The Emmy-nominated actress talks about tapping into Michelle’s emotional scars, building tension with her co-star, and finding strength in vulnerability.
00:00While my relationship with my mom is so strong, and that's my rock,
00:05Michelle's relationship with her mother is not.
00:07It's actually more like my relationship was with my father before he passed away.
00:11I was estranged from my father for most of my childhood.
00:19My name is Oakley Jones.
00:21I am the senior entertainment editor with Essence,
00:23and I'm speaking with the amazing Joni Smilett.
00:26How you doing today, Joni?
00:27I'm wonderful. How are you?
00:28I'm good. I'm good. Thank you so much for asking.
00:31So I wanted to talk to you about the character of Michelle on Smoke.
00:36She's a bit of an outsider when she joins the unit,
00:38and she's clearly been through a couple of things.
00:41What initially drew you to the role of Michelle?
00:44I find myself being really fascinated by human beings like Michelle,
00:50where she's got such a rich past, and she's a bit of a wounded animal.
00:55She's a lone wolf, and yeah, she's been involved with her boss in an affair with him.
01:04And once he leaves his wife, she leaves him.
01:06And then he demotes her and sends her to investigate arsons.
01:11When she was on the path of success, you know?
01:14And so she's got a lot to prove, and it's really, really, you know, interesting,
01:21because when you meet Michelle, she's literally destroying her house in order to rebuild it.
01:25So that told me a lot that she's in this pattern of construction, destruction, you know, creation.
01:32And so I could definitely relate to those moments, you know, where you go,
01:40okay, why am I being drawn to the very thing that's going to destroy me?
01:45Why am I drawn to this toxic relationship?
01:47Why am I a workaholic?
01:49Why am I, you know, a bit of a loner?
01:51Why am I making these choices?
01:53And so she's just so rich and complex that it's a dream for an actor to take on really complex characters like this.
02:02So you spoke about how she's kind of destroying her house.
02:05I wanted to ask you, if the audience could step into Michelle's house after a long day on the job,
02:12what is one thing there that would tell us about who she really is as a person?
02:17Sawdust.
02:18The footprints in Sawdust, you know, and there being one pair footprint, no one else is in that house but her.
02:31You know, she doesn't really attach to folks.
02:35And that's the history with her mother.
02:38She's a bit of an avoidant.
02:40She avoids intimacy.
02:41When someone gets too close, she pushes them away,
02:44which is why she also throws herself into her work,
02:47because that is the thing that gives her validation in life.
02:50That is the thing that makes her feel like she has value because she hasn't found it in herself or in people.
02:58So, yeah, I don't know if that answers your question.
03:02No, that was perfect.
03:04Yeah, that was perfect.
03:05So this is a question I asked specifically.
03:08Like you've been in the industry for so long.
03:10I'm in a you've tackled so many different roles.
03:13So I'm just I wanted to know, is there anything in this particular script that surprised you or you kind of pushed you as an actor?
03:22Oh, so many things surprised me.
03:24You have.
03:25Listen, when I tell you Dennis Lehane has some tricks up his sleeve, no one is who they say they are in this show.
03:32Everyone's got a secret and everyone's lying to themselves about something.
03:35So there's a lot of surprises.
03:38OK, but but I think this role pushed me in so many different ways.
03:43Physically, I put on 15 pounds of muscle.
03:46I worked out with my trainer, Jeanette.
03:48She had me on like a five mil a day plan, a gallon of water, exercising, weightlifting.
03:53And then emotionally and spiritually definitely made me inspect a lot about myself, which you look for in a character.
03:59I definitely see myself in elements of Michelle.
04:02While my relationship with my mom is so strong and that's my rock, Michelle's relationship with her mother is not.
04:11It's actually more like my relationship was with my father before he passed away.
04:15I was estranged from my father for most of my childhood into my adulthood.
04:20And then made me really reflect on the impact that had in my life and how I attach to people or don't, you know, and so it was an awesome way to just stretch myself and grow.
04:33Well, thank you so much, Johnny.
04:34I really appreciate it.
04:35It's an amazing show and I look forward to everything you do in the future.
