Television

Black Republican role new ground for actress: But Debbi Morgan happy to have prime-time work

By Miki Turner
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
07-28-2002

SYLMAR, Calif. In a career that has spanned 30 years, Debbi Morgan has done something few actors can manage: She’s avoided getting typed. We’ve seen her as the ingenue in an Emmy-winning role on All My Children. She played doctors on other daytime dramas, including Loving, The City and Port Charles.” She was the scorned wife in Love & Basketball; won an NAACP Image Award for her portrayal of an alcoholic mother in Showtime’s Soul Food; has foreseen the future on Charmed; and made a career breakthrough in her award-winning role as a psychic in 1996’s Eve’s Bayou. But Morgan, who co-stars with Lea Thompson in Life-time’s new drama series For the People (tonight at 9), is also one of those actors who, despite her rave reviews and longevity, has continually struggled to find work. That’s because she has several strikes against her: She’s African-American, she’s a woman and the bulk of her professional experience has been on daytime television. It’s that last stigma, particularly, that has hindered her efforts to successfully establish herself in other arenas. So it’s no wonder the doe-eyed North Carolina native with the deep dimples laughed when asked why she decided to do a television series at this juncture in her career. “Honey, let me tell you something,” says Morgan, 47, during an interview in her dressing room. “It’s so funny when people say things like that, especially to us, because being not just a woman in this business, but being a black woman, really good jobs are few and far between.” For the People, a show about the tenuous relationship between an LA district attorney and her chief deputy, is Morgan’s first starring role in a prime-time series. She plays conservative Republican district attorney Lora Gibson opposite Thompson’s liberal-minded deputy district attorney Camille Paris. “Lora and Camille are like boxers who come into the ring and out of their corner and circle each other, size each other up and try to figure out what play the other is going to make,” says Morgan, who visited the district attorney’s office in LA to get a handle on her character. “Honestly, this role is so far removed from me. I am probably the most unpolitical person, and maybe I shouldn’t say that, but it’s the truth. I’ve just always been more spiritually aware than politically aware. My family, for the most part, were liberal Democrats, as are most black people I know. When I took this role I didn’t even know any Republican African-American women!” Eventually, she did find one and spent about an hour on the phone gathering information about the party. “That was really good because I’ve learned some things about the Republican Party and their ways of thinking that I never paid attention to,” she says. “And actually, I must say, some of the views they have are not necessarily a bad thing. They believe a lot in self-attainment and that you should set certain goals for yourself instead of waiting for somebody to give you something. The more I get into this role, the more I’m finding (Lora’s) really somebody I’m going to be able to learn from.” One of the things Morgan enjoys most about working on For the People is the chemistry developing between her and Thompson. The two had never worked together before this show, but Morgan says the bond was immediate. “We work kind of the same way,” she says. “We’re not those kind of actors who like sitting around talking about acting. We just do it. Also, not only is she talented and sweet and so down to earth, she’s so funny. She makes me laugh constantly.” “It’s always nerve-racking to do a series and possibly spend seven years together,” Thomp-son adds. “When I met Debbi I was so relieved, because she’s just the greatest person. She’s such a funny, kind and generous actress, and we just have the same kind of style of working, which is really great.”