Joy Brunson

Oh my goodness. It was a balmy fall day. No. I remember the show had already been out. You know, people were already very much in love with it. And when we had the audition, all we got was, this is us. It was dummy sides. We didn't know the character. Very little information.

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But at that point in the audition, we were still going into the room and I saw all of my peers and I was like, okay, this is interesting. Who's here? This is interesting. And we had the first audition. It went well. It wasn't until the callback that I saw who was really there that I was like, oh, this is something serious still. I still didn't know what it was.

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I think it was sides from season one. And I just remember getting in that room and now Dan's in there, Kay's in there, everyone's in there, Ken as well. And I got super nervous. I was nervous, but I didn't know what was going on. But when I got in that last callback room, I was like, oh goodness. So it went really well. They had me do about four or five times.

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Did they give you any information? They said she's a young mother. And I thought, maybe, cool, my baby's two or three years old. It wasn't until I got to set that I was looking Lyric in the eye. And I was like, oh, well, look at me.

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Who knew? So they had me do one more note. And I remember going to the mirror and talking to myself and being like, Joy, this is it. This is what you've wanted your whole life. You know, leave it in this room no matter what. Just have as much fun as possible. And I left the studio that day. And I was cheesing as if I had already booked it because I really felt like I left it in the room.

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I was happy with my audition, which isn't always the case, you know? Amazing. Yeah.

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Yeah, you did.

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Worked out.

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Exactly. How much do you love Sterling? The Sterling K. Brown. Not only was that my first scene on the show, it was my scene with you, and it was the day you came back from winning the Emmy. Oh, no pressure. Yes.

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Yes.

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Wow, this episode was a doozy.

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You know Sterling. It was a beautiful thing, but I hadn't shot my scene yet. So I'm watching everyone take a champagne toast knowing that when this was done, I had to say words to you.

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You know what it was? In my heart, I was like, we're both theater babies. And that always just helps me. I'm like, he wants me to win. I want to win. So let's do it.

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Wow. Well, thank you, first of all. She really became my little sister instantly. We're both only children. I also have to always give credit to her mom, Brandy, who was always there. And I was able to talk to her as well about their relationship with each other because it mirrored, at least age-wise, myself and Deja, or Shauna and Deja.

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And so I think just connecting on where I was when I was 15, 16, And I mean, she's a professional actor, so we were a little different, but kind of navigating high school and meeting new friends and really relating to each other allowed us to, I think, have our own kind of secret moments and bonds that served as subtext for those scenes. Yeah.

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We had to crack the show a little bit, for sure, for sure. But I respect it, you know, because I'm also a private person. I was like, listen, what's yours is yours. But after a while, I don't, it might have been 217. I think so. We had a really good belly laugh. And I was like, oh, we're locked in now. It was one of those moments. I was like, okay, we're here.

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Right. I mean, you're absolutely right. And we're always taught not to judge our character. And I really couldn't. I will say because we did so much during that episode, there was little time to stop and judge where we were. I just had to be present. I heard that. Go, go, go. I went from 16 to 25. I think I aged 10 years in that one episode. So I was rolling with it.

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But also, you know, having incredible people to be opposite of, you know, working with the incredible Pam Greer, working with lyrics. I mean, come on. It's one of those things, again, you show up.

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You know what? I would be too a little, just a little bit. But I didn't know. It was so amazing. And she was so giving and warm. And every single time, I truly didn't judge Shawna because it's like she was trying. I truly believe she did the best she could in each moment, even if it failed, which she did a lot.

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Mm-hmm. Yes. I went back to school and got my master's degree last year. Yes.

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In African and African Diaspora Studies.

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I did the whole thing. It was after, you know, the pandemic and then the strikes. And I always wanted to go back to school. And I was like, Joy, no one is going to stop time for you to do this. So I applied and I went back and I've always been interested in representations of Black women on screen. So I want to marry the academic and the artistry together is my ultimate goal in life.

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So I went back and did it.

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I'm a golfer, yeah.

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I do a lot of things. It's so funny. I was at the course, was it yesterday or two days ago? So I'm not teaching. I'm teaching my friends. But I'm playing still. Yes, absolutely.

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Much less these days, but I want to get back into it. I had a great group of women that I played with, and then everyone moved on to different stages of life. But if you're a female golfer, please come. It was pickleball, wasn't it?

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Yeah.

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Yes, people still scream, Deja's mama.

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Manny!

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Hey, Deja's mama. I often see that clip, our first clip, circulating where everyone's like, oh, he told her about the headscarf and the clip. So they're still reading me, yes. But I actually have gotten a lot of love from people who were foster children or who went through the system and how much they related to both Deja and Shawna's perspectives on things. And that's always really heartwarming.

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I'm sure.

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You know, it is troubling, and I hope, and that's what I felt in those moments, that she was wrestling with that decision. Yeah. You know, coming to the house, watching you all watch the film, I don't think she knew what she was going to do when she first came over and asking for help. But by the time we meet each other on the stairwell, it was almost as if I had said everything that I could.

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And now it's like I'm passing an emotional baton. And also I would like to think that she wanted to go get herself together so she could come back better. It's always about coming back better for Shawna.

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But it definitely was a wrestling of emotions for sure.

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I know. I know.

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Just leaving him with Lonzo and his friends. I was like, this is, this will not end well.

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Questionable decisions were made. Yes.

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Truly.

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Absolutely.

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Thank you. So, so much. I definitely didn't take it for granted. I wanted to make everyone proud. I recognize the moment and I tried my best to rise to it. So I appreciate that.

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I haven't had it in a long time, but I was sitting at an eight for many years. I played in college as well. So Joy Brunson on social. And then I just started a new social film club called Black Girls Cinema Club. So please check us out on Instagram and www.blackgirlcinemaclub.com as well. I'm very excited for that new venture.