Emayatzy Corinealdi on the Best Advice She Got From Her Parents
The actress, who plays Kunta Kinte's wife, Belle, in A&E's Roots reboot (premiering May 30), fills in a few blanks.
Photo: Benjo Arwas/The Licensing Project
People would be surprised to know that I...can make furniture. I've built a bed, a table, a tufted bench, cabinets, and even wine racks. I love going to Home Depot, getting the wood, cutting it to size—and messing it up. I hate to measure!
The last time I laughed really hard was... when a piece of art attacked my husband. I had bought a huge tin statue of a peacock—about as tall as an 8-year-old, with a sharp beak—because I thought it'd look cute in our kitchen. One day when my husband was sliding into the nook behind our dining table, he stepped on the peacock's foot and it suddenly gave him three pecks! What made it even funnier: He never liked the statue to begin with.
The best advice I've ever received is...either "Money talks and bullshit walks," which is from my dad, or "If someone knocks you down, you get right back up again, and you're even stronger for it," my mom's mantra.
I feel most at home when...my house is clean and I can curl up in my favorite chair with a good book and a cup of tea. Whenever I've been gone for a while, the first thing I do when I walk in is say, "Hi, home!"
Kunta Kinte and Belle embrace at their wedding ceremony. Photo: Kareem Black/2015 A+E Networks LLC
The food I love most is...my dad's arroz con pollo. He's given me some of his special spice mix and shared parts of his recipe, but he's never revealed every ingredient. I'll see him throwing in Worcestershire sauce and go, "Dad, that wasn't on the list!" He never gives away all his secrets—that's what makes the dish so delicious.
My funniest flaw is...that I think I know everything about football—but I'm constantly wrong. It's all about a confident delivery!
That's a Fact!
Thirty-nine years after its small-screen debut, the epic miniseries Roots, adapted from Alex Haley's novel of the same name, remains one of the most watched programs of all time.
The last time I laughed really hard was... when a piece of art attacked my husband. I had bought a huge tin statue of a peacock—about as tall as an 8-year-old, with a sharp beak—because I thought it'd look cute in our kitchen. One day when my husband was sliding into the nook behind our dining table, he stepped on the peacock's foot and it suddenly gave him three pecks! What made it even funnier: He never liked the statue to begin with.
The best advice I've ever received is...either "Money talks and bullshit walks," which is from my dad, or "If someone knocks you down, you get right back up again, and you're even stronger for it," my mom's mantra.
I feel most at home when...my house is clean and I can curl up in my favorite chair with a good book and a cup of tea. Whenever I've been gone for a while, the first thing I do when I walk in is say, "Hi, home!"
Kunta Kinte and Belle embrace at their wedding ceremony. Photo: Kareem Black/2015 A+E Networks LLC
The food I love most is...my dad's arroz con pollo. He's given me some of his special spice mix and shared parts of his recipe, but he's never revealed every ingredient. I'll see him throwing in Worcestershire sauce and go, "Dad, that wasn't on the list!" He never gives away all his secrets—that's what makes the dish so delicious.
My funniest flaw is...that I think I know everything about football—but I'm constantly wrong. It's all about a confident delivery!
That's a Fact!
Thirty-nine years after its small-screen debut, the epic miniseries Roots, adapted from Alex Haley's novel of the same name, remains one of the most watched programs of all time.
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