*Queen Sugar and Being Mary Jane alumna KJ Smith is set to appear as Kori Rucks on the new reboot series Dynasty on The CW.
And while she couldn’t reveal much about her character when EUR/Electronic Urban Report chopped it up with her recently, she did stress that Kori “is not some stereotype of an angry black woman.”
And as an actress, she finds that refreshing.
“The fashion is great, The music is great. It is southern and sexy. And I love it,” says Smith of the series.
The CW’s Dynasty is based on the 1980s soap opera series of the same name, which ran on ABC from 1981 to 1989. The reboot premiered October 11, and Smith says KJ will make her grand appearance on episode four — going “head-to-head” with the star of the show, Fallon Carrington (Elizabeth Gillies).
“It was so beautiful to feel welcomed and at home, especially in a drama,” she told us about joining the series. “That’s something that I really appreciate with working with The CW.”
If you’re a fan of the original Dynasty and you caught the first two episodes of the reboot then no doubt you were shocked by how diverse the cast is.
“The original, there was very little diversity. You had Diahann Carroll and (Richard) Lawson. They were on the show but there was very little diversity. It was basically a battle between two white families and that’s changed,” Smith says. “Many of the lead characters are people of color and it’s so beautiful because I think it’s a better representation of where we are right now instead of us pretending like there were no black people that floated in those circles because they were extremely wealthy people. So I think that’ll be the biggest shocker for the O.G.’s who love the old Dynasty and people who have seen the old Dynasty. That’s one thing they have to look forward to is diversity and people who look like them on television.”
Check out below what else KJ Smith had to say about her Dynasty experience and what fans can expect from her “self-made” character.
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Some might recall how the original Dynasty was also quite homophobic. The CW version is far from that.
KJ: I think that’s really cool about the new Dynasty. It’s a better representation of people instead of what I looked like in the 80’s.
Another notable change is that this version focuses on powerful and ambitious women. Where does Kori fit in?
KY: I am a councilwoman and I know the lead character from my past and we did not have a great past and she basically needs me at this point and I have a choice to make on whether I’m going to change the trajectory of our relationship or whether I’m going to keep it the same. Just like in the old Dynasty, a lot of women were portrayed as women who went on nice trips and drank champagne and wore nice clothes talked about their latest material possession, instead of women who were trying to move forward and have business ambition and started from the bottom. And Kori is very much self-made. She belongs in this circle because she created it herself. She built herself up from the bottom opposed to many other characters who came from money. Their parents had money. So I’m a self-made, intelligent woman on the show and I’m very ambitious and very strong in that way.
In what ways do you relate to Kori and how much of your own persona is embedded in her?
KJ: Just me being an actor, the parallels. I didn’t know the first thing about acting. I had no one in this industry. I didn’t know the first thing about being in L.A. It was literally my first home away experience. I had zero culture. I’m from Tallahassee, Florida. I am from the South. But I said I am going to get out of my hometown. I’m going to try something new. I’m going to have the drive to learn whatever I need to do to make it in this business. I’m not going to lose my dignity. I’m not going to lose my integrity. I’m going to stay strong in who I am and that’s who Kori is in her particular field. She’s a councilwoman in the city of Atlanta. She started from the bottom. She was not popular. She was not cool. She did not have wealth, at least, that’s my understanding. My character is still being developed. The writing could very-weep change. But what I have so far, she’s self-made and I am the same way. I had no one holding my hand. A lot of people in Hollywood, their parents were in Hollywood in some capacity. There’s a lot of nepotism in Hollywood. I really worked hard to make it in this industry and to be who I am today and that is how I can relate to Kori.
And I don’t take no shit, that’s also how I relate to Kori. I work very hard to protect my spirit, my energy, my mind — all that. I meditate very often, pray, surround myself with awesome human beings. That’s how I relate to Kori as well. And you’ll see over the course of the season, she is fighting to protect herself. She is like, “I am not going to allow what happened in the past, happen to me again.” I knew when I went in to audition for this role I had it because Kori is me.
Is Kori the type of person you’d want to go on a girls trip with?
KJ: Yes! Not only would I take her, Kori would coordinate the trip. She would create the itinerary. She would book the flight. Kori is that type of friend. She’s super-reliable and dependable and she’s a quasi Type-A personality. So she’s organized and she has it going on but you’ll see she’s not some stereotype of a woman. The thing I love about Kori is that you see that she’s fun, she’s ambitious but she also knows how to let her hair down. And I love that the writing supports that. It makes me a well-rounded person and not some stereotype of an angry black woman. Because not only do we see the moments where she’s upset and bothered and frustrated but we also see that she’s also vulnerable and delicate and friendly and sexy. She can put on a business suit and she can put on a club dress and she is going to rock out any environment she’s in. So, hell yes I would take her on a girls trip ‘cause we’ll be by the beach, sipping Mai-Tais and just having a good time.
Kori will be somewhat of an antagonist to the lead character, Fallon. Does this mean that she has the potential to become the type of TV villain audiences will love to hate?
KJ: (laughs): Yes. Kori is certainly one of those people that she is not going down without a fight. We’re not in the love/hate stage right now but people will understand where she’s coming from. There’s some decisions that may seem petty on her end because of some things that she hasn’t gotten over but right now she’s totally relatable. I think people will understand her perspective and understand why she’s making those decisions but it’s becoming a fine line. I’m starting to see a fine line where she’s being a little bit petty.
It sounds like Kori is a fully realized character and not simply the sassy black sidekick.
KJ: Absolutely. And that was very important to me. When they sent me the role, they had a beautiful backstory for her and it was really cool because I wanted to play someone with some depth. I didn’t want to not have a motivation behind what I’m doing and not have a clear, fleshed-out perspective. And because all of that was so clear, I could really bring myself into this character and give it 120 percent. There’s nothing like playing a role and you don’t know where your character came from, and that could be cool too because you can kinda start creating those things but for me, knowing that I could relate to her on every level, it just made it that much stronger for me to play her. It made me enjoy it more. Every experience she’s going through, I’ve kinda gone through it and I’m ready for it.
What have you found most rewarding about working with your co-stars?
KJ: Even with all the drama and the shenanigans in the writing and in the scenes, when the camera cuts, everyone is laughing and jovial and fun and supportive. Everyone is ready to laugh after we have a pretty intense scene. The energy is always high. I’m really big on keeping high vibrations as much as you can and I think that’s pretty refreshing about this set compared to some other experiences that I’ve had. Everyone — the directors I’ve worked with are incredible, the showrunner — everyone. And I think that says a lot because I’m a stronger believer in it starts at the head, so if the leaders of this production are great then everything is going to flow and it’s just going to be magical and it really has been.
Dynasty airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW. You can also stream the latest episodes on The CW App.
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