Hypable participated in a conference call today with actress Octavia Spencer to discuss her new show Red Band Society.
Red Band Society is a new dramedy on Fox that focuses on the lives of several pediatric patients and their doctors at Los Angeles’ Ocean Park Hospital. It brings us funny story arcs, emotional story telling and wonderful character development all in the first episode, and we’re excited to see it premiere Wednesday, September 17. Hypable took part in a conference call with actress Octavia Spencer where she discussed her character, Nurse Jackson, and the inspirations that helped form the premise for Red Band Society.
When you were growing up, did you have an interesting nurse and/or is that what appealed to you about this project?
I can’t say it was part of my fabric, no. What appeals to me about [Red Band Society] was the fact it’s a very fresh perspective about a show set in a hospital, and a fresh perspective about a show centered around teens. The fact that [Nurse Jackson] was a nurse might’ve been a drawback because I was a nurse so many times, but it’s a special project and actually it was the best pilot script that I had read. I had been offered so much and I just read that one and I felt a connection to the world.
Are you aware of any real life programs like this?
Absolutely. It was amazing having Margaret Nagle as our writer and show creator because this was very much her wheelhouse. She had all of us in contact [with people at hospitals], the kids with patients and Dave [Annabel] and I were all in contact with either doctors or nurses or caregivers that would be able to give us ground floor information that we should know. Coming into it, I thought I knew about hospitals because I played a nurse so many times, but I never played a pediatric nurse and it was so different and thankfully they are. The services they provide, they’re more than just healing the sick – it’s about giving kids a well-rounded atmosphere so they can continue to be kids.
As we’ve been doing promotions for the show we’ve gone to several hospitals around the country and it was a unique environment. It was life altering, actually.
At the end of the pilot we got to see Nurse Jackson’s soft side. Can you talk about what we’ll learn about her as the season progresses?
It’s so interesting because there are so many series regulars on the show, largely the teens who are in the hospitals, and then Dave and I are the mom and pop of the situation. Just like in your regular life you’re not one way all the time, and I I think Nurse Jackson, being a woman who is taking care of people who have (some of them) very serious illnesses, there’s just no time for tomfoolery. She maintains that type of bravado, because you can’t give an inch sometimes because they’re likely to take a mile. I think what you’ll learn about her as the season progresses is why she chose the profession she did.
Were you looking to do a TV series or were you looking at everything at this point?
I’m an actor and I am looking for roles where I can continue to evolve, and things that are challenging, and I gravitated toward the roles, not just television or film. For me the interesting roles have been television, so it was basically just about finding a project that, A) resonated with me, B) and had a group of people I want to be with and see every day, and it was a win-win situation with me because I have a wonderful relationship with everyone over at Trademark. It was quite a few circumstances that made me want to be part of Red Band Society.
On page two, Spencer discusses the show’s diversity and how she got the role.
The show is billed as a dramedy, but do you think we’ll be laughing more often or crying, or maybe crying from laughing?
I think it’s a bit of both. Everyone has a different path that they walk in life and it depends on however you view the world. The circumstances are definitely funny within this very serious situation. I was in awe when I read [the script], and I cried and laughed a lot and I was really, really entertained. I think people will just [go through all the emotions].
Can you talk about how you were approached for the part?
I have a great team at WME Entertainment [talent agency] and they have been fielding a lot of requests for me to read a lot of stuff and I read a few pilots, and Steven Spielburg is my favorite director, so when his name is on anything of course I’m going to take it seriously, but I was really relieved that I absolutely loved the show. Everything you experienced as a viewer I experienced reading the script. So I just felt very, very lucky to be given such amazing material and asked to be a part of it.
What was your favorite scene in the pilot?
When Leo goes to talk to Charlie in the coma, it was kind of transformative and it didn’t matter what he was [specifically] saying to him, you know? I think you could substitute your own life or circumstances into what he was saying and I thought it was so beautifully done.
Absolutely. I mean, this show is really centered around the kids and what they do as they grow with their illnesses, [but] the adults are the glue that keep everything together. So you will see character progression, or regression (we shall see), and you will definitely learn more about Nurse Jackson and the other adults on the show. It’s a very even-handed show; it’s a true ensemble.
You’re known for playing strong characters, so what do you love about Nurse Jackson the most and what makes her different?
I think that there’s a mystery there – you want to know why this woman is the way she is and why she chose to be a caregiver. I think that the show of strength, or what people think is strong, is not necessarily the case; some of the strongest people are quiet and not so brazen with their emotion. What’s interesting about Nurse Jackson is I think her strength comes, a lot of the time, in her quiet moments. I like that you get to see a whole person, and you get to grow with her – I think she’s just a very interesting character.
Can you talk about the diversity of the show?
It’s definitely one of the most diverse series that I’ve seen on television, and that’s wonderful because I think it’s representative of the world we live in. But I think diversity comes in the fact we have an overweight person like myself being the lead of a show alongside [people who are] Latin, Asian, African-American, gay, Jewish – it’s just very representative and it will continue to be diverse. Let me tell you something, the hospital is one of the most diverse atmospheres that you can ever be a part of and I’m glad that the creators want to be truthful to that.
Is there any specific thing about Nurse Jackson that you identify with, and if not, was there any specific nurse that you pulled your inspiration from?
I can’t say there’s any one thing I [identify with], but I can tell you that Nurse Jackson doesn’t suffer fools gladly and Octavia doesn’t suffer fools gladly. When I have a job to do, I do it, and I can say that’s the same for Nurse Jackson. She takes herself seriously.
I can’t say there’s a specific nurse, but I did have a nurse that was my point person that sort of guided us in giving advice on procedural things and how things are at the hospital. I think Nurse Jackson is an amalgamation of all the women that have influenced my life – the quiet, the strength, all that.