Angela Lewis’ phenomenal portrayal of the Aunt Louie on FX’s hit television show Snowfall has made her a fan favorite five consecutive seasons. Off-camera, she’s a devoted wife and mother who is known for contributions to noble causes including The Cancer Society of America, Black & Missing, and Leukemia Lymphoma Society. On-set, the Detroit native becomes so enwrapped in her character’s persona, it is difficult to believe that she is acting at all. It is as if she becomes an entirely different person before our very eyes. It’s not simply role-playing, it’s magic.
When did you begin your acting career?
I started performing arts when I was three. Afterwards. I just did local stuff and school plays. I had sung in school choirs, church choirs, church plays, and things like that. My parents took me to see a lot of musicals and plays and made sure I saw old films. I majored in performing arts at my high school, Cass Technical, in Detroit and then I majored in theater at the University of Michigan. Later, I moved to New York. So, professionally I’ve been doing it since 2001.
With you starting so young, was that something you were guided towards, or is that something you always had in your heart?
I think I just had a lot of admiration and awe for the performers on the stage, singers and dancers, all the colors and the costumes, and the emotions. I’m sure the audience’s applause had something to do with it. As well as the lights and all the things that come together to make a production. My parents, my family nucleus, were certainly supportive of it. They never pushed but they were absolutely supportive and made sure I had access to the things I was interested in pursuing personally and professionally.
Let’s get into “Snowfall”, your character Louie went through a lot during last season. She was actually shot, can you tell us how things will be going for her this season? Are things looking up?
I do think things are looking up. I think being shot and almost killed really served to put a lot of things in perspective for Louie and for her to start to understand what and who are important to her. So, I think she comes into season five blazed and focused. She is really wanting to get things done and get them done her way. It’s not her way not for the sake of it being her way, but I think she recognizes a lot of the cracks where she feels Franklin falls short and a lot of the unnecessary violence that Franklin uses in order to have things done in his way. I think she feels like her way is smarter, more efficient, and better and so she is fighting to have things done her way.
That’s something to look forward to. So, what was the most challenging scene to play on the show?
The most challenging I’d have to say, there is a scene that just aired in episode three of season five that was really challenging. It was the last episode, where Franklin really chewed Louie out. Louie certainly had her thoughts about everything he was saying, but it was hard to stand there and take that lashing. I didn’t have the lines to clap back so that was difficult. But I think the most difficult scene was probably the scene in season two where Franklin gets choked out by the police. It was difficult because Louie was there, but she wasn’t really mentioned in the script. I didn’t know I was going to be in that scene, but I was called to work. I had to figure out, “What is Louie doing?” She didn’t have any lines. It didn’t say what she’s doing. So, I had to make something up on the fly, and then I had to make it up in a way that it would ring true for Louie and the big personality and passionate person that she is, without pulling focus from the scene and without creating a story that is not supposed to be there. That was a big challenge for me but I think I pulled it off. So, I feel proud!
You should! So, you were given more freedom to improvise? Is that new for you?
Yes, I had to improvise because if I didn’t I would have been standing there looking silly. But, I think that’s part of learning the craft of acting. Learning how to be in a scene, take the given circumstances, and build on the story. So, I’ve been doing that in some form or another since the beginning. Even when I was learning to read, my dad would say “Once upon the time there was a little girl and she was walking down the street, then what happened?” and I would have to fill in the next part. Then he would take over again. I think it’s called a roundabout, where you take a part of the story, pass it to the next person, and the next person takes the next part. It goes all around the circle until you have a complete story. That’s the beginning of improvisation. Improvisation is all about play, so when you let kids play, they’re learning to play with each other and fully immerse themselves in the game. We had to relearn that in college, how to playfully throw yourself in the game and just go.
With “Snowfall” being such a big show, especially in the Black community, are you recognized more in public these days?
Yes. It’s been interesting with COVID-19 because I’m home more than I would normally be home. And then when I go out, I’ll often have on a mask so that has given me a little bit more freedom.But yes, when the mask comes off, I’m certainly recognized more than I would have been if “Snowfall” hadn’t been such a huge success… For sure.
With your experience as an actor, is there any type of role that you would like to play that you haven’t yet?
Oh yeah, I haven’t played a lot of roles. The possibilities are endless for the things that I want to play. I definitely like characters that are able to exist in multiple realms. I’m totally into magic and Sci-Fi and things like that, where existential questions are being asked and the answers get to come in non-traditional ways.
You also dance. Is that something we’ll get to see more of?
I would love that. I would love the opportunity to dance in something. Yes!
You have a two-year-old now and I read that you filmed while you were pregnant. What is it like now balancing newfound motherhood and a rising career?
You just do it! You learn as you go. You get support where you need it. I try to be in the moment as much as I possibly can. When I’m with my daughter, I try to be completely present with her which is hard in this world of social media. It’s part of my job and it kind of infringes on what I feel like is everyday life. So, I’m learning to incorporate that in a healthy way. When I’m at work, I’m fully there. She’s at an age right now where I can’t really facetime to check in because she gets more upset… When I get home, she’s super happy to see me. I try to carve out time to spend with just my husband and then I have to carve out time to spend with just me. I don’t know if it’s a balancing act, it certainly is juggling. I just do my best and again, try to have support where I need it. If I spend too much time thinking about it, it gets overwhelming and depressing so I just do it.
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