“First of all, if you say ‘Black women,’ and you say, ‘honoring Black women,’ I’m gonna try to be there,” says actress Elise Neal while attending the Black Women In Media Pre-Grammy Celebration at MG Studio on February 3. “If you’re honoring us we need to really show support to our women.” Watch Gold Derby associate editor Latasha Ford‘s red carpet interview with Neal above.
Neal can currently be seen as Sydney Johnson on the BET+ original series “The Black Hamptons.” It follows the brewing feud between the Brittons and Johnsons, where the difference between old and new money is very apparent. The show was recently nominated for Best TV Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special at the NAACP Awards.
SEE over 200 interviews with 2023 awards contenders
“It’s always fun for me to do characters that you’re not expecting,” Neal explains. “I’ve done a lot of moms. I’ve done a lot of, like, the girlfriend. When I was presented with the opportunity to play her, I was like, ‘Wow, people are gonna see that Memphis come out when I play Miss Sydney.’ Sydney is really a woman who had the money, and monetary smarts enough to rely on her husband and what he could bring to the table with his businesses, especially as a techie, to make them multi-millionaires. She just likes to, at this point, sit back advise, and let him handle it. But don’t get it twisted, she is the brains behind it all.”
Neal says it’s important that this series in particular is a part of the BET Network. “A lot of my bigger things have been crossover,” she admits. “I love crossover, do not get me wrong. But, it’s fun when you do something that your people connect to. For me, being in ‘The Black Hamptons,’ I can get stopped — especially when I got the blonde hair on — and people are like, ‘Oh my God! You’re killin’ that show!’ I go to the grocery store and people are like, ‘Sydney is a trip, Elise. What you do with Sydney.. when’s that show gonna come back on?’ I love the fact that I’m getting that from my people.”
The actress also addresses leaving viewers on a “very, very deep cliffhanger.” Audiences can expect to get some resolution on a new season. “Give us time, y’all,” she pleads. “You’ll see it. You’ll be happy.”
Neal was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2006 as part of the ensemble for “Hustle & Flow.” She earned two NAACP Image Awards nominations for Best Comedy Actress in “The Hughleys” (2000, 2001). The 2023 NAACP Image Awards is set to take place live, in front of an audience for the first time in three years, on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. ET on BET.
PREDICT the 2023 Oscar winners through March 12
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
