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HB: Do you take some of your personal life and put it in your character? Or do you just kind of make it up?

Tika Sumpter (“The Haves & The Have Nots”):

Of course I pull from my own life. But my real mother and I have an amazing relationship. She’s my best friend. But I have seen relationships that are rocky, like the one Candace and her mother has, played by Crystal Fox. So, I kind of take it from everybody. I take it from people I’ve seen in the industry, and I just observe and then also, Tyler has helped me with people who have been in his life and stories he’s told me. I love playing this character because its somebody who I’ve never played before, so it’s fun for people to be able to hate me and love me at the same time.

HB: How did it feel working with Tyler Perry?

Renee Lawless (“The Haves & The Have Nots”):

I’ve seen every single one of his movies. “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” is one of my favorite movies of all time. It got me through horrible relationship break ups. And I always wanted to work with him and I never could have dreamed in a million years that I would be on a TV show. Let me say, he is one of the hardest working, most incredible human beings I have ever met in my life. He is very respectful of everyone. The way receives you is very respectful, he is very kind, by no means pretentious or condescending and on the set, the same way.

He’s very business but he can laugh and have a good time. Everyday I’ve pinched myself. But I’ve worked a lot of jobs, and no one has ever started the day in prayer, he’s never pushed that off on anyone, that’s just what he does. And someone’s who’s a Christian like myself that meant a lot to me. And I knew, “well, my day starts off right everyday, I better bring it.” And it made you want to bring your A game, because he didn’t demand…you just wanted. He demanded it, but he never said, “I demand you!” you wanted to bring that game. He came in and he commanded. So, working with him is magnificent.

HB: What is your favorite thing about working with Tyler Perry?

John Schneider (“The Haves & The Have Nots”):

It’s so hard to say. It’s like, “what’s your favorite ride at Disney world?” Everything about working with Tyler Perry is a delight and it’s a challenge. It’s like jumping out of an airplane and crocheting a parachute on the way down. It will either make you better or it will spit you out.

HB: How do you portray a character like Hattie without borrowing from Madea?

Patrice Lovely (“Love Thy Neighbor”):

Because I never watched any of Tyler’s anything before I started to work for him. I never watched even a movie from Tyler. I think that’s why he liked it, because Hatty is totally different from Madea. And he allows me to just play and create. He gives me a script and I just let it flow, keep his dialogue, whatever fits Hattie, and I just play. I have a good time doing that.

HB: What do you love most about Tyler Perry?

Patrice Lovely (“Love Thy Neighbor”):

Now, what I love most about Tyler especially when it comes to his product is that he is such a departure from the normal of what they portray black people like on TV. You know, now a days you see the fighting, the name calling and Tyler gives a very different representation.

HB: How do you feel about the way that you’re representing black women on television?

Patrice Lovely (“Love Thy Neighbor”):

Tyler has the utmost respect for women. You know? Even as a woman, I’m playing a different character. He has respect for Hattie, and how Hattie is seen to the public. When I’m around him, I seriously feel like I’m one of the queens from Egypt, he treats me like that.

HB: Have you met Oprah yet? What is the first thing you said to her?

Patrice Lovely (“Love Thy Neighbor”):

I didn’t say anything to her. She said to me, “I love you! I love your character!” When we were doing “A Madea Christmas” she came to the Fox Theatre to see the show and she came back stage during intermission and she said, “I absolutely loved it.” Next thing I know, there was “Love Thy Neighbor,” and I was the star of the show. She said, “Oh, I already know you! I love you.” And I said, “Girl, I love you too. And I love that blessed check!”

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.