Deborah Joy Winans – Greenleaf

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) In April, I was in is Born For This, the musical at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.

Q) What is the story behind Born For This?

A) It’s a full-on musical with a great, great story. It’s the Bebe Winans story and is about his journey. But you can’t really tell his story without having Cece. I get to star in this story with my brother, Juan. He is playing Bebe and I’m playing Cece. We are playing our real life aunt and uncle. So, it’s really, really exciting to be in this process. It’s been a real delight. There is a lot of singing and dancing. It was written by Charles Randolph-Wright who just directed Motown on Broadway. He’s a playwright himself and he is amazing.

Q) Please tell us the premise for “Greenleaf” and about your character.

A) “Greenleaf” is about a family who own a mega church. It is run by none other than the great Keith David and his wife is played by Lynn Whitfield. They are both tremendous! They are my parents as I play the youngest daughter. I am Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee and I am married. I am also the Minister of Music at our church. I lead the choir and do a lot of singing. It’s about this family, their church and their true lives outside of the church.

Q) What was it about the role or show that made you want to be a part of it?

A) I think that Charity, to me, when I first read her description she stood out because she was a lot like myself. She seemed like she had one thing she did well and wasn’t sure about everything else yet was trying to fight for a place in her family’s eyes. I’m not the youngest of their children because I have a baby brother. She is fighting for their attention and some confidence. She sings well, but you can’t see that really well because she is fighting for other things that she thinks matters more. The story centers around my older sister who comes home after being gone for twenty years. So, I think you begin to see Charity’s struggle and her fight when her sister comes back because it becomes all about her sister. It comes back to this old thing about “She’s here and now I’m invisible.” There is some growing tension that you begin to see, even from episode one.

Q) Was there anything you added to your role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) No, but I think we found her truth. There are so many other things going on with every other character, but we found that she is untainted. There are different things that happen with her brother and with her sister and she is the only one that hasn’t been tainted or been down a sort of rough path. We found that she is really the light in the family, which is nice to discover. We’ve discovered quite a bit.

Q) How will dynamics shift throughout the season?

A) There are going to be several shifts, most of them I’m not allowed to share. You will see a family. You will see a real family. You will see a family of faith, but you will also see a family with real problems and real struggles. You will also see them find a way to get through them.

Q) Is there someone you wanted more scenes with or didn’t get to work with that you wish you had gotten to?

A) Of course, the woman who plays my aunt is none other than Ms. Oprah Winfrey. I would love to have had scene work with her because she is just incredible. I think that will come. It’s been incredible though to work opposite Lynn Whitfield, Keith David and Greg Alan Williams. It’s been really, really delightful.

Q) Was there instant chemistry when everyone began working together?

A) This is my first project of this sort of magnitude. It felt all natural to me. By the time it was time to wrap, we were in tears because it was a wonderful five months working together. Keith feels like my father and Lynn feels like my mother. Tye White is an awesome partner and plays my husband on TV. It was not hard to fall into who we needed to be. I’m not sure that is the norm, but I pray we all stay together because it has been amazing.

Q) Is there a moment you are nervous or excited to see play out on screen?

A) Oh yes! I’m excited to see a few things, but I think Kevin and Charity’s story will love to see it as it starts, grows and plays out through the end of the season. I think the fans will really, really love seeing the growth of that relationship.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you excited for the instant fan feedback you will receive?

A) I’m a little nervous. I’ve seen how some of those things go and I think you have to have a tough skin so that it doesn’t bother you when people are mean and rude. You just have to kind of accept everyone is going to have a certain opinion about who charity, Kevin or Bishop is. I’m a little nervous, but I’m excited. I think I’m more excited than nervous.

Q) What have you taken away from your time working on the series?

A) There are so many stories that need to be told in a very truthful, honest way. Even on days when I wasn’t shooting, sometimes I would just come watch Lynn Whitfield, Oprah or Keith David work. I’ve learned so much from watching their process. To me, those are just treasures that I will be able to take away. And just the honesty and truthfulness of what we put together I will take away. I think everyone is going to love it because it is true. I feel good about that.