Lynn Whitfield stopped by the Jezebel office to talk about her role on the Sanaa Lathan Netflix series Nappily Ever After, a movie where Whitfield plays, she says, “a mother who believes in fairytales.” In her decades-long career, she’s never shied away from roles that are some combination of challenging, prickly, and sensual, from 1996’s A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, to her character Lady Mae on the OWN series Greenleaf.
“One dream role would be to be in a romantic comedy as a woman of a certain age,” Whitfield tells Jezebel. “To bring all the spice and sensuality and humor and baggage that most mature relationships come with.” She adds, “Aging in Hollywood is a true challenge. They tend to think that you no longer are sensual. But it’s a challenge that I choose to take on with a little sass.”
Watch the video above, where Whitfield talks about why she’s hoping for a sex scene on Greenleaf (“People of a certain age really love good sex”), and why if she had to pick a zaddy, it would have to be Idris Elba.
Senior Producer: Jennifer Perry, Associate Producer/Editor: Kayra Clouden