Tichina Arnold – The Neighborhood

By starrymag | April 22, 2019

By: Spring Marie Cullen

 

 

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

 

A) I did a movie, my first horror flick, that’s coming out called Countdown. I play Nurse Amy. I did a Plan B (entertainment), A24 movie called The Last Black Man in San Francisco that’s coming out in June. I did a movie called Clover. it doesn’t have a release date yet. Right now, that’s it. And raising my fifteen-year-old daughter, pray for me.

 

Q) We love seeing you on “The Neighborhood.” What initially drew you to the project?

 

A) I knew Cedric [the Entertainer] for over twenty something years and I realized I never worked with him. It’s the craziest thing. I love him and we just never worked with each other, so when I got the opportunity to go in for it I ran with it. I wanted to make sure that I was able to work with him.

 

Q) Was there anything you added to Tina that wasn’t initially scripted for her?

 

A) Originally, Jim Reynolds wrote her as a very religious woman, so the character read as an older older woman and I was like, “Well, I don’t really want to be old and passed my age.” They made the adjustment, thank God. The character changed, not drastically, but because of my personality Jim Reynolds brought some different things to her. And he asked me what I could bring to her as well. I would say the age difference. We made her a little younger than what she was originally supposed to be.

 

Q) You mentioned that you and Cedric familiar with one another before the series. Did there need to be a chemistry read?

 

A) Yes, we sure did. And I made sure that I brought all the chemistry I could. But he’s easy. Cedric is such an amazing guy, a sweet guy, so it wasn’t really, really hard but I was kind of nervous. I was like, “Oh, God, I hope they like me,” because I’d never been on a CBS show before. This was my first time, so I’m happy to get the opportunity to do it.

 

Q) One of my favorite things on the series is the relationship between Tina and Gemma. What’s your on-screen/off-screen relationship with Beth Behrs like?

 

A) Exactly the same. She’s like the white version of me, she really is. She’s a goofball, she’s loud, she’s crazy, she’s fun, she’s fun-loving, she gets along with everybody, she likes to laugh, she likes to make people laugh, she’s really genuine. She’s a very genuine person. Literally from the day we met we’ve been inseparable. She’s a really, really amazing person. It’s always good to get along with the people that you work with and all of us, we really get along. It’s a breath of fresh air to have that. We teach each other all the time. It’s so funny. We get scripts and they’ll be some black euphemisms in there and she’s like, “What does that mean?” and I’m like, “It means this.” And then they’ll have some lines that only white girls would know and I’m like, “What the hell is that?” So, we explain our cultures to each other all the time. She’s trying to get me to do goat yoga. I’m not doing it. The buck stops here.

 

Q) Dave and Calvin kind of butt heads, but right from the beginning Tina and Gemma were best friends.

 

A) Yeah and you would think with women that they might be more standoffish. You have two women, completely different backgrounds, but they understand the fundamental value of being a woman and being a mother and understanding each other and embracing each other’s differences despite them. If Tina and Gemma didn’t like each other, oh it’d be a different show. But thank God the women did like each other because both characters were open enough to want to be around each other and want to learn about each other and embrace each other’s differences. If you start there you can’t lose.

 

Q) Which has been your favorite episode of “The Neighborhood” and why?

 

A) I like the washcloth episode. It really started a major dialogue on the internet, which is crazy because I always say black people talk differently than white people. You have two different topics of conversations at the dinner table. Here you have a show where we get those conversations together. We discover new things about each other and I think it’s important to have a show like this because we understand and learn our differences, but we embrace them instead of being fearful of it. I think it’s important that “The Neighborhood” continues to show our differences and that we all can get along and understand each other. It comes from a real place and I think Jim is so wonderful with that. He’s really open to doing current social issues that need to be discussed.

 

Q) What were some scenes you were most excited for fans to see?

 

A) The nerf gun scene was fun in the last episode. That one’s going to be fun. We got a chance to do some real physical comedy.

 

Q) How is “The Neighborhood” different from other sitcoms you’ve starred in?

 

A) Every sitcom is different. You have a different cast of people, you have different writers, a different aura on set. “The Neighborhood” is my first opportunity being on a major network. I haven’t done a CBS show. I’m a CBS mom now. It’s refreshing. I like the fact that I’m able to have a wider audience and able to display my talents. CBS is a really huge audience, so it gives me a chance to basically make a wider audience laugh and get recognition from a whole different genre of people that I’ve never been exposed to. It’s pretty cool.

 

Q) What do you think a show like “The Neighborhood” means to people in the world right now?

 

A) Oh, we need it. There’s a lot of fear and tension and chaos going on right now and I think a show like “The Neighborhood” allows us to see each other’s differences, but embrace each other’s differences through laughter. What better way to teach people how to love than through laughter? I think it’s important for a show like “The Neighborhood” to continue to be one, for one, because it keeps me employed, but two, it’s a great message. It’s a good getaway. It’s a good way for people to learn about each other and see each other on screen. Beth and I, there’s not many black and white girlfriend relationships. It’s refreshing to see a black woman and a white woman get along. Even with things they don’t understand about each other, it’s still about getting along and embracing each other and making sure that we realize we have cultural differences but that doesn’t have to make us fearful of one another. I think it’s important that we tell those type of stories, that we display that, because people want to see that. We don’t want to do a negative thing. We have plenty of negative things that we can be a part of, but we want to be positive. We want to do wonderful things through laughter and teach people to love each other and not hate each other. It’s all about love.

 

Q) You’ve been a key player in multiple iconic tv series and have a career that’s spanned decades, how have you been able to sustain such an impressive career?

 

A) You keep going. I love it. I love what I do. I’ve been blessed to continue doing something I love doing. I always tell people show business is like your boyfriend, are you gonna love him when he doesn’t love you back? And when I’ve asked myself that, when I didn’t have two nickels to rub together, no work, no prospects for work, sitting there just hoping that an audition comes in, it’s just something that I’ve always wanted to do. Thank God that I’ve been afforded the opportunity to do it. All you need is an opportunity. That’s it. I take it and I run with it. Longevity is great, but in the meantime it’s not easy. You’ve gotta feed yourself, you’ve gotta feed your family. I’ve had my rough times, but they were all worth it. It was definitely worth it because what I get from being in show business is a great satisfaction of making sure that I change or I help somebody’s life. I have a lot of people that walk up to me and say, “Oh my God, I’ve been watching you for over twenty something years and I still enjoy it.” Good, that’s what I want because it’s not about me. I don’t care about being a star. I want to do good work. Good work lives forever. I really take that in high regard and I respect it. This is my life and I love it.

 

Q) I saw the video Cedric posted when you heard about getting a second season. How happy were you to hear the show was renewed? Were you expecting it?

 

A) Oh, so happy. Actually, Max [Greenfield] and I were in my dressing room. We were having a conversation and the PA walks in and says they need us on set, the CBS executives are here. Max and I are looking at each other like, what’s going on? We had no idea. We both went to set and they made the announcement. Max cried like a baby. He went away. He didn’t want us to see him cry, but I saw him cry. I said, “Are you back there crying?” I was very happy. I’ve never been on a show where they’ve renewed it while we were in production. That’s never been done before, so to be able to go on hiatus knowing that you’re coming back to a job in a few months it’s a great feeling. You don’t even understand it. It’s an awesome feeling. And we believe in the show. Every cast member, we really, really believe in the show and we hope that that’s conveyed through the screen. We have great writers and Jim Reynolds, of course, at the head. And Cedric being the amazing guy that he is. We’ve got some really amazing people in positions of power that don’t take their power for granted. They know that they are writing and telling stories that people need to hear. And we’re not taking ourselves too seriously. It is a comedy, but there are stories and learning. That’s great to be passed on through laughter. You get people’s attention through laughter.

 

Q) Any advice for young actors, especially women of color?

 

A) Oh gosh. Well first thing, you better love it. Don’t get into it if you don’t love it. If you get into it and find that it’s not really for you get out of it. You gotta love it. You gotta wake up every day loving it because it’s not good to you all the time. Especially women of color, you gotta keep going. All you need is opportunity. You gotta break down those doors to get opportunity. It’s not an easy task for us, but you gotta keep it moving. Keep it moving and eventually something will break. Keep it moving, that’s my motto.

 

Music and dancing, the arts really is a connection with the world. You can go anywhere and sing a song in another country and sing it in another language and still be able to speak to people. The arts are very important. You have a lot of social media and a lot of different avenues right now where show business is being displayed and I think it’s important that the arts continue to live. So, I welcome anybody that wants to be an actor, singer and dancer just know what you’re getting into. People see the end results of show business and not what it takes to be in show business because it is a business, first and foremost. Love what you do.

 

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

 

A) I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for your honestly. Thank you for your support and thank you for appreciating the art. I really have some amazing people who have genuinely supported me. They tell me what they don’t like and I like honestly. More importantly, I really need the support. A lot of times we actors like to hear that we’re doing okay. I really appreciate those who have followed me throughout the years and have supported my career. It does make a difference.