Andrea Bordeaux – Run the World

By starrymag | July 11, 2021

By: Kemberlie Spivey

 

 

Q) Ella and her friends have such a close bond that is so amazing to see on screen. What do you love about what these specific women represent and what do you hope people take away from watching this show? 

 

A) What I love about these women is that they really showcase the fact that Black women are not a monolith. They characters are all from very different walks of life with different views and perspectives, with different life paths, and with very different ways of interacting with their own particular world while still being cohesive and very much representative of what it means to be a Black woman. What I hope people take away from watching the show is really just that here are no rules or limitations when it comes to the Black woman experience and that whatever it is that you’re choosing to do, how you’re living your life, how you express yourself and how you display your uniqueness is inherently representative of the Black experience.

 

Q) What initially made you want to be a part of this series “Run the World?”

 

A) For one, I really loved that the series was written and created by a Black woman and that all of the women attached to the pilot were Black women. Yvette Lee Bowser is our showrunner, Leigh Davenport is, of course, the creator and a writer of the show and Millicent Sheldon was the director of the pilot. It was so exciting and exhilarating to audition and see that this was an incredible chance to be a part of a woman driven, woman led, woman centered show that really showcased the voices of Black women.

 

Q) Your character Ella is trying to figure her next step in her career, trying to deal with her ex Anderson and still make time to be there for her friends. In what ways do you relate to her?

 

A) I really relate to Ella being in a place in her life where she feels a little bit disillusioned and that her confidence has been shaken by the fact that her career aspirations didn’t pan out the way that she imagined they would. I have definitely been there in my life, and I recognize the frustration that she experiences, and really felt like this was a beautiful opportunity to kind of relive those life experiences through the eyes of Ella. Similarly to Ella, I went through a difficult break up a couple of years ago and, while I didn’t handle the aftermath of the break up in the same way that Ella has, I completely understand and relate to and empathize with the ways in which the ending of a really important and impactful relationship can make you reevaluate your entire life, and put you in a place where you’re questioning what it is that you want from a new relationship or how you interact with men. Her journey with Anderson (Nick Sagar) has been so interesting because I imagine that my life could have potentially played out in a similar way had I made different choices regarding my previous partner.

 

Q) We see Anderson is persistent in trying to get back with Ella. Do you think Ella deserves to give him a second chance? Do you think she has to protect herself from getting hurt again?

 

A) You know, I think it’s so clear how much Ella loves Anderson and how much she missed him and how heartbroken she was by him. She certainly wants to give him a second chance but, yes, she is really terrified of getting hurt again. When you go through such a heartbreaking experience where are you really put yourself out there, allow for vulnerability and you felt like the person left you at your darkest moment, there’s a level of trust that’s broken that’s difficult to rebuild. Ella definitely needs to take responsibility for the role that she played in the ending of the relationship but she’s really just doing her best to follow her heart and still protect herself at the same time, which can result in behavior that seems confusing or contradictory.

 

Q) What’s your favorite part about playing Ella?

 

A) I really love how much like me Ella is. Ella makes a lot of different choices that I wouldn’t make, but her world views, her cadence of speaking, the way she expresses herself, the way that she carries herself is so much like me and it’s been really fun to be an alternate version of myself in this incredible universe of “Run the World.” And, of course, I can’t leave how fabulous her style is. The fashion has been a huge highlight of playing Ella.

 

Q) One of the relationships I admire on the show is the one of Ella and Barb (played by Erika Alexander). What is like working with Erika Alexander? 

 

A) Working with Erika is such an honor. She’s an absolute icon and someone that I absolutely loved watching growing up. I loved “Living Single,” just like everybody else that’s ever seen the show, and Maxine Shaw was my favorite character on the show. I could see so much of myself in her and I really wanted to be like her when I was young. I even wanted to be a lawyer and part of that was because of Erika’s work on that show. So, getting the chance to work with her has been a dream come true. She is so incredibly funny, generous, talented and super intelligent. Every single time I’m on set with her we have a great time. She just has everybody in stitches and what’s especially interesting about that is that the viewers only get to see a small fraction of her talent because you’re only getting to see the takes that actually make it into the show. But every single take is absolute gold and she’s such a witty, sharp, comedic actress and I learn a lot from watching her. I love working with her.

 

Q) Your characters like to have some fun on this show with karaoke birthday parties and hanging by the pool. Were there any fun days on set, or memorable moments that stuck with you?

 

A) Absolutely! We always had fun and there were very, very, very few dull moments throughout the filming of the series. For instance, the karaoke seen was largely inspired by a night out that we had filming the pilot where we all went to Karaoke. A few of us actors had spoken with Yvette and Leigh about how much we loved karaoke and I, in particular, was very emphatic about expressing my love for Korean Karaoke, which is different from what most people understand to be Karaoke because it’s in a private setting. And, so, Yvette put together a night out where she took us to Karaoke in Koreatown and we had the most incredible time with lots of embarrassing singing, mostly on my part as evidenced by episode 3. And it was a beautiful, fun, hot mess. That’s just one example of a lot of the fun that we had throughout the filming of the show. In between takes we’re constantly laughing and cracking jokes, making up songs, and just being silly.

 

Q) What’s been the biggest take away for you working on a show like “Run the World?”

 

A) I would say the biggest take away for me has been the revelation that it is very possible to manifest your dream role. Throughout my career I had never really imagined that an opportunity like this would come my way, but in the months leading up to me finding out about the show I started getting really specific with visualizing the kind of work that I wanted to do, the type of environment that I wanted to be in, the kinds of people I wanted to work with. And then when “Run the World” materialized before my eyes, it was as if I had really, truly manifested it. That has been such a beautiful, beautiful revelation and experience that I’ve gotten to live.

 

Q) Being a part of social media, have you been enjoying the feedback from fans?

 

A) Of course, the fans have been absolutely wonderful. I am not someone who spends a lot of time on Twitter and I certainly don’t tweet very often, and I have thoroughly enjoyed going onto Twitter and reading all of the tweets and the jokes and all of the interesting and funny things that people have to say. With all of the commentary, the expressions of love, the fans of the show have just been absolutely wonderful and one of the highlights of getting to watch the show play out in real time is it seeing how people are not only responding to it but choosing to vocalize their pleasure and joy in what they’re experiencing through watching the show.

 

Q) Are you working on any projects that fans should be excited about? 

 

A) I’m not working on anything in relation to television and film at the moment. I do have some really exciting personal projects that I am developing for myself that are unrelated to being an actor that I still think the fans could be really excited about given how interesting and unique the experience will be for me. I very much plan to document that journey and share it with everyone who follows me, so stay tuned for that!

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and your work?

 

A) I would just like to express my immense gratitude for their love and their support! There are so many incredible artists, entertainers, content creators, television shows, movies, all of the things that people have an opportunity to direct their attention to and the fact that people spend any amount of time directing their valuable and precious energy toward me and supporting my personal endeavors means a great deal to me. I do not take it for granted. At all.