Tye White – Greenleaf

By: Lisa Steinberg

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

A) I’m not sure when, but I know I will be back on “NCIS: Los Angeles” this season. I’ll be back playing LL Cool J’s son. I’m still trying to pick up some other things that are in the mix within the next six months. I go back to work on “Greenleaf” Season Two in January. I loved working with Ryan Murphy on this season of “American Crime Story” and I know they are developing it. If schedules align, I’d love to work with him.

Q) How was Kevin Satterlee originally described to you and did the character evolve since then?

A) It’s kind of two-fold because when I originally auditioned it was for Jason Greenleaf, the character now played by Lamman Rucker. I auditioned for Jacob and as I hear it, it was down to the two of us for Jacob. They called me back and asked if I would be interested in Kevin. So, I went in and auditioned for Kevin. They had an idea of what they wanted to do with him and it has kind of overall been a work in progress with where we want to go with the character. Craig Wright, the creator of the show, has worked with me to find Kevin’s storyline. They have told me with where they wanted to go with it and asked me if I was game. It’s been a season of trying to fine tune him and find where he fits in with the story. As this season goes on and next season, I hope you will get to see something that you don’t often get to see on TV as well.

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

A) There was an idea to make him a guy who was hiding who he was and not necessarily the struggle we are trying to depict right now and the truth in that struggle. Kevin was going to be a villain in terms of him being an in the closet gay man who had selfish thinking. That’s been done before. As the storyline evolves, you will see that it goes some places people won’t expect. There is more of a truthfulness to Kevin. He was raised in the church and I think that will resonate with a lot of people that may have known someone or were raised in the church. It doesn’t have to be limited to that, but it is someone who is not so cut and dry. You can’t just put a label on this character and that’s why he became interesting to me and I thought it would be an opportunity to show a little bit of what I can do. As the show goes on, you will see it gets even more complicated.

Q) Did you feel an obligation because of the LGBTQ representation and the tropes on TV?

A) Yeah. I wouldn’t want to limit it to just television. There are some aspects of real life going on. It’s not cut and dry. There are people who may be hiding or “I’m gay and I’m out.” There is a wide spectrum of where people fall in that. I felt that Kevin’s story was one I was empathetic to and I would be interested in trying to depict on television because I don’t think this story has been told quite this way before. I don’t think where we’re going with it has been done before.

Q) What kind of research did you do for the role?

A) There was some research that I did. I have friends and people I am incredibly close to that I talked to about how I can bring some truth to the role. As an artist, you hope you tell truth. Me, as a heterosexual guy, it is not always truthful to act and save lives. I wanted to actually delve into this guy and say something and hopefully get a message across. Everyone was throwing ideas about where they wanted Kevin to go from writers, producers, actors, directors and showrunners. Everybody has an idea and they are fine tuning it now. I know as the season goes on it is going to be good. We might have a love/hate with him and a love for him because he loves his wife and is attracted to his wife. He’s not a complete fraud, but there is something deeper going on.

Q) What have been your experiences working and learning from your time on the series?

A) I pick Keith [David] and Lynn’s [Whitfield] brain quite often. I know they know I don’t know everything. I pick other people’s brains of people who have been doing this longer than I’ve been alive. It is a rare opportunity. I hope to be as great as they are. I’m just scratching the surface, but I’m willing to absorb as much knowledge as they are willing to give. Lynn and I have some great scenes in the series and Keith is a wealth of knowledge. He has worked with so many people over the years and is a dynamic charismatic actor. This is just something I’m lucky to be a part of. I’m learning and having fun. I’m living my own personal dreams.

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

A) It’s fun because I’m here interacting with people that are really invested in the show. I’ve never really had that. I’ve been on shows like “NCIS: Los Angeles” where I have popped in. With “The People v. OJ Simpson” it really wasn’t about me. I would come in and say a couple of lines to move the story along. It is different when people are invested in your story and where it is headed and they have strong opinions. They hate Kevin or they love Kevin and Charity (Deborah Joy Winans) together. You get to hear how everyone feels about you. People have a strong opinion about Kevin and so far it hasn’t gone personal. I feel like people understand that it is TV and haven’t gone personal. So, it’s fun that I can engage and I recognize that people are enjoying the arc of the show. It’s been a lot of fun and I have enjoyed the positive feedback.

Q) What was your most memorable moment from filming?

A) The first episode, the dinner table scene was the first we had ever shot – ever. We all fanned out and shot that scene. They edited it down because I think originally it was longer. It was good to see them sat down at the table and we immediately looked like a family, had chemistry and had dynamics. There was no holding back of opinions. I think that is the most beautiful part of working on this show. That chemistry was off screen, too. We all get along. We all look up to Lynn like she is mom and Keith like she is pop. And it trickles down to the rest of us. It is a beautiful thing to be on set. It doesn’t happen that often where everyone is harmonious and enjoys working together.

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from the series?

A) I hope that the cast, the writers, directors and producers do the show justice. I hope that the story can sit well with people because it is done so truthfully. It may not be applicable to you, but you may know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody that is experiencing it and I hope that we accomplish that – that we shed a little bit of light on it and have some fun. I hope the journey is great, people enjoy it and they tune in and tweet about it and blog about. We’ll see what happens next. We hope people are on the edge of their seat and that they get some water cooler stuff to talk about.