Jill Scott is best known as a songstress, but she has roots in theater. In 2000, the year she debuted as a recording artist, Scott joined a touring production of "Rent."
After her first album, "Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1," earned four Grammy nods and went double platinum, theater was eclipsed by her singing career.
The former Mount Laurel resident ventured back into acting in 2007 with "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?" Scott portrayed an overweight woman named Sheila, whose friends, along with her faith, empowered her in the wake of a divorce.
Sheila returns in "Tyler Perry's Why did I Get Married Too?" now a mom with a new husband. Her ex, Mike, arrives on the scene hoping to rekindle their relationship. This is just one of the overlapping storylines in the follow-up film, which reunites the original cast, including Janet Jackson.
For Scott, this was an art-imitates-life situation, as the shoot started just seven weeks after she had her first child. There was more emotion funneled into the picture when Michael Jackson died while they were at work on the Atlanta movie set.
Scott, who turns 38 on Sunday, has several projects on the horizon encompassing music, television and fashion. She has a new album in the pipeline, and she'll be co-headlining this summer's Lilith Fair tour. She voiced the Marvel comic book heroine, Storm, in an animated miniseries, "Black Panther," which may air on BET later this year. And she continues to develop her own line of plus-sized bras for the Ashley Stewart chain.
We spoke with Scott via phone during a press day for the new movie.
Q. I saw the movie last night and I was thinking, a sequel that's set partially in the Bahamas, not bad.
A. I thought it was going to be great, but we got there at the height of the insect season. I'm not an insect girl.
Q. Are there many insect girls?
A. People are fascinated by insects. I'm like, "Go take the spider outside. I'm leaving the house."
Q. What were your impressions of the script for the sequel? All of Tyler's films deal with really dramatic issues, but this one was particularly intense.
A. To me, it's a good representation of people trying to stay together and make it work, even though the characters can be way out there.
Q. Seeing Mike come into the story, he's kind of redeemed. Were you surprised that he comes in as a sympathetic character after he was so unsympathetic in the first film?
A. I appreciated that. To have him come back, there's a certain level of closure. These are people who are fallible and I like that he comes back into the story.
Q. In terms of working with Tyler, how does he make the actors comfortable to do these scenes that are very emotional and intimate?
A. He trusts us, and he allows us to do the work and make these characters real. If there's anything that he feels is over-the-top or under, he says so and he tweaks it so you feel safe.
Q. Did you talk with Tyler about segueing from singing into acting?
A. I've been waiting and hoping all along to do film and television. I didn't just wake up and say, "I want to act." This has been part of the mission.
Q. Right, I know you did theater for two years early on. What led you into music and away from theater?
A. When I did "Rent," I realized it was eight shows a week.
Q. Filmmaking is not such an easy schedule either.
A. No, but it suits me better. Theater is something I'll do when I'm older and rooted somewhere for a while. Right now, I'm still too bouncy. I don't want to wear the same clothes at the same time under the same lights, saying the same things, every night. My spirit is too free.
Q. In the original "Why Did I Get Married?" film, there was this physical transformation for you, gaining 30 pounds and wearing a fat suit. I'm wondering if there were any fears in terms of getting into this character whose appearance is so different.
A. People on the street typically say things, "You're not as big as you look on TV." I didn't know that the response to Sheila was going to be so strong. It's hard on the ego, but it makes me get a thicker skin.
Q. I would imagine after having the baby, there's a lot of emotional things you go through. Do you feel like that experience filtered into your performance?
A. Everything happens for a reason. I was going through a divorce when we did "Why Did I Get Married?" I just had a child when we did the sequel. I didn't necessarily feel my best, but I figured this is where Sheila might be.
Q. It's interesting that Tyler Perry is so in tune with female characters. What qualities does he have that allow him to write such strong, complex heroines?
A. He listens well. He listens to find out what's going on in our lives. And he had a good mom.
Q. Since he's not married, does he draw upon his cast's experiences? And is that irony? I don't know.
A. I don't think you have to be around painters to be a great painter. It's either you have it or you don't. Tyler is a storyteller.
Q. Because Michael Jackson died during the shooting of the movie, did the cast really come together to support Janet?
A. We worked. If Janet wanted to talk about her brother, we listened. If she didn't, we didn't. One of the worst things to do to someone that's grieving is to continuously mention it. Sometimes, that's not what they need.