Station 19

Chief Ross is now a series regular on the ABC Shondaland show, but the Broadway vet is popping up everywhere!

You never are like, “This is exactly how I do this.” But the very essential nature is that the stories are wonderful in video gaming, and I have greatly loved how dynamic, diverse, and outside of my body I can be: I’ve played an old white lady, I’ve played a nun, I’ve played so many different things that I could never do in physical acting. And the fact that 10 years ago I was able to play Marlene being so much younger than she was in the story is kismet because now, in actual life, I’ve aged into her and can play her on the show. And we have to honor this agony that is happening in our culture right now.” And what I loved about it was that it was not cut-and-dry — we humanized both sides of the argument. And I think what people are understanding with the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us is that there is a whole beautiful realm of storytelling within video games. You know, you always do your work as an actor and think about why the characters are the way that they are and what experiences brought them to this place of astonishing, crushing decision-making, or this moment that will define them, and the ways my character is newly elucidated in the upcoming episodes is really, really thrilling. And then suddenly it’s elucidated, and it’s on the outside, and you’re like, “This is what’s been in my heart the whole time!” That’s kind of what it feels like when I’m watching people be devastated and moved and delighted by all the things that I have been rocking with for so long. And the actual physical demonstration of Ross being willing to throw herself in the line of fire to protect what’s right and to protect her team was important to show in the character of Chief Ross, but it was also important to see the humanity in the other side. Is this right?” And I think I was wrestling with a woman who is so decisive in her career but can’t quite figure out how to manage things personally. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, of obeying a chain of command, and knows how important it is, as well, to push the envelope within this organization as a woman of color and as a woman, period. “To be able to explore that with a studio so thoughtful and caring about women and the dynamic, wonderful, delicious, powerful goddess energy that we have in particular is what makes working on a Shondaland show so incredible.” You came on to the show in the middle of season five as a recurring character. The woman we have come to know as Station 19’s Chief Ross was born in Okinawa, Japan, and moved around a lot as the daughter of a U.S.