( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) AGELA, SO GOOD TO SEE YOU!
IT'S SO NICE TO SEE YOU.
I GOT TO SAY, EVERY TIME I SEE YOU, AN RAY, ANYTIME I'VE SEEN
YOU, YOU ALWAYS LOOK IMMACULATE.
I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE, ARE YOU EVER IN AN OLD PAIR OF SWEAT
PANTS AND AN OLD T-SHIRT?
>> TRULY I AM.
DECADES-OLD SWEAT PANTS.
THEY'RE THE BEST ONES TO, YOU KNOW, CONSIDER WORKING OUT IN.
>> James: BUT I BET EVEN THAT YOU DO IT WITH A CERTAIN GRACE
AND FINESSE, THOUGH FRANKLY I, AND I WILL SAY ANYONE ELSE IN
THE STUDIO, CANNOT PULL OFF.
>> YOU ARE SO CHARMING.
THANK YOU.
>> James: I MEAN IT.
LAST MONTH YOU TOOK PART IN THE BRILLIANT TINA TURNER
DOCUMENTARY ON HBO MAX.
YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THAT FILM IS SO EXTRAORDINARY.
OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR THAT ROLE.
YOUR TWINS ARE 15 NOW.
>> 15.
>> James: HAVE THEY SEEN THE MOVIE?
ARE THEY AWARE OF ITS IMPACT?
>> I THINK THEY ARE AWARE THAT THERE WAS A MOVIE BUT THEY
HAVEN'T SEEN IT.
THEY'RE SLIGHTLY AWARE THAT THERE WAS A MOVIE THAT I WAS IN
ABOUT TINA TURNER, BUT THEY HAVEN'T SEEN IT.
OF COURSE, THEY WERE A LITTLE TOO YOUNG AND I THOUGHT IT A
LITTLE TOO INAPPROPRIATE.
I KEPT THEM IN THE ANIMATED WORLD FOR QUITE A LONG PERIOD OF
TIME.
BUT I TOLD THEM, MAYBE ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO, YOU OUGHT TO
SEE THAT SO YOU CAN BE IMPRESSED BY YOUR MOM AND DO WHAT I ASK
YOU TO DO.
BUT THEY PASS FOR NOW.
SO IT WILL COME AROUND EVENTUALLY, I HOPE THEY'LL GET A
CHANCE TO SEE IT.
>> James: OBVIOUSLY, YOUR HUSBAND IS A BRILLIANT ACTOR, A
HUGE FAN.
I'M INTERESTED TO KNOW, AS PARENTS, TO YOU EVER FIND
YOURSELVES BOTH OF YOU USING YOUR INCREDIBLE ACTING POWERS ON
YOUR CHILDREN?
DO YOU EVER RUN IT LIKE A ROLE PLAY, THE TWO OF YOU, WHO'S
GOING TO GET MAD, WHO'S GOING TO BE THE GOOD COP, THE BAD COP?
>> YEAH.
HE IS USUALLY PRETTY CALM, BUT HE IS CONSISTENT.
>> James: RIGHT.
SO, LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, RIGHT NOW, HE'S 2,500 OR SO MILES AWAY
IN CHICAGO AND HE CAN STILL GET THEM TO HOP TO IT.
MEANWHILE, I'M 25 FEET AWAY AND I HAVE TO EITHER GUILT TRIP THEM
OR, YOU KNOW, PULL THINGS AWAY OR JUST LEAVE THE ROOM JUST
THROW MY HANDS UP AND JUST HOLLER AND GO TO MY OWN CONNOR
AND TRY TO THINK OF SOME OTHER WAY TO GET THEM TO DO WHAT THEY
KNOW THEY NEED TO DO.
>> James: NOW THE FIRST TIME, YOU SAID THE FIRST TIME --
>> BUT I'M THE GOOD COP.
>> James: OH, YOU'RE THE GOOD COP.
>> I'M THE GOOD COP.
I TELL THEM I AM YOUR GOOD TIME, SO YOU DON'T WANT TO MESS WITH
ME.
>> James: OH, YEAH, THAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT.
I SAY THAT TO MY KIDS.
>> I'M YOUR GOOD TIME.
>> James: I'M, LIKE, GUYS, I'M A BREEZE, I'M A WALKOVER, BUT IF
I GO TO 11, YOU'RE GOING TO KNOW ABOUT IT.
>> EXACTLY.
>> James: SO JUST KEEP ME AT SIX.
KEEP MY AT SIX.
KEEP MY AT SIX AND YOU WILL GET AWAY WITH EVERYTHING.
YOU PUSH ME TO AN 11 -- >> EVERYTHING YOU WANT, MM-HMM.
>> James: NOW, YOU SAID THE FIRST TIME YOU EVER ACTED IN
FRONT OF PEOPLE, IN FRONT OF A CROWD, WAS THAT CHURCH.
WHAT WERE THESE PERFORMANCES LIKE?
WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN CHURCH?
>> I THINK I WAS JUST IMITATING THE -- YOU KNOW, THE ELDERS OF
THE CHURCH, YOU KNOW, IN THE AMEN CORNER.
( HUMMING ) YOU KNOW, JUST IMITATING THE
THINGS THEY DO AND THE PASTOR, ALL RIGHT, PASS AROUND THE
COLLECTION PLATE AND, YOU KNOW, GIVE WHAT YOU CAN, AND THAT SORT
OF THING AND, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, LAYING ON OF HANDS, YOU
KNOW, TRYING TO HEAL THE SICK AND VISIT THE SHUT INNS, THAT
KIND OF THING.
SO IT WAS USUALLY THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF A MONTH AND I THINK
THEY WANTED A BREAK.
THEY'D ALLOW THE YOUNG PEOPLE, TE KIDS TO TAKE OVER SERVICE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW GOOD WE WERE BUT I THINK WE WERE GOOD FOR A
LAUGH OR TWO.
>> James: I LOVE THAT.
WHEN YOU STARTED WORKING AS AN ACTOR, YOU WORKED A LOT ON
COMMERCIALS AND TV, PROCEDURALS FOR QUITE A WHILE, A BIG BREAK
WITH "BOYZ IN THE HOOD."
YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY MUST HAVE BEEN THRILLED TO SEE YOU
WHEN YOU WERE ON TV BACK IN THOSE DAYS.
>> OH, YEAH, LITTLE ANGELA MAKES GOOD AND, ALSO, YOU WANT TO, YOU
KNOW, LET THEM KNOW THAT, DON'T WORRY SO MUCH, LOOK, SOMETHING'S
HAPPENING, I'M EATING.
>> James: SURE.
YOU KNOW, I'M KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON.
BUT I WOULD -- OF COURSE, THAT WAS WAY BACK IN THE DAY BEFORE
THE PUBLICISTS AND ALL OF THAT.
SO I WOULD GET A PIECE OF, YOU KNOW, PAPER, YOU KNOW, THICK CUT
PAPER.
I WOULD WRITE, YOU KNOW, ANGELA, THE NETWORK, THE TIME, THE DAY,
YOU KNOW, BE SURE TO WATCH.
I'D WRITE IT FOUR TIMES, CUT IT IN FOURS, PUT A STAMP ON IT AND
MAIL IT TO THEM BECAUSE I WANTED THEM TO CATCH IT.
I WAS PROUD OF WHAT I WAS DOING AND I WANTED THEM TO CATCH IT.
SO IT WORKED.
IT WORKED FOR A WHILE.
THEN AFTER A WHILE, AH, YOU KNOW, I LEFT IT TO THE TRAILERS
AND THE COMMERCIALS, YOU KNOW.
>> James: NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR BRILLIANT SHOW, YOUR
HUGE SUCCESS, 911.
IT'S IN ITS FOURTH SEASON MAKING IT THE LONGEST -- I THINK THE
LONGEST RUNNING ROLE OF YOUR CAREER.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE SHOW THAT APPEALS TO YOU?
>> OH, MY GOSH.
WELL, I JUST LOVE THAT WE HAVE THESE BIG SET PIECES WEEK TO
WEEK TO WEEK WITHOUT FAIL, AND WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THEM
BIGGER AND MORE GRAND AND AMAZING, FROM MUDSLIDES TO
TSUNAMIS AND ON AND ON AND ON, AND IT'S AS IF YOU'RE SEEING
SOMETHING FROM THE MOVIES THAT YOU WENT TO THE CINEMA AND SEE.
BUT WE'VE CREATED IT FOR YOU RIGHT AT HOME.
ALSO THE RELATIONSHIPS.
I'M A PEOPLE PERSON.
I LOVE PEOPLE AND EMOTIONS.
I THINK A LOT OF THE EMOTION -- THE EMERGENCIES GO ON IN OUR
SOULS, IN OUR SPIRITS, OUR HEAD AND OUR HEARTS.
SO I ENJOY THAT.
OUR WRITERS ARE INCREDIBLE.
OUR CAST AND CREW, WE'VE ACTUALLY BECOME A FAMILY, AND
THEY'RE SOME OF THE HARDEST WORKING PEOPLE, AND KINDEST TO
SHOW UP.
SO I LOVE CALLING IT HOME.
>> James: IT DOES MAKE ME SCARED OF LIVING IN LOS ANGELES,
THOUGH.
( LAUGHTER ) EVERY WEEK THERE'S A TSUNAMI,
THERE'S A TORNADO, I'M, LIKE, WHERE HAVE I MOVED TO?
WHAT'S THE SCARIEST THING THAT RYAN MURPHY'S HAD YOU DO ON THE
SHOW?
>> WELL, ACTUALLY, 911 HASN'T BEEN TOO SCARY FOR ME, BUT THE
SCARIEST THING THAT RYAN MURPHY HAS HAD ME DO IS "AMERICAN
HORROR STORY," WHERE I HAD TO HANDLE FOUR SNAKES.
>> James: OH, WOW.
I THINK I CUT IT DOWN FROM A BOA CONSTRICTOR AND THREE SNAKES
IN A BASKET TO A BOA CONSTRICTOR AND ONE SNAKE IN A BASKET.
THAT WAS THE SCARIEST.
I WOULD HAVE TO KEEP MY WITS AND HEAD ABOUT ME OR I WOULD JUST
HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN.
SO I WASN'T COOL, I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET THE JOB DONE.
>> James: WELL, YOU ALWAYS GET THE JOB DONE, AND YOU'RE DOING
BRILLIANTLY ON THIS SHOW.