HAHN’s Angela Robinson Dishes on Fertility, Creativity, Life Amidst a Pandemic & More

Best known for playing the role of Veronica Harrington in the Oprah Winfrey Network primetime soap opera The Haves and the Have Nots, Angela Robinson is an American actress and singer. 

While most are familiar with the Ice Queen Veronica and her antics, in an exclusive roundtable discussion hosted by Southern Laced, Robinson dished on fertility, creativity, life amidst a pandemic, and more very much unlike her character. Get into it below. 

Q: How have you been managing during this pandemic?

AR: You know, It’s been tough at times, but the best part is I have more time with my son, my husband, and my mom. All of that has been really great.  

Q: When did you decide you wanted to take the acting route?

AR: When I was 10 years old. My mom taught English and was over the high school senior productions. I was able to sit in on her rehearsals. While watching the rehearsals, I fell so deep in love with theater. I always knew that theater would be a part of my life, and I wanted to sing, dance, and act. I had no idea at that time it would be a career choice. I didn’t even know it was an option. Once I learned that it was an option, I jumped at it. 

Q: What was the transition like going from stage plays to the big screen?

AR: It was a huge transition. On stage, your job is to project to the audience, a LIVE audience, so you get that immediate gratification. You know if they like you. You know if you suck. You know all of that at the moment. You don’t have to wait until your show comes out. You don’t have to wait for people to come for you on Twitter. 

In film and on television, you don’t know for a while if the show is a hit or if people like it. You can’t tell for a while until the ratings start to come in. Also, as an actor or actress, you don’t project. It’s not about reaching the balcony with your voice. It is really about being as subtle as you can and having any type of loudness in your eyes instead of your volume.

Q: Tell us more about the character Veronica?

AR: Veronica… I LOVE VERONICA!! She’s definitely interesting. Some people like to call her evil. I don’t think she is evil. I think Veronica is probably the most controlling perfectionist you ever want to meet. She came from an impoverished background, and she pulled herself out of that. She went to law school. She started drug rehab centers; she became a millionaire all on her own. People like that have that flip side. The same reason they can become successful is the same reason they cannot keep love in their lives. We all have that quality that is great when it is great, but it is not so great when flipped. So I think that is Veronica. She has great qualities that have made her a very successful woman but do not cross her and do not disagree with her. She has to control it all. She has to control the people around her. That sort of drives her a little crazy and makes her do crazy things. However, I would not say that she is evil. 

Q: Let’s talk about the fertility issue – What advice would you give to other women struggling to become parents?

AR: Wow. The first thing I would say to women struggling to become moms is you will become a mother. There is no reason why you won’t. The way that happens for you may be different, and that is something you have to embrace. Once that happens, motherhood is there and waiting for you. So while it is difficult, and it makes you feel so inadequate at times, understand that God has a plan. If you can just hold on a little while, you will see why you had to go through all of it. You will indeed be a mother. It is a very difficult thing for a woman to go through, but there is light on the other side. Don’t give up. 

Q: How is your character Veronica like you? How is she different? 

AR: I think she is similar to me because we kind of look-alike. I am driven, and she is driven but in a different way. I love fashion, and so does she. Those are some similar things. 

I think we are different because I really am extraordinarily picky about things for myself. I like my house to look a certain kind of way. I like to wear a certain type of clothing; I like my hair to look a certain kind of way. I am very picky. But I am really not picky about what other people do. You can drive what you want, do whatever you want with your house. I don’t spend a whole lot of energy criticizing and picking apart other people, and I think that is the difference. With Veronica, everyone has to line up with how she wants it done or else. As for me, I take you as you are. I have an eclectic group of friends. 

Q: If someone were making a movie of your life, who would play you and why? 

AR: Ooh, that’s a good question! I haven’t thought about that. I often think in terms of people I would want to play. I never think about people wanting to make a movie about me. You know people have said that Gabrielle Union and I favor and I really, really, really love her. We’ve never even met, but I have fallen in love with her activism on social media, and for as long as I have been following her, I have enjoyed it. I enjoy the fact that she has a very seemingly stable and wonderful marriage. She is a mom that went through a hard time becoming a mom as well. So I feel a sort of a kinship with her, so I would say Gabrielle Union. 

Q: Your character in the Have & Have Nots has been pinned as evil, the Ice Queen, and the worst of the worst, but your character is powerful the way Alexis Carrington Colby was in the 80s TV series, the Dynasty. Do you think it is important for women of color to choose roles like that to step out into power boldly with transformation and reinvention?   

AR: Absolutely. I think it’s important that, as women of color, we play all types of parts. We are just not the same. We have fallen victim to playing sameness in theater, movies, and television. This is a Black girl, and this is how a Black girl would act, and this is how the mother would act. We are so different, and we can play anything! I think women should take on powerful roles, vulnerable roles, and any roles that can show the world all of our wonderful, beautiful colors from our culture. I think that is very important. 

Men get to play ruthless, evil, and powerful all the time. Women were often regulated to have to play pretty, soft, and likable. I’m thankful to Tyler Perry for having the opportunity to play those powerful roles that usually men play is great as well.  

Q: One day, you are engulfed with playing Veronica on set, rising to the challenges, and not even sleeping at night because you are locked into that character. Then the next day, you are a mom and a loving wife. How do you find balance and control in your life?

AR: The same way anyone does. I go to work, and I play a character. That is my job to bring that character to life. Some go to teach a class, and other women go to the hospital; they are nurses. It’s the same way, no different. At my job, I have to put on the character of Veronica. But I do understand that it is a job. I trained. I went to school to be an actor. Not so that I could play myself, take myself to work, bring myself home as Veronica. Just so that I could go to work and do this very fulfilling work and then come home to my family. It is no different except that I actually get seen on TV doing my job. Many women have to balance their job, their work, and family life. It is always a challenge. But we do it. We are strong like that.

Q: What is next for you? Do you have anything in the works right now? 

AR: I have so much, but I will not tell you until I can sign somebody’s contract. 

Q: If you could play any other character on the show, who would it be and why? 

AR: Hannah. I think that would be the opposite of Veronica, so it would be great to do something completely opposite. Hannah is also very strong and powerful but in a different way. Hannah is probably closer to Angela, to me. I usually don’t enjoy playing characters that are close to me, but I think that I would enjoy playing Hannah. But my first pick – I love playing Veronica. 

Q: In recent interviews, you were talking about the not so great parts of the pandemic where even the theater had got shut down, and your friends were losing jobs. What should people do in the pandemic, and you said that they should find creativity. What did you do in your creative space during the pandemic?

AR: I did several things. The first thing I did was to create a space in my home where we could breathe. Where my son could have an area he felt good about where he could play and read. I created a studio space where I could work, and my mom had a space. Those are the first things that I did since we were going to be here for a while since our home was going to be an office and playground, backyard… created a space for her friends to come and share their stories. When we hear that, I am not the only one that went through that. Someone else has experienced that. So, I created a Youtube channel called Artist Talk. Artists come on and share about 45 minutes telling their message and how they got to where they are. 

When George Floyd happened, there was a whole other revolution that started. I created another platform. I created Black Woke Business Highlight. I give10 minute spotlights to small business owners who are Black or woke. They must understand where we are as a community, a culture, and be compassionate towards that. I feature a new business each week, so we are conscious of where and how we spend our money. It’s been an extraordinarily busy time.

In creating all these different platforms, I have learned to video edit and learn something new every day. It has been all about creativity. Creativity is using your imagination to get back to your original ideas and to use those ideas to solve problems. Many people think that creativity is all about dancing and singing, but it really is not. It is coming up with imaginative ways to solve problems. If we all went back to our original ideas and dug deep into our creativity, we could really create our way out of the mess we’re in. 

But everyone is just trying to go back to the life they had before. Because we are trying to go back, no one is creating a way forward. But if we all embrace the idea of creating, then I think we can all move forward, and the vision forward will be much brighter and much better than even what we left. 

Catch Angela on Tyler Perry’s The Haves & the Have Nots weekly on the OWN Network. 

-Chrisnatha Derosier

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