DB Woodside on The Night Agent, Introversion, and His Favorite Wine.
Blazer (similar styles) & Pants (similar styles) BONBOS ; Polo (similar styles) BILLY REID; Shoes (similar styles) FLORSHEIM.
What inspired you to start acting?
There are so many different ways. Maybe one of the stories I've never really talked about is that my parents proudly went to HBCUs. Making sure their children were well-rounded and appreciated the arts was a priority to them. All of us [the children] are New Yorkers. My parents were raised down south but came up north and settled in New York. As early as I can remember, they would always bring us to play and everything happening on that New York stage, from being blessed to watch the Alvin Ailey company to The Wiz and Lloyd Richards directing August Wilson plays. I started becoming interested in acting when I was a kid. I remember watching The Wiz and wanting to be like Scarecrow. I thought that was the most incredible thing that I'd ever seen. As we say, in the business, ‘I'm sure that's what I that's when I got the bug’.
Being from NYC, what's your favorite thing about the city?
Trying to pick a favorite thing about New York City is impossible. It's the energy. It's the mood. Last night I was having dinner with my manager and her two associates. When we finished dinner, I decided to walk through the city at night. The city inspires me! I find it's the best place for me to write. It's the best place for me to disappear into myself. There's interesting life on every single corner here. I find being able to witness all of that, to be immersed in it [New York City], is one of the most romantic experiences.
Which shows do people recognize you from the most?
That depends. I'm fortunate to have been on many different types of shows. From my vantage point, our people [black people] usually recognize me from The Temptations and Single Ladies. Some of them also recognize me from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I find that men recognize me more from shows like 24. In Europe, people remember me from Suits, Pearson, and Lucifer. Lately, with the success of The Night Agent, it seems that shows have brought everyone together.
What attracted you to this script to play Eric Monks in The Night Agent?
First, I wanted to work with Shawn Ryan. I've been in the business for 20-25 years, and he is one of the most prolific showrunner and executive producer. Other showrunners will tell you that; he's the best of the best. I tried to work with him on two different shows throughout my career, but that didn't pan out for one reason or another. Once I knew that this was Shawn Ryan, I was really going to give it a look. Originally this character that he conceived was a middle-aged white guy. We went after it, and going after it the way in which we went after it, I think Shawn is a great person and has always had this open mind. Second, I felt like there was something that I could bring to this character that was authentic. I could inject some of my life experiences into a character like this. I had my over-the-top party days in my early to mid-30s, and you can get caught up in that. Unfortunately, I got caught up in it for a while, but I consider myself lucky. I had access to great therapy. I worked through a lot, and now that stuff is so far in my rearview mirror. But I remember things from it, and it keeps me honest with myself. It helps me pay attention to my boundaries every day. I'm not putting myself into situations where I feel overwhelmed. So I had something to bring to this character to make him different. Also, there's something about playing a father to a little girl that I loved. In the original script, he talked about a little boy, but I decided to really make it personal and talk to Shawn about making it a little girl. I have a little girl, and fathers know there's a special connection between daughter and dad. I also wanted to bring that to this role.
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In The Night Agent, your character Eric Monks is a secret service member. When most people hear that, their mind goes directly to getting shot for the president. When I watched your CBS Good Morning interview where you talked about secret service members will take a bullet for the institution, not the president. With that in mind, how challenging was preparing for this role?
That was challenging. Before working in this role, I didn't know the secret service agent's mindset. I was fortunate enough to have many conversations with some people who helped me with the psychology of these brave people. And they're putting their lives on the line for the institution, not the president at that time. When you think about that, it's noble. They believe in their institutions. They believe in protecting this country. There's something about that mindset that's fascinating. It's a love that I think we all experience in different ways. You know, we all have that for our children, instinctively. But having that for a job, a career, to have that kind of love is intense. Those women and men are brave. I admire them very much. I'm thankful that they're there.
You've also spoken about your introversion personality trait. Does that make it easier or harder to compress from a challenging acting role?
It's harder. I don't think people truly understand what introversion is. It's not that you're necessarily shy. There's a saying, 'Every shy person is an introvert, but not every introvert is a shy person.' It means that we power up differently. I can go on set. I can do some talk shows or some types of events. I can go, and I can hopefully make it look easy. Then when that is over, I need one or two weeks of quiet time at home, not doing anything. I need to turn the volume way down because I'm left feeling like I don't have anything. Whereas someone who's an extrovert gets charged through activity, through friends, going out and doing things. I work the exact opposite. If I know I have a crazy week of press coming up, I got to make sure that two weeks before that, I'm taking care of myself by working out, sleeping, resting, not going out, not talking to people on the phone, and keeping it quiet. And then I'm going to need that downtime after. So that's what it is. It's just a different wiring of the brain. It's not something that you can fix. It's not something that needs fixing. It's just something that needs to be respected.
You spoke about your ideal night with Gayle King on CBS, where you mentioned good wine and a good book. What is your favorite wine? And what is the book that you are either currently reading?
Favorite wine, that's easy! I love Pinot Noir Red. I really like Naomi. And a book that I'm currently reading is The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. I'm actually rereading because I like reading when I'm traveling. It's a powerful personal story for me because my parents were part of the great migration. I know that very well. They traveled along the east coast from the South to resettle. They would share stories about what they went through down south. They didn't want their children to go through that. They thought it would be better up here for us, but it was a different kind of racism
Photographer: Ammar Thomas @iam.ammarjamal | Fashion Director & Interview: Nigel Isaiah @nigelisaiah | Grooming: Danielle Waugh @inherbeautyllc for Exclusive Artists using Charlotte Tilbury and Scotch Porter | Tailor: Yana Lurell @yana_lurell | Location: The 9 Studios | Special Thanks: Vision PR @vision.pr
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