Renee Lawless – The Haves and the Have Nots

By starrymag | January 27, 2016

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

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

 

A) Wow! I have so much going on. With the new season upon us, I have been busy doing interviews and press. Most recently, I did an appearance on “The Real” to promote the show. I have a sold out concert in Florida in February. We start shooting next season in a couple of months so I am pretty booked up until then.

 

Q) What can you tease about the new season of “Have and Have Nots” and with your character Katheryn?

 

A) In addition to what is currently going on, you may get to see Katheryn taking a little bit more charge and trying to get to the bottom of things and not depending on Jim (John Schneider) so much.

 

Q) Since the theme of this season is about payback, what will be some of the repercussions of the last season’s finale?

 

A) First, I think the obvious is that the Cryers and Harringtons are in jail. Wyatt (Aaron O’Connell) has gone crazy with the alcohol and drugs again and Maggie Day (Allison McAtee) is left to runaround on her own and stir up trouble. BUT, there still is a lot of unfinished business out there. NO ONE is exempt good or bad. What a tangled web we weave…

 

Q) Is there anything you have added to the role that originally wasn’t scripted?

 

A) The genius of Tyler Perry is that he gave us a wonderful gift in allowing us to create these characters on our own. As far as something that wasn’t necessarily scripted…Initially, the only clues I had about Katheryn was more power and her strength. I hope that I have been able to bring her compassion and humanity to the role.

 

Q) Will dynamics with Jim be shifting at all or will they continue their complexity?

 

A) A little bit of both. Jim and Katheryn will always (in some way, shape or form) be at each other’s throats. But, at the same time, we will continue a little bit like we did last season on a united front in some areas.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. How has it been getting that instant fan feedback?

 

A) I. LOVE. IT. It gives you that immediate gratification much like theater. You know we don’t hear the applause in a television drama or in a movie. However, on social media we see the applause and that’s incredible!

 

Q) What makes your character Katheryn so compelling?

 

A) I think people like Katheryn, women AND men, because they can relate to her. I’ve said this before, most people can’t relate to Katheryn’s $50 million, but 50 million women can relate to her problems. I think that’s what keeps her compelling. People admire her strength, her “balls” if you will and the way she stands up for her husband, family and her peers. She walks, talks and rules with an iron fist.

 

Q) What, ultimately, do you think lies behind all of Katheryn’s layers?

 

A) That’s a complicated question. Three things formed her “layers.” Her upbringing/heritage: she is old money and she was taught at a young age how you were to act in society. Her Parentage: her father was a very powerful man. Her mother was the high standing lady of a society. Katheryn’s father was also cunning and a great businessman. Lastly, Her Marriage: It isn’t what she hoped it would be. It is not the love story she wanted it to be. It’s turned into a business relationship. All of those things together give her this outer shell. Underneath all of that is a woman with wants, needs and desires. So, we peel back those layers of her heritage, layers of her parentage and layers of her marriage and we get to the core of Katheryn. A woman who has a heart, who has feelings, who has opinions that has been stifled because of all of the above.

 

Q) What is your favorite aspect of Katheryn?

 

A) Her strength and her power.

 

Q) Is there anything else about this season you would like to tease or share?

 

A) There’s a whole lot of hurricanes a’ brewin’!