Jada PinkettKam Williams

Maryland Native Jada Pinkett Smith studied dance and acting at theBaltimore School for the Artsand theNorth Carolina School of the Artsbefore getting her big break when she landed a role on the long-running NBC-series,A Different World. The multi-talented actress, producer, director and philanthropist continually challenge herself in a variety of ways.

Now, not only is she playing her first lead role in a TV-series on HawthoRNe, but she is also the show’s executive producer. Ms. Pinkett Smith’s recent work includes lending her voice to the role of Gloria inMadagascar: Escape 2 Africa. She previously co-starred in the remake ofThe Women, and is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Niobe in theThe Matrix: ReloadedandThe Matrix: Revolutions.

Choosing her roles carefully, Jada appeared oppositeAdam SandlerandDon CheadleinReign Over MeforColumbia Pictures, as well as playing a pivotal role oppositeTom CruiseandJamie Foxxin Collateral. Some of her other credits includeMenace II Society, Jason’s Lyric,A Low Down Dirty Shame,The Nutty Professor,Set It OffandScream 2, as well as voice work forPrincess Mononoke.

Just as she does in front of the camera, Jada continually challenges herself offscreen with new and exciting projects. For example, her eye for excellence helped her, as executive producer, to turn the best-selling novelThe Secret Life of Beesinto a hit movie that earned itself theNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Pictureearlier this year. Here, she shares her thoughts about her new show, HawthoRNe, where she’ll be playing the title character, a recently-widowed, single-mom who works as the compassionate chief nurse at mythical Richmond Trinity Hospital. This new dramatic series premieres on TNT on Tuesday, June 16 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT).

My favorite film of yours isBamboozled. Which is your favorite?
Oh, man, I don't think I've made it yet, to be honest with you. I don't think I've made my favorite film yet. But I loved Bamboozled. Bamboozled to me is off the chain. It's definitely in the ranking. I loved Bamboozled.

What interested you in returning to TV to do HawthoRNe?
I was not looking to do television at all. I got a phone call from my manager, Miguel Melendez, and he says, "Listen, I really – I want you to read this script. I would never send this to you if I didn't think it was fantastic.” I read it and then I let my husband read it. I was really interested in the project, and after a bit of back-and-forth I decided, you know what, I'm just going to go for it. I had vowed I’d never television again. But I decided to take it because I needed something different.

Was the fact that you’d be going to TNT important?
Well, I would say going to TNT was what closed the deal for me. Once I met everybody there, I really loved the group at TNT, and I liked what their expectations were for the show. So, I just felt this really could be a beautiful marriage.

Since you started playing a nurse, has your family started expecting you to cure their ailments?
Well, my mother is a nurse. So she is pretty much the nurse of the family.She has gotten that kind of locked down. So no, I'd have to say my family pretty much knows that in real life any type of physical traumas like cuts and bruises and anything like that, you've got to call – that you've got to call gammy for that.

Does it mean anything to you that other thanJill Scott, you’re now the only black female lead on a drama on television right now?
I hadn't really thought about that. I'm really grateful for the opportunity– but I just want to make a great show. I'm hoping that people can just see a great show, whether it's an African-American, an Asian, or a Native American that's standing at the forefront. History-wise, there was probably a point in time when I wouldn't have had this opportunity. So, to have this opportunity is a big deal for me. I'm very grateful for it.

Are there any plans for any of your children to appear on the series?
As of right now, no.

Judging by your mother-in-law on the show,Joanna Cassidy, I assume that your late husband was white or at least half-white. Will your daughter’s character being mixed be explored at all on the show?
There definitely probably will be some exploring of it later on in the season.

Given Will's success with the Fresh Prince, has he given you any tips ondoing a series?
Sure, my husband has a plethora of information to share. He is here with me, and he has really offered me an extraordinary amount of help on this particular project. I'm grateful for him.

How have you been handling all the blood in the medical scenes?
There won’t be much gore on the show. There was one scene where somebody had an open gash on their leg and that kind of caught me off-guard. I'm really not one for a lot of physical gore like that, which is why my mother is very surprised about that I'm playing nurse. But on this show, we really are dealing more with how people are being affected by their ailment s versus focusing on the ailments themselves.

Diahann Carroll, as Julia, played the first black nurse in a title role on TV back in the Sixties. Do you feel any type of connection to that history?
I do, I do feel connection to that history, absolutely – because she’s the only prominent black female nurse that I can think of who’s been on television. I feel both for that character and for Diahann Carroll as an actress, and I appreciate the road that she and paved for me to even have the possibility of being an actress in Hollywood.

What does your dad do for a living?
My father has been in construction for pretty much all his working years.

How old were you when you knew you wanted to be an actress?
I was about three when I wanted to be an actress. I knew that I would definitely be participating in Hollywood in some way. I didn't know the amount of success I would enjoy, but I knew I would be here at some capacity.

Thanks again for the interview, Jada, and best of luck to you with the new show.Thank you.