Exclusive Interview: Angela Grovey and Tim Jo Talk Reasonable Doubt

Angela Grovey and Tim Jo are two of the stars of Reasonable Doubt.

The must-see drama, loosely based on celebrity attorney Shawn Holley who has advised an impressive roster of clients including the Kardashian and Jenner families, Lindsay Lohan, Justin Bieber, Tupac Shakur, and Katt Williams, follows Jacqueline “Jax” Stewart, a high-powered criminal defense attorney from Los Angeles, as she fiercely bucks the justice system through wild interpretations of the law and sometimes questionable ethics, all while trying to deal with a failing marriage and the pitfalls of motherhood.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Angela and Tim about Season 1 of Reasonable Doubt.

PC: Angela, this is your debut as a series regular. Congratulations by the way. What was it about this character and project that stood out to you? Did anything surprise you about living with a character for this long?
Angela: Thank you! I have to remind myself of what a joy and what a huge accomplishment this is. I’m so grateful to be in it. I read this pilot as I was preparing for the audition and there was something about this piece that lifted off of the page. I was excited about that. I didn’t forget it out of the hundreds of scripts that we read.

I was actually surprised at my initial take of this character when I was getting ready for the pilot. The showrunner and producers had a different way of approaching this strong, opinionated woman, and I was here for all of it. They were like, “Let’s celebrate all of this. Let’s celebrate this Black woman who has strong opinions.” It’s been really fun to explore Krystal.

PC: Tim, one of your missions as an actor is to be the representation that you didn’t get to see growing up. How does this project and your character Daniel align with your purpose as a storyteller?
Tim: This project came at a time when I finally learned to give myself the grace to take the pressure off myself. I learned to stop getting in my own way, knowing that the way I am while working and being excellent is part of representation. But fighting the words, trying to find different ways to navigate characters that are written poorly or written against my type, or just flat out denying auditions, that kind of stuff, I’ve been doing that for 20 years and it’s tough. When this script rolled around and I saw Kerry Washington, Raamla Mohamed, and the Onyx Collective, I had to give myself permission to get rid of that armor and embrace what was on the page and bring everything I had inside and put that on screen. The Onyx Collective was created to amplify voices of color. It was perhaps not the easiest job, but it was one of those jobs where I wasn’t fighting it because I trusted Raamla. I trusted the Onyx Collective in terms of how they saw the character, and I happily said, “Just go for the ride. It’s a gift.”

PC: Angela, Kerry Washington directed the first episode and she’s also an executive producer on this series. Is the experience different when you’re working with somebody who also worked in front of the camera? What was that collaboration like?
Angela: It’s definitely different. The gift that we have is that Kerry has been in front of and behind the camera. When she’s directing a piece, there’s a shorthand, actor to actor. There was the opportunity to try lots of different things because she was like, “Let’s try some things. Let’s find some things.” It was a real gift to be able to have her direct the pilot for us. But then for her also to be able to advocate for us as an executive producer and make sure the set was a beautiful space for artistry, it was good vibes the whole time, and that comes from the top down. I’m grateful for Kerry’s knowledge and experience, as well as Raamla, Larry [Wilmore], the rest of the production team, and Onyx Collective.

Make sure to follow Angela (Twitter/Instagram) and Tim (Twitter/Instagram). Watch Reasonable Doubt on Hulu today.