Teyonah Parris Is a Reluctant Double Virgo
Teyonah Parris personifies only the most type-A Virgo traits. In a disagreement with her husband about which show to watch together next, she offers a calculated solution: a group chat with labeled voice note reactions to episodes she’s already watched, so she can binge on her own schedule. “I sometimes don’t want to be a double Virgo,” she says. “I be stressing myself out!”
Perhaps this is unsurprising given her buttoned-up Marvel role as Captain Monica Rambeau, the energy-controlling superhero who gained her powers in the critically acclaimed Disney+ miniseries WandaVision. And a few years after filming The Marvels, the film about Captain Rambeau, Parris is returning to television, the medium that put her on the map when she appeared in her first recurring role as Dawn on Mad Men. She joins the all-star cast of No Good Deed, Liz Feldman’s new dark comedy series for Netflix, starring Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano as a duo who spy on three young couples vying to buy their L.A. home. Parris brings her recent pregnancy experience to her role as Carla, an expecting wife balancing a new marriage with Dennis (O-T Fagbenle) and her overbearing stepmother, Denise (Anna Maria Horsford). Naturally, the “little unit” (as Parris calls the trio) thinks this house will solve all of their problems. But those who watched Dead to Me will find a familiar twisty sensibility to the series.
Despite her busy past few years, the true Virgo always finds time for more: Parris recently launched Blūm, a luxury hair-extensions line for natural and curly hair textures, a venture leading to all kinds of self-discovery. “I’m showing up as so many different parts of myself as a woman, and discovering parts of myself that I didn’t know were there,” she says.
After having done a few Marvel projects and some great films, what was it about No Good Deed that made you want to return to television?
I am a fan of Liz! I got the opportunity to speak to her about the project itself, and she was setting up the world for me and sharing who this character was and what their journey was going to be. I feel like what we’re talking about in terms of people trying to buy a home, finding a place that’s safe for them, what the home represents for all of these different families is so relevant right now. It has that added layer of drama and deception and secrets. It was so juicy.
Can you see yourself doing more comedy?
I would definitely do more comedy. I got to do a film called They Cloned Tyrone for Netflix, and I really got to use my comedic chops there. But this is like a dark comedy. Well, I think most of the comedies I do are pretty dark. What does that say about me? I don’t know.
Moving into our Taste Test questions: Where do you get your best culture recommendations from?
I have friends who specialize in different aspects of the culture — I heavily rely on them. One is music with a focus on rap, there’s a friend who likes movies. My specialty is what reality TV they should be watching.
When they come to you, what area of reality TV is your niche? Bravo or dating shows?
I run the gamut. I could recommend any of the above. I have my favorites: I’m watching The Real Housewives of Potomac. It’s the Bravo shows, but it’s also high-culture type stuff. I watch TV more than I watch movies.
Which celebrities — dead or alive — would you invite to a dinner party?
James Baldwin is at the top of my mind. Whitney Houston, Robert F. Smith, Frida Kahlo, and Rihanna.
What about a Housewife?
I feel like it has to be NeNe Leakes out of respect. OG classic. I was just talking about this with some friends about the different casts they’ve had over the years, who’s OG, and some you say are OG but actually weren’t there at the very beginning, but 20 years in you just feel like they were. NeNe is hilarious and lots of drama, she’ll keep the party spicy, the questions flowing.
What’s the last meal you cooked for dinner?
It was for the holidays so it wasn’t a complete meal. I just did the parts I was supposed to do. I was responsible for cornbread dressing and homemade cranberry sauce. Now listen, I got tasked with the dressing. That is a big deal, okay? It wasn’t the mac ’n’ cheese. I don’t think they trust me like that yet. This is my husband’s family so they’re letting me in. I think I did well.
What is your pre-filming ritual?
I like to go over the story as a whole to see exactly where I’m at today in the arc of the character, and sometimes I listen to music or watch visuals to help me get in the mind frame of where this character is. Then I just like to get to it. For Tyrone, Jamie Foxx and John Boyega kept teasing me because I showed up like, All right, let’s go. But Jamie’s such an entertainer and charmer, he’s talking to everybody, making everybody feel good. He makes you happy to be there. And that was beautiful to watch. But I’m like, Are we going to start yet? Are we ready? Let’s go! I’m very type A.
What’s your comfort re-watch?
At this time of the year, I like to watch holiday movies. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Like, Aw, look at them and their lives, it’ll be buttoned up in an hour and 27 minutes. But typically it’s crime documentaries. I love the mystery of what happened, the darkness. Which is also what made No Good Deed fun.
What’s the best piece of gossip you’ve ever heard?
I don’t listen to gossip. I stop it at the door. I don’t let it into my space. I have no time, space, or capacity for gossip.
What music do you listen to when you’re alone?
I like Sade, her greatest hits, and Anita Baker. I like alternative R&B. James Blake, Nao, Sango, Xavier Omär. I like that world. I’ve been listening to Kendrick Lamar’s GNX; “wacced out murals” and “hey now” are my favorite songs from that album right now. Or I just like complete silence. As a double Virgo, I need my mind to be able to race in peace.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Early on in my career I had a sister/mentor figure tell me: Make sure you continue to live your life. We strive so hard and get so focused on the goal that sometimes you forget to live. Our art is directly connected to our real-life human experiences and who you are as a human and your spirit, so not to forget to actually live the thing we try to speak about on film or onstage.
What about the worst piece of advice?
That the cheesecake would come together even though it was real shaky shaky. They were like, Just wait, it’ll come together when you put it in the fridge. It did not. That was a bad piece of advice. The cheesecake did not come together.
What show is your partner not allowed to watch without you?
You about to start some mess. He can watch what he wants to watch, because we don’t watch the same things. He gets mad at me because I will just leave. I’m going to just watch my shows. I don’t want to be doing all this waiting on this and that. The last one was Love Is Blind. He was like, “Oh there’s this new show, we should try watching it together.” I was like, “Okay!” And I watched the whole season on my own. The other thing is, honey, we fall asleep. We got a toddler, we got full-time jobs. We sleep on the couch, the show watching us. Let’s just start a chat where we can leave voice messages about it and label what episode that’s about, so when you’re ready, you can listen to it.
That’s the most Virgo thing I’ve ever heard!
[Laughs.] Okay, we are actually very proud of ourselves because we did watch one show together recently, Cross. We got all the way to episode five, then I started traveling. I was given permission to just finish it, then we talked about it later. So we did watch that together.
Worst thing to do at a dinner party?
Bring up politics. Not bring anything. Pass gas.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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