Vanessa Williams has a very simple philosophy about why she keeps saying yes to the most deliciously difficult women on television and theater, and it all comes down to one thing: don’t be afraid.
The 63-year-old man appeared in The happy adult podcastwhere host Hal Rubenstein got right to the point: “Why do you keep playing bitches?”
Williams laughed and got straight to the point.
“You know, I think you shouldn’t be afraid, because some people say, ‘Oh, I want to be liked.’ Well, why have a career if you only take on roles where you want to be liked? That’s ridiculous.”
The list of formidable women he has inhabited is long.
There was Wilhelmina Slater, the gloriously self-absorbed creative director of Mode in Ugly Betty.
Then came Renee Perry, the devious troublemaker with whom he played desperate housewives.
She currently plays Miranda Priestly in The devil wears Prada musical in London’s West End.
And it traces its trajectory back to the 2000 television movie. A diva’s Christmas storyin which she played a gender-swapped Ebony Scrooge.
“A diva’s Christmas storyThat was probably the first one,” he said.
Beyond attitude, Williams says these characters give him something that most roles simply can’t.
“They have the most delicious lines, always. I mean, every day, I read a script and I think, ‘That’s really funny. Oh, that’s really scary. I want to do that.'” It’s fun for me.”
He also credits having the “chutzpah” and “gravity” to achieve these gigantic figures.
“I’m a risk-taker. I think you have to push yourself when you’re playing against someone who’s larger than life and isn’t afraid to step up to the plate and be a great hitter.”
Williams first came to public attention in 1984 as the first black person to be named Miss America, before pivoting to a music career and earning 11 Grammy nominations, including song and record of the year for her 1992 No. 1 hit. Save the best for last.
He made his Broadway debut in kiss of the spider woman in 1994 and received a Tony nomination for the witch in the 2002 revival of in the forest.
