*EUR/Electronic Urban Report was delighted to chop it up recently with NAACP Image Award-winning actress Vivica A Fox about her new holiday movie “A Christmas Cruise,” premiering Dec. 16 on the ION network.
Vivica A. Fox Talks #BlackGirlMagic and Reuniting with Kristoff St. John in ‘A Christmas Cruise’ [EUR Exclusive]
Vivica portrays ‘Pam,’ an aspiring novelist, who is invited along for a holiday-themed sail by her best friend and unexpectedly finds the love of her life on board. But what will happen when the ship returns to port for Christmas?
Fox began her career with roles on daytime soap dramas such as “Days of Our Lives” and “Generations,” and she’s best known for her breakthrough performance in the 1996 sci-fi blockbuster “Independence Day.” In 2015, she was cast as Cookie Lyon’s sister for the second season of the hit Fox music drama “Empire,” and in 2016, she reprised her ID role in Roland Emmerich’s “Independence Day: Resurgence.”
Vivica co-stars opposite Kristoff St. John, Jessica Morris, Rib Hillis, Corin Nemec and Nick Viall in “The Christmas Cruise,” directed by her longtime creative collaborator David DeCoteau. Fox and St. John also serve as producers on the project, and she told us that reuniting with Kristoff made her job as an actress that much easier due to their pre-existing “chemistry.”
Check out our conversation with Vivica A. Fox below.
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What was it about the character of Pam that appealed to you initially?
Vivica: She reminded me a lot of myself. I’m so much of a workaholic that I’ve kinda forgotten about my love life. And I just love that she went looking for one thing and something else completely happened. Sometimes, life is about the unexpected and being able to allow yourself to be open for new adventures.
In what ways do you relate to the relationship issues addressed in “A Christmas Cruise.” Have you ever been surprised by the unexpected like Pam?
Vivica: I’ve always made it a cardinal rule not to fall in love with my co-stars but I have found myself a couple of times going, “Hmm… maybe I need to break that rule.” Because when you work with people and you spend a lot of time with them, a lot of times, you don’t take the time to get to know them. So I always make it a cardinal rule not to date my co-stars but lately, I’ve been having some yummy co-stars that’s made me kinda go, “Hmmm… well, let me think about it.” Maybe one time I might try to open my heart to that.
How much of your own persona did you add to Pam?
Vivica: She’s a workaholic and she’s got this mom who is always pressuring her about, “Who you bringing home?” And I think a lot of us can relate to that right now. A lot of women are choosing career over marriage and children. They’re living their lives and having kids a little later in life. It’s a changing of the guard, where women are in more power-positions, making equal money, so things are changing. So for me, that was very easy to play because it’s kinda like my life. I always get somebody who’s like, “Hey girl, I see you working. I know you’re busy but how’s your love life?” And I’m always like, “Girl, it’s coming. But I ain’t tripping. I’m happy. My bills are paid.”
I enjoyed watching the black love energy between you and Kristoff. Talk about that creative chemistry.
Vivica: I was so glad when they told me that Kristoff is going to be cast in the film. I hadn’t worked with him in years and it was, for me, a wonderful reunion because he was my very first love interest onscreen when I did “Generations.” That was my first acting role. Kristoff and I went through a lot of acting adventures and it was fun to go down memory lane and talk about, “You remember when?” We shot this film in less than two weeks, so we didn’t have to create chemistry, we had that. And I knew going into it that it would make it a lot easier for me. He’s such a good actor. He’s tall — ‘cause I’m a tall girl and sometimes it’s kinda hard to find your tall, good-looking actors that have skills. So it made my job a lot easier.
Speaking of easy — I’ve watched you onscreen for two decades and you always make your job look effortless. Did you find Pam to be challenging?
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