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Q&A: Keisha Knight Pulliam |
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How did you get cast in Madea Goes To Jail?
I had been working on “House of Payne” and Tyler gave me a call and said I’m working on a project and I have you in mind for a character. It was the young assistant DA. He started telling me about the storyline and I was like thank you for considering me for this film but I want to play Candy. I was looking to do something out of the box that showed my range as an actress and Tyler was like if you believe in you I believe in you. Of course I had to read for the studio but everything just fell into place.
Who is Candy?
Candy is a heroine-addicted prostitute. Her life went down the wrong path. She was a college student but made some bad choices and now she has to deal with them. She and Madea meet in jail and Madea becomes a mentor for her.
How was it working with Tyler as Madea?
It was crazy actually. I was used to working with Tyler the director, Tyler the actor, but the first day I worked with him as Madea it startled me. I was speechless because he does it so well. It’s a whole other person. I had seen the movies, but it’s a whole other thing to see in person and work with him.
Do you feel you’ve finally shed the Rudy Huxtable image?
Rudy was a character that I played for 8 years so people are going to identify me with her, but people also forget that I’m an actress. One day I’m a prostitute, the next I’m a lawyer, the next I’m a housewife. That’s the beauty of it. I think the mistake a lot of people make is trying to shed an image instead of letting their body of work speak for themselves. It’s up to me to build upon that fabulous foundation that was the Cosby Show and do more and different and exciting roles.
What do you have coming up next?
I’m on House of Payne this season. I play Calvin’s wife Miranda Payne. Calvin and I got married last season. This season we are working through all of those issues that newlyweds have.
I also started a production company called PullPenn Productions and we have some projects that we are working on. One with Edmunds Entertainment that is hopefully coming to television soon and some others that are coming to our website that is under development.
Why should people see this film?
I think like all of Tyler’s films there is sidesplitting laughter but there is also a message. You have Madea and her antics but you also have this girl who has made some bad choices in her life but realizes that no matter the situation and how bad it seems there’s always a road out. She’s a story that many people can identify with. It’s a story about making poor decisions and trying to start life over again when you feel you can’t.
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