Via Zoom, Danielle Deadwyler, known for her resonant dramatic performances — like her portrayal of the real-life mother who fought for justice in her son’s murder in… until – She shows her wittier side by playing a mock bass to describe her new role as a poetry professor in the HBO comedy Campus Rooster.
The often deadpan character of Dylan Shepard, who overcomes obstacles to professional and personal success opposite Greg Russo, the slightly out of touch but well-intentioned resident teacher played by Steve Carell, is the latest in a recent string of comedic roles for Deadwyler, who earlier this TV season had viewers in stitches as Chantelle, the multi-tasking friend and Sydney hairdresser played by Ayo Edbury on Bear.
“She’s having a different kind of stroke,” Deadwyler says of Dylan mid-mime. “It’s a little slower. It’s a little louder.” As for her immediate musical ability to get the point across, she jokes: “Yes, I’m multilingual.”
Since 2010, Deadwyler has taken on one difficult role after another with seemingly ease: Cuffee, the exotic black outlaw in Jeymes Samuels’ film. The harder they fall; Hailey Freeman, the prickly mother of farmers in a doomed future, in 40 acres; and Bernice Charles, a widow desperately trying to protect her family’s legacy during the Great Depression, in the Netflix adaptation of August Wilson’s novel. Piano lesson.
Roles like Chantel and Dylan are a bit rare on Deadwyler’s resume, but they came at a time when she felt like she needed a change. “Honestly, I think I was tired,” the actress says, recalling the change in her artistic style that led her to take a vacation in the summer of 2024 to “rehabilitate her craft artistically,” as she puts it.
“The body and mind have to basically recalibrate,” Deadwyler explains. “I didn’t have to do anything first, and I realized that you had to refill in order to give anything and discover new ways to get involved.”
Comedy became that new way for the actress. First, I booked Rescuersthe satire about Islamophobia that premiered at this year’s SXSW and co-stars Adam Scott. Then came a guest acting role in the fourth season of Bear.
The episode “Worms,” written by Edebiri and Lionel Boyce — who plays Marcus in the FX comedy — takes place on a single day when Sydney goes to Chantel’s house to braid her hair. The audience is immersed in the inner lives of two friends who have become somewhat swept away by the passage of time. Sydney’s job as a sous chef has taken up almost her entire life, while Chantelle also balances a job that often falls outside the typical 9-to-5, as well as keeping up with the drama of others, her occasional boyfriend, and her daughter, whom she leaves with Sydney to go buy more hair. (She says she’ll come back momentarily, but of course she comes back hours later.) This specific account of the typical black female hairdressing day experience is part of what appealed to Deadwyler in the role.
“I know these women. These are hood women. I’m a hood girl,” she says.
The role not only allowed Deadwyler’s comedic timing to shine, but an opportunity to be in the moment — a concern that continued when the cameras weren’t rolling during filming with Edebiri and director Janicza Bravo. “It was weird having black girls singing Björk,” Deadwyler recalls with a smile of a backstage dynamic that also helped build intimacy between the audience and Chantelle. She adds of the episode: “It was fun. It was relaxing.” “It had glimpses and flashes of calm, which is the kind of exploration her character does. When you see family photos, you enter a familiar world.”
When it comes to joining Rooster As a series regular, Deadwyler says, “I wanted to play on the other side of the field. … I wanted to do comedy, but I was picky about what it was and how I felt and what I wanted to do. I waited for that opportunity, and it felt good.”
The actress holds her own among the comedic heavyweights on the series, which also stars John C. McGinley as the college’s president of questionable competence, Walter Mann.
“It’s funny, because most days I can come home after work and feel fine,” Deadwyler says. “Drama, drama, drama, action, action, drama, drama, Steve Carell. This feels different.”
There is an inherent charm that Deadwyler displays in this role. Even when Dylan maneuvers through heavier situations like romantic rejection, uncertainty about a new leadership position, or feeling upset that a promising student decides to turn her back on poetry, the actress brings a sense of humanity while accepting her character’s flaws.
“He teaches us how to be,” Deadwyler says of the role of Dylan. “I think that’s exactly what attracts me about this and the kind of things that attract me now. People who are so flawed. Black women have to be flawed in this world. How do they do it? And do they have to continue to be so?”
These are some of the questions that are driving Deadwyler as an artist now in the wake of his entry for season three trance And the next X-Files The reboot is set to be produced by Ryan Coogler.
“Dylan steps into leadership, [is] “I’m challenged by it, uncomfortable by it, doubted by it, hesitated by it. And everything else I’m exploring lately gives me the opportunity to do the same thing,” Deadwyler explains.
This story first appeared in the June standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To obtain the magazine, click here to subscribe.
