Sonja Sohn – The Chi

By: Jamie Steinberg

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

A) Nothing that I can really talk about right now, other than Baltimore Rising, which is a movie that I directed for HBO and premiered on their network at the end of November. Right now, I’m splitting my time between cultivating a directing career and staying connected to my acting career.

Q) How was your character Laverne Johnson from “The Chi” originally described to you?

A) That’s a really tricky question because I don’t really know how much I can reveal about the process behind the development of the character. The writers and showrunners created a character on paper — Laverne is written as the alcoholic mom of Brandon (Jason Mitchell) and Coogie (Jahking Guillory) who has hit upon hard times and is just functioning, but loves her children and family deeply. The way I approached the character, was not unlike the way I would approach any character. The character is flawed, but also has redeeming qualities. To show the depth and breadth of who this character is… I think in the first few episodes she sounds like an angry drunk, but there are a lot more layers underneath that which the audience gets glimpses of throughout the season. I think that’s what I’ve been excited to play – all the different various layers of Laverne. It’s just very exciting to me because as an actor I always wanted to play a diverse cast of characters throughout my career and it’s not exactly been that way. I play a lot of professional characters. Probably half the characters I’ve played have been in law enforcement. So, it’s been exciting to play this character. All characters have emotional depth, but the intent of the writers and producing staff of the show is to actually show some of that humanity and emotional depth with this family – them being in Chicago dealing with not only the homicide epidemic, but the struggles of living every day life yet from a joyful human perspective. I just enjoy being a part of the show for that reason.

Q) Was there anything you added to Laverne that wasn’t scripted for you?

A) Again, as an actor, I think there’s always work you do that no one knows. In order to portray this character as a full human being you get lines, but to build a character and create a character fully (for me) there is a lot of work that goes into it. This character has a life, history and biography. That is part of the work that goes into creating this character. Based on the words that are on the page, I take myself into a place inside of this character and inside of myself and I sort of just go on an exploration and I find what I believe is the story for this character that allows me to give true, real emotion to the words and lift them off of the page. I did not go through a comparison of what the writers had in mind and my own personal work on the character. What I did instead is do the work that I normally do on the character– and most actors I know do character work — and script breakdown work. It’s not something unusual. As we’re working on set, I just made sure that what I was reaching for was in alignment with what the writers and director had in mind – and played in the scene well with what other actors were bringing to the table. So, I don’t think I necessarily added things that weren’t there. What matters is what we are able to see on screen.

Q) What did you find challenging about portraying this character?

A) I think the most challenging aspect of playing Laverne was really knowing and being aware of how to calibrate her emotion. She is someone who can go from zero to one hundred in a minute if she’s triggered. So, I think the challenging aspect for me in terms of playing Laverne is calibrating that emotion.

Q) What was it like working with the cast? Did you spend time together to develop a familial bond?

A) Yeah, we went out. Especially on a first season you meet your cast and you spend time together. We did some rehearsals and we went out. We had some dinners together. That was a lot of fun. A lot of the actors are quite a few years younger than me. After a while, you get to know people and your bonding ends up happening in the scene and working together. We also came to work. We can’t play around too much, but we did have some bonding time. And I really look forward to what’s coming because it really reminds me…Well, let me just say this — although the early days of shooting the pilot of “The Chi” reminded me of coming to Baltimore to shoot the pilot of “The Wire” and there have been some comparisons to “The Wire,” I don’t think those comparisons are always warranted. As an actor who has been on both shows, what I find sort of warmly reminiscent is being with actors and young actors getting a show for the first time and seeing them shine. I’m just grateful to be a part of it.

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming “The Chi?”

A) The funeral scene. It was crappy weather outside. [laughs] One of those memorable moments was shooting that scene. I accidentally punched a guy who was an extra in the face. All of us just burst into laughter and he was a really good sport about it. Also, I think it was generally just working with Jason. It’s really a joy and a privilege. I think he’s a really big talent that doesn’t come around often. I was impressed with him that funeral scene because his eulogy was essentially a two page monologue. That’s a lot of lines. His brother is dead, so he’s going to cry. Every extra in the place wants to meet him. He’s the Lead of the show which means unofficially he’s sort of an ambassador during the pilot. Keeping chipper to a degree, managing the expectations of all the fan extras sitting in the pews while focusing on his work which was a pretty hefty load.  It was only the first week of shooting.  He nailed that scene, tears, snot and all, every single time.  It was amazing – yeah, the funeral scene would be it.  I also enjoyed episode nine and ten because it’s where the audience will begin to see a deeper side to Laverne that they haven’t seen yet.

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from watching “The Chi?”

A) That regardless of where we grow up, as African Americans, we still find joy in our lives. We have family. What I love about this show is that it is amplifying the family aspect of black love and black joy – that these aspects of black life exist simultaneously as some of the more oppressive issues. It doesn’t mean that we’re not finding joy and love in our lives. So, that’s what I think is one of the unique qualities of “The Chi” and one of the reasons I’m proud to be a part of it.

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback to episodes you receive?

A) Yeah, I do like to read the fan feedback. I’m so busy that I don’t get to be on social media all the time. I can’t do Facebook, it requires too much time. I’m active on Twitter and Instagram. I’m adamant about doing my own and I’m also adamant about making it imperfect – not super polished and letting folks into my life. When I get comments about Showtime, yes, I’m happy to see them. I only see the positive responses. I’m not one to do research and start looking for all the comments, but I do follow fan feedback. I think fan feedback is important in this day and age. They are the ones that keep the show on and off the air. I’m really happy the show is being well received. There are tons of fans of “The Wire” and tons of fans for “The Chi” as well. I also believe they understand that there is a difference between the two and this show stands on its own merit.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and a supporter of you and your work?

A) Keep watching “The Chi.” Stay tuned! Support black joy and black love and support family. Support full complete stories of the human experience. That’s what “The Chi” is also. Everyone can relate to it because we all have family. In this day and age, there is a lot of frivolous use of violence and shocking imagery on television that is impacting and effecting our consciousness in negative ways. This is a show that impacts society and consciousness in a positive way. So, I put my full support behind it. I’m grateful to be a part of it.