Veteran actress Cicely Tyson reprised her role as Carrie Watts from the Broadway play “The Trip to Bountiful” for Lifetime’s adaptation airing on Saturday.
Set during the Jim Crow South, “The Trip Bountiful” follows Carrie as she sets out against her son’s wishes for her hometown of Bountiful. Along the way, she collects allies to help on her journey home.
“She’s a woman who loved life. She loved people,” Tyson told TheWrap of her character. “I think the all-encompassing term was her love of life. She enjoys in spite of the discomfort of the situation in which she finds herself living. She enjoys every moment in which she opens her eyes and sees the skies. And she goes through that day, despite the anguishes of the day, grateful to be alive.”
Also read: Lifetime Adapting Broadway’s ‘Trip to Bountiful,’ Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams to Reprise Roles
Tyson is joined in the movie by her Broadway co-star Vanessa Williams, who plays her snooty daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae.
“She becomes so much the person, so it’s easy to react to her nastiness,” Tyson laughs about working with Williams. “I said it. I said that. Vanessa, I said that!”
But, Tyson regains her composure and explains that what she loves about Williams is her work ethic, remembering that her co-star originally came into the stage play very tentatively.
Also read: Lifetime’s ‘Gabby Douglas Story’ Scores 3.8 Million Viewers
“Every night, I can see her growth in the character and I loved her for that,” Tyson said. “She never stopped working on Jessie Mae.”
Blair Underwood and Keke Palmer also star on “The Trip to Bountiful,” which airs Saturday at 8/7c on Lifetime.
Watch the interview above.
And below, watch Tyson talk about First Lady Michelle Obama’s backstage visit and what she said that left the actress “dumbstruck.”