- Tami Roman in character in a scene from “Life, Love, Soul”
Egypt, what lessons were you able to pick up from some of the seasoned actors on set as a new actress?
Sherrod: Terri and I didn’t get to spend much time shooting together. She came and did her scenes and I came and did my scenes… I got an opportunity to work with Jamie Hector. He’s also a friend. I respect him immensely but what I got from him, if anything, was commit to the character, own it and that everyone is going to interpret the role differently. There’s no right or wrong way to do it so long as it’s authentic.
How was it working with Tami Roman, who most know from Basketball Wives and for having a temper?
Vaughn: I didn’t work with her but she did a great job in the movie.
Sherrod: My experience with Tami is the complete opposite from what people have seen on Basketball Wives. I think she’s a sweetheart. She’s very direct, very in your face, almost like a Cadbury Egg–hard exterior but soft and mushy on the inside. She’s very easy to work with and extremely professional.
Terri, you were actually pregnant on set but hid that from the cast and crew. How was it keeping that secret?
Vaughn: When we started shooting, nobody knew that I was pregnant and I was keeping it under wraps because I didn’t want that to be an issue. I didn’t want people to think that I wouldn’t be able to deliver. But because my character drank so much, I was very adamant about making sure that there was no alcohol in our glasses and I finally had to admit to our director Noel [Calloway] that I was pregnant. Nobody knew I was pregnant and he kept it a secret for me.
Sherrod: I can relate to that because this season of Property Virgins that’s airing now–the show that I host–I was six, seven and eight months pregnant through the entire thing, and everybody just thought that I was very large, like I gained a lot of weight [Laughs].
What advice do you ladies have for working moms who are expecting for balancing pregnancy with their careers because there’s a big perception that people will treat them differently because of their condition?
Sherrod: I just had my little girl, she’s seven-weeks-old, and I continued everything. My biggest fear was exactly that, that people would discriminate against me because I was pregnant; that I wouldn’t get opportunities because they thought I couldn’t handle it; so I really pushed myself and it got to the point where I realized I was the only one pushing. The people that I worked with were more concerned, like, “Slow down, girl,†so I would say just because you’re pregnant–definitely take care of yourself, get all your sleep, take your vitamins and do all the things your doctor tells you to do, but don’t put limits on yourself. Also, don’t think that everyone around you is going to give you the help because you’re pregnant. Guess what? It’s a part of life!
Life, Love, Soul, comes out April 13 in seven cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York , New Jersey and D.C. Click here for more info.