to make some of those dreams come true.
