EXCLUSIVE: Javicia Leslie Talks Her Career Including New Series, ‘High Potential’
ABC’s newest drama series, High Potential, kicked off with a bang last week. Star of the series, Javicia Leslie, sat down with BB to discuss her hot new show, and her rising career.
Your new drama series, High Potential premiered last week on ABC. Can you tell us a little of how you came to be a part of the show?
“I was just wrapping up The Flash and I got a call from Rob Thomas and Drew Goddard, who are the creators of the show, and they were really interested in me playing the role of Daphne. My role, I am a young cop, so we have like, if you watch a cop show, I don’t know if this is in real life because I’m not a cop, but when you watch a cop show, there’s usually your junior detectives and then you have your senior detectives.
And so, I’m coming in as a young cop that really, really, really is trying to succeed in my position. And so, I come in there and Daniel Sunjata, who plays more of a senior cop in my department, is basically the one that I come under, trying to learn from, emulate. While we’re doing all of this, we’re working for major crimes, we’re trying to solve cases, we meet, well, we’re working on a case, and we all go home because it’s the end of the day.
And when we come back the next day, that case is, I wouldn’t say solved, but new facts to the case are now on the murder board. We don’t know where those facts came from. So, we go back and we look at the camera and we find out that our cleaning lady changed around our murder board. When we go question her, she has some really good information that is actually kind of true. And we start to realize like, ‘Whoa, who is this lady and why does she know this?’
And it’s because she has an IQ of 160 or 170, which allows her to be able to catch things that the average person doesn’t catch. So, it was towards the end of the first episode, our captain, played by Judy Reyes, basically asked Morgan if she would help the police solve cases. And so, we all go on this journey solving cases with the help of Morgan, obviously who’s played by Kaitlin Olson.”
Now as an actress, when you are approached by someone saying, “Hey, we have a role we think you’re a good fit for,” typically the process at the beginning of your career is you’re auditioning for everything. Now that you’re being approached for roles, how does that feel?
“The industry itself, the more connections you make, the more networking you make, people start to have conversations and then they’ll get roles and they’ll say, ‘Oh, who do you see playing this role?’ Oh yeah, such and such worked on God Friended Me with her, and they said that she was great to work with. This person worked on that one with her and they said they got this performance out of her and this type of work ethic out of her. I think that the whole plan after a while is that your work ethic speaks for itself versus just an audition.”
I mean, your work ethic has spoken for itself. You’ve been in so much. One of your most obviously iconic roles, at least for me, is playing Batwoman. Your take on her in the CW series to me was just amazing and it made me re-fall in love with the character. Now you’re playing Daphne. You have a knack for playing crime-solving characters. What’s that like?
“I think that I’m supposed to be the good guy, but then again, I just like, coming off The Flash, I was a bad guy, so you never know. But I do definitely think that I tend to gravitate toward playing heroic characters.”
Don’t out playing a villain. You were great on The Flash! Even though you were bad, I loved your character.
“Well yeah, I think also it’s like the whole fun of it is that we all, even the villains have an origin story, right? If you play into the origin story more than you play into being a quote unquote villain or quote unquote hero, then the audience will have no other choice but to love you because we all can relate to an origin story.”
To jump back to High Potential, it is based off of a French series. Have you checked out the series at all or are you staying away from it?
“Actually, I have not, but I know Hulu’s adding it to the platform if they haven’t already. So I’ll probably check it out. But I do know that there are similarities, but as far as my character goes, they’re very different.”
Do you feel any pressure to get this show right because of its previous existence?
“Not at all. To be a hundred percent honest with you, I didn’t even think about it. I love that there is another version of the show out, but it doesn’t really cross my mind that often, to be honest.
When you get a script like High Potential, do you find yourself asking the writing team questions about the character or do you just go with what’s on the page?
“For a show, I’m going to ask them, especially a show that’s just beginning. I’m going to ask them because what I don’t want is to create a world that’s not real because they’re going in a different direction. I do ask them because maybe the first script doesn’t tell me enough information.
And so, it’s like, ‘Hey, where do you see this going? What was her family history? Why does she love being a police officer?’ I can come up with those answers of course, but when you’re playing into something that they’re going to write for seasons, you kind of want to already know where the writers’ heads are at.”
Is there more pressure surrounding a show like this than a show that is brand new to the audience?
“Well, technically, since I’ve never seen the show, it’s not like I’m competing with an idea that I’ve seen, which is a good thing for me. For me, it’s just bringing the world alive that’s in front of me on the page.”
What about your character would you say you most relate to?
“Very much an overachiever. I am obsessed with being the best at whatever I put my mind to. That’s definitely the similarity that I have and that my Daphne life has.”
Since you’re an overachiever, how do you balance life and work without overwhelming yourself?
“I hang out with my friends. A lot of hanging out with my friends. If I know that I have some off time, I’ll reach out to them and ask them what they were doing or where they are and I’ll go see them and hang out with them.”
Good for you. You also star in the BET series, The Family Business. Cn you talk to me about what it’s been like being on that show?
“So much fun. I’ve been on that show for so long. It feels like when I go back to that set, I’m just going to family, I’m going home. I know that world so inside out. We just have so much fun. That character, that world is just, it’s bold and sexy and action packed, and it’s just all the things that I love in a role.”
What do you think makes you want to keep coming back to play this role?
“I think the fans, to be honest. It has such a huge fan base that I feel obligated to continue to tell the story. Of course, I love the production and I love my cast, but I think the fans are really one of the biggest reasons why I always come back. I don’t want to let them down and I want them to continue to have Paris Duncan as a story to follow. And also, for young Black girls to have this character as a representation because if you watch the series from beginning to where it is now, she had such a long journey of growth that I think we all can relate to.”
When you take yourself all the way back to the very beginning of this series, were you expecting to see this type of journey for Paris?
“Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I was definitely expecting her to still be a huge part of the show, but at the time, at all times that I’ve been on Family Business, I’ve also been on other shows, and so we’ve had to work around my schedule a lot, which shout out to Carl Weber and the producers for that show because they’ve constantly worked around my filming schedule.
And so with that, we’ve had to take seasons, not maybe a whole season, but lots and lots of episodes off where Paris goes to Paris. And really, it’s because I’m on Batwoman or I’m on this project, I’m on that project. And then we bring her back. And I think in the midst of going back and forth, I, as an adult, as my own self, started to mature a lot.
And I think that maybe Carl, the writers picked up on that and just wanted to include that in my character as well, someone that has matured through all of this. Because in the beginning, she’s very reckless and childish and does a lot of things that she shouldn’t be doing. But as time has gone on, she’s really, really grown up.”
Do you find when you return to play this character, it’s an easy transition back into her?
“No, I don’t find it hard at all. I think that I know Paris so well. I know that world so well. It’s like, ‘Oh, okay, I really do feel like I’m back at home. And so, it’s easy to jump back into that world whenever I’m Paris.”
So not only do you act, but you also have your own foundation, the Chandler Foundation, located in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Can you talk about the foundation and why you started it?
“Well, you know what it was for me, I think that there were times when I was in school where I wish that I could have had opportunities to try different sports and things like that, but at the end of the day, going to a public school, the budgets were always a lot more limited in comparison. And so it started off with me wanting to just be able to provide kids with new sports equipment and things like that so that they could try sports that they’ve never tried before.
Then it moved into me wanting to make sure, well, before they go to school, they have haircuts and hair braided and new school supplies and got to meet leaders in the community and things like that. Then lately, I’ve been partnering with another program to go into Children’s Hospital around Christmastime and donate toys to kids that are in the NICU and things like that so that they can have some form of a Christmas.
It’s definitely had its layers, but I think overall, if you look at the consistency, it is to be able to allow a kid to have access when they don’t have access or experience when they don’t have experience. And so all of those things are connected to that main goal. And yeah, I’ve never wanted to limit it to anything. I just want to be able to do what I can for kids that maybe are a little limited.”
Did you expect it to grow into what it has today when you first came up with this idea?
“Yeah. I expect it to grow even more. I think for me, the idea is that because when I’m working, I can’t do as much, so the idea is that when I’m off and I’m able to completely focus on it, it leads to bigger and better opportunities.
I would love to create a theater program, like a two=week theater program for kids in my neighborhood, in my area, where they’re able to come and learn classic plays and be taught and coached, and then at the end of their one to two weeks they put on a show for their family. I want it to continue to grow so that it can continue to provide opportunities.”
That’s amazing! I think kids having access to theater programs really helps them grow.
“Exactly. And then also it’s just in a lot of communities where the main education is through public school systems, they don’t have the budgets to be able to do things like that. And so, if I can create that program and give access to kids that are interested in things that aren’t the norm, the norm Prince George’s County activities, I would love to be able to do that.”
Have you ever thought of expanding outside of Prince George’s County to other counties in the area or making this a nationwide foundation?
“Well, our back-to-school event that we did wasn’t necessarily just for Prince George’s County. A lot of DC public schools came for that. Then the program that I did out here in LA was for LA public schools. So I don’t think I’m limited to that. I just think that at this point in my life, I want to remember where I came from, and I feel like there’s beautiful, amazing leaders in all these different communities that are already giving back. It’s like I just want to make sure I give back to the community I came from.”
Do you have a preference between films and TV?
“I like TV because I like the slow burn of developing a character, but I love film because I love to see a world that a director creates. TV is pretty strict to what the show’s tone is already. No matter what, even though we get a new director every episode, they kind of have to stick with the tone of the actual show.
But when you get to work with the director for a film, it really is from beginning to end their creativity and mind coming to life. I also direct, so I love that idea. I wouldn’t even mind if I find something to get into like directorial before the end of the year. That would be great as well. So, either one of those.”
Is there a specific type of script or genre as a director you would like to stick to or do you want to explore it all?
“There’s nothing that I love to stick to. I’m very open. But if there’s something that I’m really, really interested in, it would be a psychological thriller. And that’s because, okay, so the really fun part about a psychological thriller is that you have to make the audience believe one thing when something completely different is happening. And as a director, that takes a lot of work and I’m sure a lot of collaboration with your team. And to be able to pull that off successfully, to me, I feel like it’s truly, truly a greatness. And so, I would love to have a try at that.”
That’s amazing because it’s a thousand percent true. You have to be able to pull off something to make sure the audience doesn’t get it. You have to be able to throw them because that makes the perfect psychological thriller.
“I’m obsessed with psychological thrillers. I remember The Visit by M. Night Shyamalan, when the kids go to see their grandparents and you find out that it’s not really their grandparents. I think that the beautiful twist of things and when it happens and how it happens is what gets someone addicted to a psychological thriller.
The first time I watched The Boy and we realize that the doll is actually being controlled by someone living in the walls, or the first time I watched The Orphan and that the little girl is actually a grown woman, the moment that the twist happens, because you made me truly believe in the facts of this story, but then when you throw the twist in, it makes all the sense in the world, that’s my favorite thing in the world.
So, it’s like there’s not one film that I would say, ‘Oh, this is it.’ It’s just, I can list a million of them, like Identity with Ray Liotta. It’s just like I can list a million of them because it is truly my favorite genre. And I don’t think I ever want to just pick.”
Would you ever consider writing a psychological thriller?
“I would co-write something. I’m a Gemini, so I have the shortest attention span in the world. I have the attention span of a gnat. To sit down and write something is very daunting. But if I could get a co-writer to help guide me and help keep me focused, then yeah, for sure.”
To touch on your comment having the attention span of a gnat, what do you do to stay focused when you are on set?
“As a director it’s great because there’s a million balls in the air that I get to play with, but as an actor, you just have to keep yourself simmering. It really does depend on the project. If you look at Batwoman, I’m in almost every scene, so there’s really not a moment that I feel bored. Usually if we’re taking a second to set up or it’s not my coverage or maybe I’m not in the scene, those are moments that I just prepare myself for when it’s my time again.
But for projects that I’m on where I have a little bit more of a waiting period, I try to bring things to set that can keep me engaged mentally. I usually would bring a book to set and keep something going that actually has nothing to do with the project. That way I’m not burning, I’m not burning it out. Also, I love, I mean I love the cast and crew situation, so it’s like there’s so many people that are just amazing to work with that I enjoy being able to talk to and get to know and learn from.”
The books you’re reading, do they tend to be psychological thrillers?
“No, I actually don’t read fiction. I should read fiction. I always read historical books and theoretical books and self-help books.”
Any specific part of history? Is there a certain genre of history that you enjoy?
“Well, you know what, I take that back. I do read fiction, but they’re fictions that are based in, they’re usually fictions that are based in still something that’s like a self-help type of situation, like The Secret or something like that. But as far as history books, this sounds insane what I’m about to say, but I’m saying it just because I got tired of other people telling me things and I just felt like I didn’t know. But I’m reading the Bible from beginning to end right now.
But it’s not even because I’m religious. It’s just like this is this book that the whole world is ran off of and we let anyone tell us what it says and we say, ‘Okay, well, if it says it, then it’s true.’ It’s like, I want to read it for myself. I want to see what my spirit just discerns from it.”
Well, as we round out the interview, is there anything else that you would like fans to know who have been with you since your very beginning of your career that we haven’t talked about?
“I don’t think so. Not that I can think of. I think we’ve talked about a lot of the things, and I’m always talking about my family, my mom, just how amazing she is and what she means to me. But other than that, I’m just really excited for this show and for the world to see it. I think they’re going to really, really enjoy it. And for whatever opportunities are to come, I look forward to that.”
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Photo Credit: Sarah Krick