One of the few surprises at Septemberâs Emmy awards was Regina Kingâs win for Best Supporting Actressð in a Limðžited Series or Movie.
King was hardly the favorite for her role as a devout Muslim determáĶined to get her brother out of jail on the John Ridley show âAmerican Crime,â which aired on ABC. Having swept past the âAmerican Horror Storyâ troika of Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates and Sarah Paulson, King was floored as she held her statuette, caught her breath and delivered a speech notable for its warmth â rð·ather than the usual laundry list of agents, managers and other paid representatives. Most notable was her acknowledgment of her 19-year-old son, Ian, whom she called âthe best date in the house.â
Finally, you thought, thereâs a person up there.
King, 44, has been quietly wowing audiences for 30 years, but television â she got her start on the series â227â â has really given her room to grow. Memorable film roles as Cuba Goodingâs strong-willed wife in âJerry Maguireâ (1996) and Rð °ay Charlesâ tragic girlfriend Margie Hendricks in âRayâ (2004) led to a long-running role as Detective Lydia Adams on TNTâs âSouthlandâ (2009-13). Her impressive turn on âAmerican Crimeâ made her a natural fit for HBOâs enigmatic drama âThe Leftovers,â where King plays Erika Murphy, a doctor whose daughter, Evangeline, has gone missing â perhaps by mysterious means. While her fellow citizens resort to magical thinking to explain the disappearance of their loved ones, Erika, in a powerful monologue, accepts the futility of the situation with clear-eyed honesty.
Sitting in a Soho hotel room in jeans and an orangeęĶŋ sweater, King explains why she signed on to do a show that is so out there. âI was a huge fan of [creator] Damon Lindelof with âLost.â That show was the kind of rebirth of what weâre used to on TV,â she says. âSo that alone made me interested when they reached out.â
Season 2 of āīâThe Leftoversâ filmed in Austin, Texas, also the location for âAmerican Crime,â and King reveals that there was a month of overlap in production between the shows. âItâs the first time Iâve ever played two different characters in one day,â she says. âItâs tiring because the two characters are very different women, with very differðent looks.â
âTo prove her point, King whips out her phone, scrolling until she finds a picture of her new âCrimeâ character, Terry LaCroix. Gone are Erikaâs long braids and jeans. Instead, King is flanked by two tall, handsome men, and sheâs wearing a smart, tailoreð šd black suit, blue blouse and heels. And a wig.
âSheâs very metropolitan. She has kind of textured hair,â she says of Terry. âI knew I was still goingęĶš to have to be in these braids and I was going to have to come up with a hairstyle that a wig can fit over.â
From the sound of it, King has a more substantive part in Season 2, which returns Jan. 6 on ABC. âTerry is very, very calculated. She is not where she is by mistake. Her son does not have the success he has by mistake. She would not be married to the man sheâs married if she did not see that he has the same drive. Their family is just a powerful family. Whole worlds get turned upsâide down and sðĪĄhe immediately goes into damage control.â
While King doesnât yet know if the Emmy win changed her career, itâs one of the moāīments that represent a âshift.â Others are âJerry Maguireâ and âRay.â Of the former, King says it was her first time âreally playing að woman.â In the latter, she had many anguished scenes with Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, who she says was surprisingly protective.
âWe had that scene in the bathroom the first time Margie tries drugs and at the end of the scene Ray pulls Margieâs dress off. It was just Jamie and I in this tight little bathroom â and the crew â and every time they ð called, âCut,â he would pull the shower curtain and cover me with it. I never would have thought tðhat about him. Then Iâm like, heâs a Texas boy so that makes sense.â
King has been divorced from record executive Ian Alexander for eight years, but does not rule out remarriage. âIn a perfect world I would love to find love again,â she sayę§s. âIâm still a girl and believe in falling in love. I think you probably have more wisdom when it happens later in life. Whoever that man is, we have to be clear in defining what family means to us. Because it will include my son â heâs 19 â his cï·―hildren, his ex. My ex.â
So she does not plaðy. Has she always been such a serâious person?
King flashes a broad smile. âYes. I am. I am.â