An actress, model, and now a Golden Globe winner for her role as Dr. Rainbow Johnson on ABC’s ‘Black-ish,’ Tracee Ellis Ross has definitely had an amazing year. In the midst of her hectic schedule, Ross was gracious enough to take a few minutes out of her day and answer five questions about her amazing career.
1. You are the daughter of two titans of the music industry: Diana Ross is you mother, and Robert Ellis Silberstein, a famous music manager, is your father. Did music ever appeal to you as a career?
Oh yes, as a child, all I wanted to do was be a singer. Once I found out Walt Disney had already made a song about a bunch of skeletons playing their rib cages like xylophones in a graveyard, though, music was no longer as exciting to me as acting.
2. In 2011, you starred in the Lifetime original movie Five. What was it like being directed by Alicia Keys?
I have to admit, Alicia really surprised me as a director. Before we worked together on Five, I had only known her from her music, but when we finally got to be on set together, I discovered that in real life she’s a bright-red levitating orb who communicates through flavor.
3. When did you first realize you had great chemistry with your Black-ish co-star Anthony Anderson?
It was actually at the audition. We both came in wearing the exact same outfit, a monastery robe, and we both started speaking in the same ancient tongue, which both of us thought had been dead for thousands of years. It was then that everybody realized we had a real connection.
4. Rumor has it that you almost didn’t take the role of Dr. Rainbow Johnson. What made you change your mind?
To be honest, I really didn’t know if I wanted the part, but then an anonymous madman kidnapped the entire cast and trapped us in a deadly game where, if we didn’t sign our contracts, he would fly us to Hawaii and lower us slowly into the scalding-hot lava of a volcano. Sure, it was scary at the time, but I’m so glad he did!
5. Do you have any advice for young actors just starting out in their careers?
Work hard. Play smart. Act tough. Aim high. Go far. Hit a deer with your car. Take its antlers. They’re your antlers now. They’re your antlers now. They’re your antlers now.
