Marsha Stephanie Blake is fresh from her Emmy nomination for When They See Us and is now taking on Annalise Keating in ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder.
The popular drama is in its sixth and final season, and Blake has a very important role to fill. While fans are reeling from the reveal of Annalise dying at the hands of a character this season, fans are also coming to know Blake’s character, Vivian Maddox. Vivian is a character fans have only heard of as Sam Keating’s (Tom Verica) former wife and the mother of thier son Gabriel Maddox (Rome Flynn). This season, however, Vivian and Annalise will finally meet each other.
Shadow And Act was able to speak with Blake about her new role and what fans can expect from Vivian’s interactions with Annalise. We also got some inside scoop on her recurring role on NBC’s This Is Us.
S&A: Tell us about your character Vivian. Why is she in town?
MSB: So we know that Vivian is in town, we know that she was deceived by her son about where he was…She’s coming back to town to get some answers. It is a surprise for Gabriel and for everybody else and for Annalise. I’d say she’s coming to town to shake some stuff up. She’s a mama bear and her son has been lying to her and it so happens that he’s been lying to her about this woman that she has a history with. She’s not happy about the circumstances.
S&A: As an actress, what is your approach to a character that is somewhat established, but has never been seen on-screen? The audience knows a little bit about Vivian, but we don’t know too much.
MSB: The first thing I did was ask about her personality and her persona, but I did go back and watch every episode where she was mentioned. Basically all of season five. I went back to all those mentions to figure out who this person is and how she fit into the puzzle. Anytime [Gabriel] mentioned his family or his mom or his dad, I paid attention more than I would have in the past to that storyline.
What’s [wild] about the episode that you see [on Thursday], “Vivian’s Here,” I hadn’t gotten that script before the table read and I didn’t know the episode was called “Vivian’s Here”. I normally try to request scripts beforehand so I know what I’m getting into so I can go to the first table read with a little bit more information. But they still hadn’t sent it to be by the time I had my table read. And I remember when I got there and my script was upside down and I turned it over. It had my name across the top and the title was “Vivian’s Here.” I was like, “Oh my God–I probably should have read this beforehand! Is the entire episode about me?” That was a nice surprise to find out the day of. I had a little bit of a meltdown, but then I read the script, and it was great. It’s so fun to work on this show and it’s so great to work with Viola and Rome and everyone else (who I can’t tell you). It’s just been an absolute pleasure.
S&A: What can you tell us about the relationship between Vivian and Gabriel?
MSB: They kind of haven’t told each other the complete truth. Gabriel is trying to figure out what happened to his dad. Vivian would also like to do know what happened to Gabriel’s dad. The story Vivian told Gabriel isn’t exactly what occurred, and Gabriel lied about where he was and has been lying to his mom for a while now about being in school and what he’s doing. That relationship is very troubled and very fragile. But at the end of the day, they love each other; Gabriel is her only child so she’s very much all about him. But it’s a tense relationship because of the betrayal and dishonesty that’s occurred.
S&A: We know that Vivian and Annalise will interact this week. Will that be contentious?
MSB: I mean, I would say it’s not going to be pleasant. She has information about Annalise. She knows Annalise’s history a little bit better than the other people do. She’s known Annalise since 20 years ago, when they were working with Sam. So she has a lot more information on Annalise than Annalise has shared with everyone else about Annalise’s past. She knows how to push Annalise’s buttons because of all of that information.
You know, when you know somebody from back in the day, that’s a different thing and a more complicated thing than the people who have known her for four or five years. You know [what] her weaknesses are, you know what ticks her off, you know what her vulnerabilities are. And Annalise has that information on Vivian. I think it’s one of those relationships that will be not so much contentious as it is not easy. And she’s coming back. The storyline is that Vivian is Sam’s ex-wife, so you can jump to the conclusion that comes from knowing that someone is the ex-wife, and the marriage did not end well, how would she feel about the present wife or the woman who took her man away? That can’t be good.
S&A: Should we expect to see a lot of her over the course of the rest of the season?
MSB: You will see Vivian, I’ll say. Yes. The short answer is yes.
S&A: You are also currently recurring in an arc on ‘This Is Us.’ What are some similarities and differences between those characters?
MSB: Probably the one similarity that I know about is that they’re both moms, but other than that, they’re not terribly similar. But I also have very little information on my character for This Is Us.The one thing I can say is that they are both mama bears and they are both dedicated to their children. In one case, we’re dealing with a show that is everyday-themed, and we’re not talking about drugs and murder, so there’s that aspect, but on How to Get Away with Murder, we’re talking about more intense themes and things that have more life-altering consequences. But they’re both mama bears.
S&A: That’s interesting. We have a lot of This Is Us fans that read the website and everyone wants to know who the new cast members will be playing. It’s interesting that you don’t even know how you will fit into the show yet.
MSB: Absolutely. I mean, listen–I’m the luckiest woman in the world to be on two top shows on TV. It is a bounty of riches and I can’t believe what’s happening. And I’m a fan of both shows. I am as excited as the fans are. I have been watching How to Get Away with Murder since day one. I am that big of a fan and I love not knowing where my character is going because as a fan, I want to learn when other people learn. I kind of want to follow it in the same way I’ve been following it for many years. So for me, it makes sense that they only tell me as much as I need to know each episode. I’m just as excited as you guys are about who killed Annalise. I have no idea, but I’m in it with you guys. I looked online at all the theories and it’s so exciting. But I have no information. I don’t want to know, I want to know when you find out.
S&A: Also, congratulations on your Emmy nomination for When They See Us. What was it like being nominated as well as being a part of that project with so many of your co-stars earning Emmy nominations and Jharrel Jerome winning?
MSB: Thank God Jharrel won, he’s so good. The nomination for me was so unexpected and wonderful. I felt the series should be nominated and Jharrel was amazing. But for me, I had no expectations for myself because for me it was enough that I had done this project with these people.
It was such a very nurturing set. Ava is one of those people that makes you feel so safe and nurtured and taken care of on set and she really is emotionally invested in every aspect of the show. I was just counting my blessings that I got to be part of that. When the nominations came out, it was a huge surprise, I was beyond honored. But really, I was like ‘We’re actually adding this to all of the other wonderful things that I’ve already [experienced]. The fact that the [Exonerated] Five were getting positive attention for something that they’ve only received negative attention for as children and as grown men they were finally getting praised and admired and received for the inspiring wonderful people they are. I was loving just that the viewership was so wonderful. The Emmy nominations were just an extra-great blessing that came on top of all of that.
How to Get Away with Murder airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT. This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
READ MORE:
The 8 Most Gag-Worthy Moments In ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ History
Photo: ABC
From Harlem to Hollywood, get the Black entertainment news you need in your inbox daily.
