When Sheryl Lee Ralph first read Quinta Brunson’s pilot script in “Abbott Elementary,” she knew exactly what character she wanted to play: Ava Coleman, the inappropriate principal who seems to only have her own interests at heart.
But Brunson had another idea. “She just lacked [saying,] ‘Oh, shit no!’ said Ralph. “She said, ‘We need a queen for Barbara Howard. And you’re that queen! And I was just like, ‘Baby, if you say it like that, how can I say no? I know anything else about it? I’m going to be the queen. I love it. Yes I’m ready.'”
Janelle James ended up cast as Ava and landed an Emmy nomination that year for the role. But tapping Ralph to play Barbara, the no-frills veteran teacher who saw it all in “Abbott Elementary,” also turned out to be the right move. On Monday night, Ralph was honored with an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
COVER STORY: Quinta Brunson on winning the Emmys with Sheryl Lee Ralph, why ‘Abbott Elementary’ wasn’t ready for Best Comedy yet and changing the stakes for Season 2
“I’m on another planet”, says Ralph Variety Tuesday morning, just hours after his victory. She is still in her same hairstyle from the Emmy party, including the sparkling jewelry that adorned her head. The reality of TV honor is hitting her right now.
“I think I’m on planet 999,” she said. “I feel like I’m still floating up there. As if I had an out of body experience. I know something happened because the glitter came off my face. But the response was crazy. My husband and I were at the hotel and he got up and turned on the TV. And I opened my eyes. And first, there was Emmy, right next to the bed. But I could hear these reporters talking about me. I could hear myself singing as they talked. And I was like, ‘What happened in the last 12 hours?’ Everything happened.
Ralph’s acceptance speech was one of the most memorable of the night, as the former Tony (“Dreamgirls”) nominee opened by singing “Endangered Species” by Dianne Reeves. Ralph is only the second black woman to win a supporting actress role in a comedy series. Jackée Harry was the first in 1987 for her role in “227”.
“Jackée tweeted me,” Ralph says. “I was like, ‘Girl, you should have called me!’ Who knew that her part in ‘227’, that the channel wanted me. Maybe I completely forgot all about that. But she was just like, ‘No, they wanted her for the part, but I got it. and I won the Emmy. Now she has hers. That’s right! I have mine. But I just feel like, thank God. Thank you.”
Ralph’s mother is from Jamaica and spent a lot of time there growing up. Ralph says she immediately heard about the celebrations in the island nation after her win. “Jamaica lost their minds last night,” she said. “It was like, for a moment there, I was Usain Bolt. It was crazy. The former prime minister was calling me, me the minister of arts and culture. I couldn’t answer their phone calls. But I did get the texts. I mean, it was too crazy. And now, when I return for Heroes Weekend, I’ll be “The Honorable Sheryl Lee Ralph Order of Jamaica.”
Dan Doperalski for Variety
Variety spoke to Ralph and “Abbott Elementary” creator/star Quinta Brunson in the executive dining room of the Warner Bros. police station. Not only did the two stars win trophies, they immediately took part in a photo shoot for this week’s issue of Variety magazine.
“Sheryl comes in and lights up our set every morning, and people who see their day made so wonderful by her are going to feel so happy that she won,” Brunson said.
There’s no rest for either, however, as the cast and crew of “Abbott Elementary” are already back to work with a table read and the start of production on a new episode later today.
“‘Abbott’ doesn’t take tea for fever,” Ralph said. “‘Abbott’ was like, who cares that you won an Emmy last night, there’s work today! Bring you here today for work! There’s no days off, no time off Let’s get back to the work of creating America’s favorite new TV show.
Ralph’s Emmy win came after a busy weekend that also included recognition by the Creative Coalition at its annual Television Humanitarian Awards luncheon. Besides ‘Dreamgirls’ and the resulting Tony nomination, the star’s formidable career includes ‘Search for Tomorrow’, ‘It’s a Living’, ‘Moesha’ and a 1990 Independent Spirit Award for the film ‘To Sleep With Anger”.
But now his “Abbott Elementary” role has won him a new generation of fans – and an Emmy.
“[The character of] Barbara Howard has been an incredible gift to me,” she says. “And the interesting thing about playing the part is that I didn’t think anyone would see me. I thought it would be around me. And I was going to be there to support. And then when people started seeing things, I was like, ‘What’s going on?’
Ralph says the best direction she took while playing Barbara was “doing nothing”. It’s Barbara’s silent strength – a character who sometimes says it all with just a look – that has made her a key part of the show’s success.
“I was like, ‘OK, I’m a very accomplished actress, I can do things.’ It’s the strangest thing, [but] it was the absolutely perfect direction,” Ralph says. “I really try to keep that in mind every time Barbara comes to life. Just shoot it down. Just deliver it. And so many teachers, oh my god, the way they reacted to the character. They say they feel seen. They feel respected.”
The hardest part of playing Barbara? “I had to adopt sweater sets, which was quite a journey,” she laughs. “I had to really release the need for hair. She’s the second or third character I’ve played to have short hair. And pearls. She’s the kind of woman who ‘clings on pearls’. I appreciate Barbara Howard’s gift.